British Motorcycle Gear

Made in China: The Rushmore Riders!

Mt. Rushmore, Hecho en China!

Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota…the turnaround point on our 5000-mile Western America Adventure Ride, a wildly-publicized event to show the world that the Chinese RX3 is a reliable motorcycle (and it is; we rode the entire ride with a bunch of bikes without a single breakdown, I wrote a book about it, and the rest, as they say, is history).  We cut a meandering beeline (I know…we’re running a special on oxymorons this week) on some of the best roads in the US, from So Cal to South Dakota, turned west and hit more great roads until we ran out of continent, and then turned left again to follow the Pacific Coast back to So Cal.  It was an amazing ride (you can read about it in 5000 Miles at 8000 RPM) and it was incredible fun.

My favorite moment?  Hands down, it was a photo at Mt. Rushmore.  Kyle, one of the Chinese riders, was grabbing a pic of King Kong, Leonard, Hugo, and Tso in front of the world-famous monument.   Dumb-ass me…I thought Kyle just wanted a photo of the four with Mt. Rushmore in the background and I wondered why he was making it so complicated.   Holding the camera with his right hand and barking orders in Chinese while motioning with his left, old Kyle seemed to be injecting complexity into a situation that required none.  At each new Kyle edict, the four guys in the above photo moved this way or that, changed their gaze slightly, and generally responded instantly to their Chongqing taskmaster.   It suddenly dawned on me (and the rest of the folks watching this show, who started laughing and cheering at about the same instant):  Kyle and his men were creating a “Made in China” Mt. Rushmore!

Joe Berk

Recent Posts

India 2025: Overpacking and the ABV Lottery

By Mike Huber India:  Part IV (Enroute to Alawar) The next day was the day…

3 days ago

Deer Park Winery and Auto Museum

By Joe Berk My sister Eileen is a time-share person, and she frequently swaps places…

6 days ago

India 2025: Birthday Cake, Strip Clubs, and Whiskey

By Mike Huber India:  Part III My third day in India:  I had met Iqbal…

1 week ago

The USS Midway Museum

By Joe Berk San Diego, Calilfornia.  I love that town.  One of its best attractions…

2 weeks ago

The Wayback Machine: Jerry and the Jersey Devil

By Joe Berk If you can find a copy of this weekend's Wall Street Journal,…

2 weeks ago

India 2025: Deja Vu All Over Again

By Mike Huber India:  Part II As my flight approached Delhi, India, the thoughts in…

2 weeks ago