Catharsis thy name is Scramster

So it's been quite some time since I've had the chance to do a ride that has lasted more than a few days. It's been even longer since I've done a ride report. Seems like a brief reintroduction is in order.

My name is Dave , aka: Ginger Beard. I do indeed have a ginger beard. I also have a slight motorcycle addiction that I inherited from my father much to the chagrin of my loving mother. I grew up in Loxahatchee Florida, have been riding motos since the age of 9 and I've been under the spell of their siren's song ever since.

Sure, I've done quite a lot of other things with my time since my 9th trip around the sun. I've skateboarded for 35 years, was sponsored by Rollerblade for a while when I decided to try inline skating, street raced for years as a source of income, raced MTBs for many years then got heavy into freeride , fought MMA throughout my 20's and managed to raise a wonderful daughter in spite of myelf. Throughout all those years and shenanigans, motorcycles remained omnipresent.

A quick flash forward and I left my job of over a decade just this past February and have been floundering a bit ever since. The positive side of this is I have a chance to reinvent myself now that I'm 44 years old. The negative aspect is that I struggle with depression and I often find it hard to stay focused and motivated. That's where my Scramster and a long ride come into play.

At the behest of my lovely and loving partner in this quagmire called life, I set off for a few days to ride, visit a couple of friends and just take some time to think.

The dude and his woman...


The bike.



I built the Scramster out of my dad's "Bucket List Bike". A stock 2001 xl1200h that he rode from Homer Alaska to my house in Pembroke Pines Florida for his 70th birthday back in 2010. Since then I've put 50,000 additional miles on it mostly by taking trips like the one in this RR.

Me and the man that gave me the gift known as motorcycle addiction. Thanks dad!



My plan for this ride was simple. I wouldn't plan a route, just poke at the gps for a general sense of direction and go. For the first leg of the trip I needed to be in Asheville in three days. Not too far away but a bit of a push on this bike. It hates the interstate and will remind you of this by punishing the hell out of you for it.

Let's hit the road shall we??

Sneak in a last smooch..

Welcome aboard Merc16, Larryboy and Kojack06! I'm not sure how epic this ride will appear in print but I hope to detail it well enough to be either entertaining or offensive. Either way, we can kill some time together!

One last systems check and I'm rolling out by 0 800.

In large part this trip is about introspection and coming to grips with some big changes in my life. Life is about growth and change. Sometimes it's for the better and sometimes it's a bit of fuckery. The challenge is in the path to figuring out which version of change you are currently experiencing.

I set my Bluetooth to play an old British Ska mix and headed for US27 through the farmlands and to the east side of Lake Okeechobee. I want to make it to GA by nightfall.


The ride up US27 was uneventful as I made my way to 78 around Lake O. As I'm grooving along 78 just mindlessly taking in the sights and enjoying the lack of traffic, I get a text from my daughter that seems urgent. I reach a spot to pull off and give her a ring....

"Hi daddy! I just got back from the doctor's office..."

Guess who's going to be a grandpa?!!

Shit just got a little more interesting!

A nice view of Lake Okeechobee.



And the pic I inadvertently took as I damn near dropped my phone upon finding out that my daughter is pregnant.

Wow I wholeheartedly appreciate the offer but this ride report is a retrospective as I returned from my trip a week ago.

I completely cut out my response about the bike!!

Forks are from an xr600l , lowered with heavier springs. Custom made adapter to fit the HD brake. Machined HD rotor to fit Honda hub. I fabbed all the parts in my garage except for the machining on the rotor. Racks, high pipe, turn signal relocation, relaced rear hug to Excel rim, sest pan and foam, tank and tail bags, etc.

I'm poor but determined.

Sprockets are from PBI. Stock muffler with a modified baffle. Still nice and quiet but flows a little better for the 2 into 1 setup.

Yeah , yeah. My buddies are already calling me gramps.

Man I'm glad to hear that it has worked out for you. I've had several job offers in the industry I was part of but I just don't know anymore. I've lost heart as it were. Really want to try amd do something on my own again. My biggest issue is that I've done too many things over the years and feel a bit watered down. I've managed retail , worked for an ecological impact firm (I'm a nerdy bio major), worked as a vet tech, I've done sales and done product development for various companies, owned an automotive performance shop, run construction crews , worked as a cartoonist as well as video game character designer and been a head bicycle mechanic for a high end shop (the job I just left). I've also done a ton of small jobs over the years and recently have been doing restoration work on vintage autos and bikes. I feel quite lost right now career wise.

A few projects over the years...



Since being a moto nomad is out of the question right now, I've got to get my head screwed on straight and pick a direction before I'm angrily greeting people at the front entrance of a box store.