Railroad Hopping

“Some people will tell you that slow is good – but I’m here to tell you that fast is better. I’ve always believed this, in spite of the trouble it’s caused me. Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba…” - Hunter S. Thompson.


Although the majority of his notoriety came from the highly stylized "gonzo" journalism that he popularized or his book made into a movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", many will recognize the above quote and immediately attribute it to the timeless piece of motorcycle story telling known as "Song of the Sausage Creature".  It really is a story that can be revisited over and over again and can be appreciated at least to some degree by anyone who's had the privilege of being on two wheels with a running motor strapped between their legs.  Ten years ago Hunter S. Thompson passed away and we lost one of the truly inspired.

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride'".  It's often a tragedy as people build up philosophies and are forced to abandon their principles for the sake of practicality, but Hunter S. Thompson lived and died by his own accord.  What an inspiration.  If you haven't had a chance to read "Song of the Sausage Creature", I would recommend you Google it and take the ten minutes out of your day to do so.  I promise you won't regret it and maybe you'll even enjoy it.  "Buy the ticket, take the ride...and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well...maybe chalk it off to forced conscious expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten.” Hunter S. Thompson.

July 18, 1937 - February 20, 2005.