Events and Rides
Front of the Pack

A Houston Prospect's Story by Jeff

2012/03/12 13:27
Chapter Pic
Raoul’s Intro - Take a ride with Houston’s 2011-2012 Prospect as he introduces himself, describes how he was introduced to the Houston chapter, his hang around period and one of the challenges he accepted to “prove” himself to the Houston members. No further introduction is required ...

 Here’s Jeff’s Story - I go to church… a lot. I am a preacher, and have been for the past twenty years. Other than skipping church on vacations—(which I have done for years without shame or reservation)—I am almost always at church every single Sunday.

Up until just recently, a Sunday off was just that. No church. No responsibilities. No nothing. Freedom. Rest. Still grateful to God, but in a very relaxed way. But now, the Sundays that I am away from my ministerial responsibilities are different.

 Read More...
0 Comments

2010 Ride to Papa Jack's Grave by Wango Tango

2011/08/29 12:12
IMG_1979
Last year, after Big “D”s Lifer Appreciation Party Raoul, Super Pickle, Eyeball and I struck out for Arkansas. We were following Raoul, and not really knowing where we were going. It was a wonderful “destination unknown” ride through the Ouachita, Boston and Ozark Mountains.

On the second day of our journey we found ourselves in the small town of Westville, Oklahoma. Just outside the town, we turned down a little country road and pulled up in front of a farmhouse for sale. Eyeball and I followed Raoul and Super Pickle into the property. We watched as they searched through the tall grass in an open field south of the farmhouse. Soon Eyeball and I were signaled to come over to a spot where they were standing.

They pulled the grass back and there was Papa Jack and Jaynie's headstone with the Gypsy logo and the inscription “Together for Eternity” on it. Raoul and Super Pickle had been to the gravesite before and probably knew what to expect, but Eyeball and I hadn't and I was moved, even awestruck, by this sight. Papa Jack was the man who established the Gypsy MC in Texas, and the club as we now know it today. I had no idea he and his wife Jaynie were buried in Oklahoma, actually I had no idea where they were buried. We cleared the weeds from the gravesite with our hands and took some pictures. Super Pickle told us that Papa Jack and Jaynie had lived in the farmhouse on the property, and Papa Jack had suffered a fatal heart attack while tending to his horse in the barn. His wife Jaynie had passed away  in 2001, and they were both buried here, with their infant son and Jack’s dog Pistol Pete. Their home was left vacant and had burned. It was torn down in 2007. Read More...
0 Comments

Prospect's Iron Butt Ride

2011/05/11 12:25
Lessons Learned on a Prospect’s Iron Butt
By: Gypsy Prospect Eran Melnik

Doing the Saddlesore 1000 event sanctioned by the Iron Butt Association, i.e., 1,000 miles in less than 24 hours, had always been an aspiration of mine. I can remember riding a Honda GL1800 while I was still in the Marine Corps and finding out about this endurance ride. I knew it was something that I wanted to and would do….eventually. Well, as everyone knows, life gets in the way of things and I went on a long hiatus of not riding. Whether it was being deployed or just the lack of a motorcycle, I found myself in mid-2011 with my pretty-much-new Dyna Street Bob and still no Iron Butt Association patch or license plate frame.

Starting in early 2011 I was dead set on accomplishing an Iron Butt ride. After months of planning and plans falling through, as they tend to do, I finally found myself with a full 8 days off work and only the open road ahead of me. While planning this ride the Houston Chapter Godfather, Raoul, was an enormous help and the fact that he lives in Arizona gave me a destination. Raoul graciously offered to meet me at the end of my 1,000 mile route as well as put me up for a few days at his home and even be my tour guide around beautiful parts of Arizona.
Read More...
0 Comments

2011 Laughlin River Run

2011/04/30 12:09
Earlier this year I promised myself that I’d post at least one blog on the Houston web site each month.. If I’m to hold true to this promise I’ll have to bust my tail to get this one done and published - after all, it’s the 28th and I’m sitting in a room on the 12th floor of Harrah’s Casino in Laughlin Nevada, nowhere close to the computer I use to manage the Houston web site. I rode in from Phoenix Tuesday and met Houston member High Stakes. For the first two days we’ve been touring Laughlin, waiting for the run to pick up momentum.

I packed my ’09 Road Glide on Tuesday morning and left Phoenix before noon. The ride to Laughlin is just short of 250 miles and, in spite of high winds, I arrived four hours later. The wind was brutal, a consequence of all the bad weather, tornados and such that’s impacting the eastern U.S. At least there wasn’t rain in the desert. The weather is projected to be clear and windy out west with continued storm activity east of Texas. So much for the weather.

Read More...
0 Comments

Captain Too High's Benefit

2010/09/26 13:42
Captain Too High’s Benefit was a rousing success. Captain’s had two strokes and major surgery that sold us on the idea of helping him get back on his feet financially. The Houston chapter worked really hard to ensure that all the details for the benefit came together. We had help from a lot of people we’d like to recognize:
    The weather cooperated and friends of Captain Too High and the Houston Gypsys turned out to support the Captain. Registration was very close to what we had planned so we had enough food, soft drinks and water for everyone. Gypsy MC Houston Charter members: Cowboy and Captain Too High did the majority of the auctioneering. Members from Gypsy chapters included Fort Bend, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Bayou City, League City, Calallen and Cuero. Gypsy black and red rockers also attended. Several clubs showed support for the Captain: Boozefighters, Street Lords, Vietnam Veterans, CMA and a couple more that I may have missed (my apologies).

     Read More...
    0 Comments

    Pilgrimage to Papa Jack's Grave

    2010/09/06 10:46
    Guys like Webster say “a pilgrimage can be a journey to a holy place, undertaken for religious reasons” or it “can be a trip to a place with special significance”. To me, visiting the Simerly Family Cemetery in Westville, Oklahoma is a trip to a place with special significance … my periodic trips to Westville have become an important part of my Gypsy life. Papa Jack Simerly, the man who established the Gypsy MC in Texas, lived his latter years in Oklahoma and passed from this world in 1998. His wife, Jaynie, joined him in the Gypsy MC Forever Chapter three years later, in 2001. It was Jack’s wish that he and Jaynie would be buried on their farm. Gravestones mark the final resting place of Jack, Jaynie, their infant son, Lee, and Jack’s dog, Pistol Pete. Papa Jack and Jaynie’s farm is located off of Highway 62, about a quarter of a mile south on Thomas Road, just west of the Highway 62 and 59 intersection.
     Read More...
    0 Comments

    LA Calendar Motorcycle Show

    2010/08/10 10:31
    Living in Arizona has its advantages. Arizona is so close to the left coast that riding to California is much easier than making the two-day plus ride from Texas. Jammin’ to Northern California is a haul, 750 miles; So Cal is half the distance. Crossing the desert can be a challenge, especially when the long hot summers in Phoenix start to wear on you. Once across, riding the Pacific Coast Highway is a real treat.

    My last trip to So Cal included a stop at the LA Calendar Motorcycle Show. The one-day event is held in Long Beach, within spitting distance of the Queen Mary … right on the ocean. Bikernet.com, who has been kind enough to publish several of my stories, is one of the sponsors of the show. Since I was already in El Lay, a friend and I spent a couple hours walking the show. I was able to visit my publisher, see some of the hot new builds that the locals are putting together and enjoy the sweet ocean breeze. Sometimes in life are better than others; this was one of the good times! Read More...
    0 Comments

    Nactoberfest - Party with the Nacogdoches Gypsy MC

    2009/10/19 20:42
    Our Gypsy brothers and sisters in Nacogdoches expanded their event calendar and added “Nactoberfest”; this makes two great parties at the Nacogdoches clubhouse, the other being “Pig in da Ground” that’s in February. I tell everyone that I come in contact with to be sure and travel to deep east Texas and party down with the Gypsys for both of these events. Read More...
    0 Comments