Tag: Roadside America

Fuzzygalore - KTM 690 Enduro
Motorcycles Can Help With Unanswered Questions

Motorcycles Can Help With Unanswered Questions

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Serendipity to the rescue. Again.

Sometimes the planets align just right and deliver an answer to a question that you may have long since forgotten to keep asking. I love it when that happens.

While scrolling through Instagram the other day, I saw this photo set posted by @Mototourers:

As soon as I saw the location it was posted from, the wheels started turning: Bethel, New York? That’s day ride range. Maybe I should go check that out.

Ahaaaaaaaaa!

After looking through the photos and reading the caption, I landed on the ZacMax website. There I found the answer to a question I’ve had since 2016 – who or what was this:

Fuzzygalore ZacMax Statue

In the summer of 2016, we were on our way home from a weekend of riding in Hancock, NY. We’d stopped in a gas station in the town of Liberty. This guy just happened to be lurking in the bushes.

From this brief encounter, I never found out whether this was a mascot, a known character, or a funky piece of art from a local. That is… until this week.

And sure, maybe knowing the answer to something like this is trivial. But even so, that feeling of not knowing something was quelled. That’s a relief.

Fuzzygalore Riding KTM 690 Enduro Dirt Road - Hancock, NY

I’d like to believe that if I just keep riding around, the answers to all of my unanswered questions will make themselves known. Nothin’ to do but just keep trying to figure it all out.

Keep riding, exploring, asking questions, discovering answers.

Hopefully, I’ll get to the bottom of those pancakes one day.

Fuzzygalore.com - Yamaha FZ07
HOW TO: Meet Tall, Handsome Men While Riding Your Motorcycle

HOW TO: Meet Tall, Handsome Men While Riding Your Motorcycle

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Don’t forget to bring a friend for some extra excitement!

My How To guide for meeting tall, handsome men while riding your motorcycle.

Step One: Have a Motorcycle

OMG, seriously? You already have a motorcycle? Well then, you’re already part of the way there! Go you.

fuzzygalore yamaha FZ07

Step Two: Navigate to RoadsideAmerica.com

Tall, Handsome Men Galore Dating Service

Or, if you’re the extra fancy type, they have an iOS app for your phone. I find it particularly helpful while on the go. But, by all means – don’t listen to me. It’s not like I know a dang thing about finding weird stuff out there on the highways and byways.

While on the site or app, search for, drumroll, please… Muffler Men! Find one that’s close enough for you to ride to.

In the last couple of years, several of them have been on the move, from one state to another. It’s best to consult the oracle so you don’t get stood up on your date.

Now, don’t forget to write down directions, pin on a map, or stick a waypoint in your GPS for your newly found friend.

The Farnham Colossi – Unger, West Virginia

Step Three: Ride your Motorcycle to the Muffler Man

This very well could be the best part of your whole experience. They say it’s the journey, not the destination. I say, why can’t it be both?!

Hot dog wielding Muffler Man in Atlanta Illinois. Great journey, great destination.

Step Four: Bask in the greatness of the Muffler Man

Some people might think, if you’ve seen one muffler man, you’ve seen ’em all. Some people are also idiots.

Though they were cast from the same mold, over time Muffler Men they’ve been repainted and repaired, customized and modified in ways that set them apart from their original look. I’ve seen some big guys with eyelashes, chest hair, unique clothing, or holding different objects. Like people, they’re the same but different.

Each time I visit a muffler man, it makes me happy. I have seen quite a few in many different states. Every visit is unique, be it from the journey I had to take to bask in the glory of the muffler man, or just the big guy himself. It’s always worth the trip.

Fuzzygalore gemini giant muffler man wilmington illinois
My Holy Grail: The Gemini Giant – Route 66 – Wilmington, Illinois

Step Five: Share pictures of your date with the tall, handsome man

If you brought a friend, have them take your picture in classic muffler man stance with your new fiberglass buddy. Flying solo? Who doesn’t love seeing your motorcycle parked next to cool stuff?

Pictures or it didn’t happen, people.

Hey, buddy! – Wilson, North Carolina

Step Six: Be awesome and tell me about it!

Have you visited a muffler man? Did you have a fun time getting there? Tell me about it. Have a blog link, an Instagram link, or something else to share about a muffler man? Leave a comment below!

Miles and smiles, my friends.

Mother Goose in Hazard, Kentucky

Mother Goose in Hazard, Kentucky

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Sometimes people ask me how I find funky stuff while out on the road. One of my favorite ways is by chance. While satisfying an itch by navigating to something has its own reward, seeing something unexpectedly adds to it the delicious element of surprise.

In October of 2018, I rode through Hazard, Kentucky after stopping in Dwarf. Hazard was one of those town names I’d often seen on a map and thought, I should pass through there. No doubt this inclination was fueled by my childhood crush on John Schneider as Bo Duke on the Dukes of Hazzard. (Don’t judge me!)

After having a look-see around the town, I continued east towards I have no idea where. Suddenly I found myself looking at a giant Goose building on the side of the road. Yeeeehaw!

Keep exploring, my friends.

Mother Goose House
2906 N Main St
Hazard, KY 41701
The Rapture of a North Carolina Muffler Man

The Rapture of a North Carolina Muffler Man

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Much like the Spanish Inquisition, no one expects a religious experience.  It’s just one of those things that sneak up you when you aren’t lookin’. If not the sight of Saint Pete at the gates or Archangel Michael eating tacos, what could you attribute the expression on this guy’s face to?

Point of note: One of Saint Peter’s patronages is Horology. Horology and Whoreology? These homonyms are two entirely different things and will guide you down two very different internet rabbit holes.

Maybe this muff looks so in awe to me because I keep thinking that his lips are an open mouth – My God, It’s full of stars.

But upon closer inspection, he does seems to have bags under his eyes. Perhaps his look is less rapture, more why did I wake up behind a dumpster in a winter coat, with no pants and one shoe on. I mean, who doesn’t know THAT feeling?

Wait, what? No… one… else..?

Well, would you look at the time. Lunch hour is over, best be running along.

If you’d like to visit this muffler man, you’ll find him in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Metal Gear Garden – York, Pennsylvania

Metal Gear Garden – York, Pennsylvania

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While navigating my way around York, Pennsylvania to look for murals and ghost signs, I rode passed a metal garden which had giant flowers made out of gears and things. 

Something about the Gear Garden felt reminiscent of the PennDOT Sculpture Garden in Meadville, Pa.  – another great stop. Perhaps the idea of making something lovely out of throwaways is the connection.

I bet the flowers look especially lovely on a bright blue day.

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