Latest Happenings; Colonial Flag

Summer is underway, and a lot is going on in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys. There are lots of fundraiser poker runs; we keep a flyer stand outside our store if you're ever looking for ride information. Got a flyer? Bring some over or send us a copy to our Facebook page.

Teddy Foltz Memorial Poker Run

I got to ride out on the Teddy Foltz Memorial Poker Run on Sunday, June 30th. I went over by myself because Bryon's bike is in the shop (some electrical problem). See ya later, I said! Now, everyone said he could have ridden bitch with me, but c'mon, he's 6'3" and can straddle my back seat. It certainly would have gotten some looks!

But what a great turn out at Papa's Sports Club Bar in Youngstown on Poland Avenue. I was one of the last ones in and it was packed. Money raised went to the Sojourner House that helps people when experiencing domestic violence and abuse. They have programs to help people get out and move on, which isn't easy. Teddy Foltz was an abused child, and his abuse resulted in his death at the age of 14 in 2013. He was forced to do things that were physically and emotionally traumatizing, even having frostbite on his feet at the time of his death. Both the abusive boyfriend and Teddy's mother who let it continue are both in prison.

So it was super to see so many local bikers come out for support and to remember Teddy and other kids like him. The run left Papa's and headed into Pennsylvania on US 422, then went all around on some nice roads and into Salem to an American Legion hall. Back at Papa's there was a Chinese auction and more fundraising. I had a nice time and will do it again. Since we run the store Monday through Saturday, we can only make it on poker runs that happen on Sundays.

  

 Me and Poseidon











Freedom Thirteen Cycle's 5th Anniversary

In other news, Bryon and I celebrated being in business for five years!!! We opened our doors on July 1, 2014, and had a grand opening on Saturday, July 5th. Our very first customer was a truck driver, Lukasz, who was from Chicago. I think he was our good luck charm. Lukasz belongs to the Sokol Riders, a riding association largely of people from Polish ancestry or even recent immigration. Good folks!

We've come a long way. Here is what we began with, a store half of what it is now. We took that empty space and started the building of successful business. A phone store had been in the space and had green paint and red in the slat wall. It was hideous. I painted all the green a color called Coffee With Cream (good trivia question!). New carpet was installed, and we started setting up shop.

The store seems so big now compared to our starting size, and yet it seems so small because we can do so much more. All in good time.

Tenacity, persistence, planning, gumption, and a loyal customer base has made it all possible.

We were in business 8 months when we decided to expand the store into the empty space next to us. The mall manager agreed to connect the rooms and make one big store. We were happy to do that. So on April 21, 2015, we had our expansion open house and had red, white, and blue shirts made for the event. If you have one of these, it's now "vintage" since it does not have the Est. 2014 ribbon under the logo. Hold on to them, they may be priceless someday!

America's Thirteen Colonies

A lot of people have made up their own conclusions as to what our store name means since we first opened. Two people have gotten it correct on their own. What does it mean? Bryon has always been a fan of the American Revolution and the win against the tyranny of Great Britain. When we knew were opening a store, Bryon was awake for practically three days, tossing and turning at night, deep in thought during the day, when it hit him. The name had to do with freedom, and where did that freedom come from but from winning a fight for it!

His house, when I moved in and still does, is loaded with memorabilia about 1776 and July 4th when the colonies declared their independence. So it only made sense that a store that would be helping locals with motorcycle riding and the freedom it entails would have to be rooted in America's freedom! Freedom Thirteen (for the 13 colonies) Cycle.

There it was, Bryon's aha moment. It can seem like a lengthy name but it has real meaning. Some people call us Thirteen for short. Also note that we spell out thirteen instead of using the numerals because in the biker world, numbers can have very specific meaning and we didn't want to be misconstrued as a place associated with one or another. We, like America, are independent, and all are welcome at FTC, our home away from home.

When we expanded the store in 2015, the new space had a framed area that once had been a map, then a painting of flowers. I painted it Coffee With Cream, but it wouldn't cover. So, I ended up stripping it and with good reason. Bryon had decided that we needed a huge colonial America thirteen star flag, and this frame was the perfect space.

Once prepped, Bryon started painting. He wanted it to look a little worn, not some perfectly striped image. He took his time painting the entire area white, and then with strings, he portioned off the stripes in exact ratio with the required dimensions of the USA flag. It's very specific. When it came to the star field, he made a dial with a piece of wood so that he could get the stars spaced right. It was all his work and he took great pride in the art.

So before anyone in the country decided to hate the colonial flag for incoherent reasons, we had it, supported it, used it to imply what we stand for, and we will thus defend this early American flag until we're dead.

I hope you enjoyed reading about a little bit of what's going on, where we came from, and what we stand for. May liberty always be our option and a goal, to live independently and yet as brothers and sisters in the love of free thinking and movement. Celebrate America, today and every day!!!

~ Holly

World's Largest Coffee Pot 'N Stuff 'N Things

On June 23rd and 24th, we rode the motorcycles to one of our favorite areas around Bedford, Pennsylvania. We started out on the bikes meeting at Dunkin' in Hermitage on Rt. 18. It was Tiny, Hammer, Meanie, and me, and we would later pick up Bones on the way. Everything went fine and breakfast was okay, but oh man, we were making the turn off 18 to get on I-376 when Meanie's bike stopped working. Good thing the weather was finally nice, for we sat on the side of the road deciding what to do.

Meanie made the decision to take the bike home once it started after cooling off (we thought we had the previous problem fixed), and to get his Mustang and meet us at the motel in Schellsburg, PA. So we did! I, Mama Stitch, took the lead and told Tiny and Hammer that it was time for them to eat rice!!! LOL, me and my Yamaha Poseidon took hold of the road and the three of us headed to East Brady.

That's a nice ride, going east on US 422 and then east on PA 68. You land in East Brady across the river. Bones was waiting on us. Tiny couldn't wait to get off the bike for a cicada had gone up his jacket sleeve about ten miles before we stopped and it was crawling around inside! Bones was ready to ride and he took us on a short cut winding road back to PA 68. We needed to go south on PA 268 to Kittaning on US 422.

Once there, it was our regular route: Starting at Ford City, we take PA 66 south through Apollo, and after crossing the railroad tracks, turn left on PA 819. That we follow to a T in the road with PA 981, turn left, and take 981 all the way through Latrobe to US 30, the Lincoln Highway.

Well planned routes often have to be changed, especially when there has been a landslide on your road! We came upon a road closure, turned around and stopped at a gas station. The woman working said it was a landslide and wasn't sure if motorcycles could get through. Hammer being a blond thought it would be a good idea to go check it out and let us know if we could get through. We waited and waited, then Bones got a call. It was Hammer. He was on the other side of the landslide and in the company of the local police! Ha ha ha! I didn't believe Bones at first when he said that Hammer was in trouble and was about to be fined $250 for breaking the road closed signs blockade. That charming bugger told the police there were more of us on the other side and wondered if we could just come through anyway, or could he go back around the landslide and meet us at the station. He wasn't allowed. We had to find a way to meet him on the other side. Soo... we got directions around the south side of the river into Vandergrift, pulled over to look at the Google map, and got a call from Hammer saying he was looking at a blue bridge. Not helpful. Honestly, I don't know how the the Blond Viking did it, but he found us! Onward.

We road east through Vandergrift on the road we were on (Alt. 66?) and it lead us to PA 66 that we needed to be on. A left turn, then an erroneous right turn too soon, a U-turn, a right turn, and the next right turn put us on our road. From Apollo we were easy riders. We got into Latrobe and skated through, intersected with US 30, and stopped at Eat 'n Park for a break and lunch. That's when I spoke with Bryon. He was already in Schellsburg while we were still 43 miles west. But he didn't have as much fun as we did! Anyway, we finally met at the Shawnee Motel, our favorite independent motel that is run by a couple who take very good care of the place. The cost of a room is $59 + taxes.   The cool thing about this motel is that the owner was out early wiping the dew off of our bike seats! And they leave a box of disposable rags by the office so you can use them for dirty jobs.

We unpacked and relaxed for an hour or so. Some of us walked over the the market for drinks and snacks to store in the fridges. The Shawnee Motel does not have coffee makers or hairdryers. The market is open at 6am and has coffee going all day long, plus a deli and cooked food and sandwiches for every meal, AND an ice cream shop. You can't beat it.

What to do? With plenty of daylight left, I suggested that we ride some more! It's easy to get these guys on bikes. We headed east past Bedford, following US 30 to the Breezewood exit on the PA turnpike. After Breezewood, 30 has sweet mountain roads that rise and bend and turn and go downhill, well marked too. Forty miles later we found ourselves in McConnellsville. And hungry. And McDonald's it was, plus I was dying for an iced coffee and you can tell that the boys were all emaciated and starving. Yeah right! The ride back to the motel in the dark was interesting and challenging. Shortly before the motel, we all saw a deer laying by the side of the road. She had been hit and was laying there with a broken leg but her head was up and she was looking around. Oh man it was so sad! I can't forget the forlorn look on her face. Poor thing.

Monday morning everyone was up before Meanie and I were awake. But we got our shit together and had a nice morning in the sunshine. Packed and ready for the adventures, we headed east again on the Lincoln Highway. The deer from the night before was dead. 

First stop was breakfast at the Birds Nest Cafe and Bakery. Totally nice place with vintage eclectic decor, and baked goods all around. The menu was full of traditional breakfast items and meals, the coffee was hot, the juice was cold, the scrambled eggs fluffy as were the pancakes. There are a couple of outside tables too. Street parking and a lot across the way are available.


Next was a stop at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau around the block from the cafe. There you can find and as for all kinds of visitor information and buy some merchandise for some of the sites including Gravity Hill and the Koontz Coffee Pot. Pins and stickers and t-shirts and mugs were all available, but unfortunately no patches at this time. We walked around the area outside too, taking in some of the old architecture and sights like the horse tie poles alongside the streets and the gazebo in the town center adjacent to some memorials.

On our way out of Bedford, we stopped at the last sight, the world's largest coffee pot! It's called the Koontz Coffee Pot and sits on the Bedford County Fair property entrance. It's a huge building that was part of the attractions of the early days of driving when US 30 was new. It had many uses over the years. The photo below proves that Tiny really is tiny!

On the road again. Next stop: Zepka Harley-Davidson where we learned it's the oldest HD dealership in the state of Pennsylvania, and run by the third generation of the family. When we got back on US 30 west, we turned right on PA 56 east, and that was definitely a nice road to follow. It took us all the way to the outskirts of Johnstown where we finally found (after two search parties went looking) Zepka HD. Hammer refused to by Bones a trike. Isn't that just awful? What kind of friendship is that?!? :)

We shopped a little, got our goods, and thank goodness Meanie had the Mustang support vehicle because it ended up with a loaded trunk. Note to self: a 5.0 Mustang is not the most fuel efficient choice for a support vehicle. From Zepka, we went north on US 219 a short distance to the exit for the Johnstown Flood Memorial, part of our National Parks Service. That was a first visit for all of us and it's a nice place that once poured out a menace and created a disaster. 

We headed out north on 219 again and stopped on US 22 for food. We found a Taco Bell next to a Starbucks and called it heaven! Immediately the boys started talking about the gassy downside of eating Taco Bell while riding, and I ordered a Mexican pizza and said now they'd be eating rice and beans! Gosh, we are so immature! LOL! I said, "Come on minions", and Hammer replied, "Mama Stitch and the Youngins." We went right to Starbucks for coffee and watched the sky. 

Our final goal was to go home. It was 3 PM. It was just a skip up to US 422, and we took that west. However, Tiny had warned us that a storm was approaching home yet we may beat it there. We first had to take Bones back to East Brady, which we did. A little dilly dallying there probably put us into the path of the storm. We took PA 68 back to 422, and the sky got darker and darker and darker. I know, you're thinking, "Well, we sure could use some rain around here." NOT! Nature didn't care. By the time we reached New Castle out there by Fat Jimmy's BBQ, it was raining hard. We stopped at a gas station and waited a bit. 

It wasn't long before a very minuscule break convinced us to suck it up and ride home. So we did. It rained, but you get used to it after a while. It's really not that bad. We all made it safe and sound.

Well, that's that. A nice two days out on the American highways, choosing to do what makes us happy. Shoot, there's nothing like getting the hell out of Dodge for a bit.

Stay tuned for more blogs and go on out yourself and see this great nation! Your tax dollars literally pave the way so go get a taste of AMERICA!!!

~ Holly
a.k.a. Stitchblade, a.k.a. Mama Stitch