Milo "Mr Lucky" Marcer

I was alone in Colorado and desperate to hit the trails. My guidebook had all the usual tourist crazy areas around Silverton and Ouray. This area is known as probably the best in the USA for outdoor motorcycle adventure. But I had my eye on getting to Summitville. Summitville is the site of Colorado’s worst eco mining disaster. The EPA even built a water processing plant on top of the 12k foot mountain. I wanted to go find it. So down my road and west on 160 into Pagosa springs for gas and through to Wolf Pass. A breath-taking ride up and over the stunning mountain. The road is full of turns and hairpins and bike nirvana. It’s wide and easy to pass the huge dinosaur motor homes being towed by pick up trucks.  I’m sure if the truck could communicate, it would be shouting at its owner ”Why would you leave your suburban mansion and tow a suburban mansion across the country to park it in a suburban trailer park, with all the same suburbanites, what the fuck...

We will be featuring articles written by Andy Marcer of Metric Motorcycles of Houston, this is the first of many more to come. Enjoy! GETTING AN AFRICA TWIN Finally the summer is here. Normally I would be sulking and angry. Not this year. This year I’ve retired and I’m away from that miserable heat in Texas. I am at home in S.W Colorado. For years I made a living in the motorcycle business, repairing, selling etc.  Now finally it was my chance to actually just ride them. Of course I have my BMW RT1200, a new generation BMW, away from that huge clutch and flywheel spinning around that makes me feel like I’m on one of those kids gyro, throw up rides at the carnival. To me, the very best in motorcycling.  Period. And I have Yuliya’s MV Augusta. The worst in motorcycling.  Period.  But before I left the adventure bike bug had bitten me. Well to be honest, I’d just given up on riding on the track. MSR Houston is a plain shit track. Yes it’s shit and da...

A while ago I met a young couple, and being a prickly motherfucker it took a little time to get to know them, but having done so we have become good friends. http://wolfmotomotorcycles.com/about-us/ I have another friend, and all around good guy, perhaps at times too much of a good guy, but when someone is so inherently genuine, it really is not hard to be close to them. https://woodstockmoto.co Both these young guys run small businesses and both work and plug at them all day long, nothing you wouldn’t expect from any business owner I agree, but both them and myself have the same issues, and that is breaking through. So next time you spend your money, give a little thought as to just where that money is going, support your local businesses. The more you put into those businesses the more successful they become the more they are able to offer you. So before you head of to make your next purchase look around you and see if there is a local alternative,...

Jorge is a twat, no if's, and's or buts the guys a arrogant prick. Great champions are talented and charismatic, Rossi, Marques are Lorenzo will be easily forgotten, the events of qualifying Misano yesterday just prove my point. There is no guarantee that Rossi will win his his 10th world championship, but if he does he will most certainly be the most popular with fans and other riders. I love Valentino, I'm Italian, why would I not, but it goes beyond that, it goes to the charm and character of the man, and only time will tell if anyone will ever come close.

"Golden Brown" The BMW R100rs complete and strutting her stuff. Thanks go to the photographer Devin Paisley for doing this first shoot. Beautiful and elegant by day but a prowling tiger at night. What an addiction

It's been a while, I know, formulating these things in my mind sometimes takes longer than I would like. I have a really bad memory, I have always had a sketchy one, but after a bike accident in 2006 it really isn't good at all, lets say it's selective, but I don't get to choose what sticks and what doesn't. I've been told that it's laziness and I should try harder, but I really try, I have tried making notes, then I can't remember where I put them, I started writing them down in a note book, when I can actually find the note book I can't remember what the notes were for. I have tried taking photos of how I built or stripped something and a couple of days later.... the photos mean nothing and I can't make head or tail of what I was doing..... Ok, I don't want to alarm you, a lot of stuff sticks and I function and do things just fine, but things would be so me easier if I could remember. I am now going to get to why I wrote this blog, I have...

Tell me, just tell what seems to be the point? Why do people that are freaking assholes, who are users and takers always seem to get ahead, and those that take the time to help and support never do?  Is the climbing over the next persons corpse really the only way of getting ahead? Does pushing in-front of a good friend to get something before them make you great, or better or happier? A man should be sufficient for himself, and when that falls out of balance we end up like this, when we are constantly told by all and everyone around us that you are not enough, will never be enough, never have enough, we will always want and need for more and never ever be sufficient for oneself. Perhaps it's time to believe you are where you should be, and that the time wasted chasing what other deem to be enough is time wasted. That useless pursuit, isn't what makes you whole but the belief that you are who you are meant to be, and that fucking others over empties you and by doing so y...

The Rand Easter Show, is a huge consumer exhibition, where thousands of exhibitors from all over the world would come to Johannesburg to trade, it was in fact the largest show of it’s kind in the world outside of the US for a long time through the 60's and 70's. I must have been six or seven years old, when my Dad and I went to the Rand Easter Show, I must have been that age because it was just the two of us, which meant my brother’s were still to young to come along. My farther had been sent by his boss to take a look at some German machinery that was on exhibition, or something like that, because my Dad wasn’t the kind of guy to go without having to be prodded with a stick, of course for me, it was going to be great, because as a kid the only attraction was the Fair Grounds. The Fair Ground was huge, with Rollercoaster, Octopus and all sorts of rides, there were games of skill where you could win stuff and candy vendors, and tucked away in a corner there it was thi...

Hey guys, you know we went to Kalahari Speedweek last year and our ultimate aim is to go to Bonneville in Utah the cathedral of speed. So we have just launched a fundraising campaign via Indigogo, and we really need your help, if you can please donate, but if not please share it on all your social media networks,with a little luck we will be sending you some sponsorship packs so take a look at the campaign and please help. Thank you.

I was once told, "If you want loyalty, get a dog" I have a dog, and there are but a few who measure up, and that is the shame of it all. As a species we don't measure by even a dogs standards, it seems we have become so self absorbed and self promotionally greedy that it matter not who, or what we trample to get our own way or get slightly ahead of the next. It's no wonder we find ourselves in perpetual conflict, as people, races, religions and regions. I watch my tv and I see ads where children tell adults to stop worrying about them and worry more about their children having a future, and it's obscene on so many levels I feel my head exploding, and if I need to explain why that's obscene on so many levels then we are truly lost. I guess I'm melancholy because of yesterdays news that Robin Williams took his own life. I suffer depression as do many people, and if a man like Robin Williams, with all the wealth at his disposal can't get help, then what ...

I have been thinking about this blog for a while and I just haven't found the right way to express myself without sounding like a whiny ass hole, which I probably am, but as I have your attention that makes you what...? There are a few things that have raised their heads again, and I wanted to just say something about it, obviously without offending anyone, though realistically that isn't going to be possible. Success, why is it so hard for a lot of people to be gracious about others success? If they took the gamble and worked hard, put themselves out there, risked it all and made a success of something, why is it that it can't be supported by their contemporaries? Why is it that these people choose to shun or be ass holes when one would think that the success of one benefits all, it just astounds me. Oh and please I know all that shit that people are ass holes and bla, bla blaaa fuck we have all heard it and at my age I have seen enough of it, still I choose to believe ...

I'm so bored with it all. I check the wires for some news on the world, and all I read these days bitching, jeez a little positivity some times would be nice, perhaps I should hang around a better bunch of people...lol I find it funny however that those bitching and complaining are always the ones who shouldn't, hey and in this, I will own it too, cause it did make me pause a long while before I wrote this. I'm just so tired of the stupid infighting and back stabbing going on in all fields, how no one can just shut up if you have nothing good to say, and don't mask it in constructive criticism, because you need the right credentials to get on that soap box. It's said that to understand the man you need to walk a mile in his shoes, well in my humble opinion, before you criticise the man you should be running an ultra-marathon in his shoes, so before you go shooting your mouth off about how bad that artist is and how bad that band is, or how ugly that girl i...

Love or hate social media, that’s completely up to you, but today and it’s early in the day so that’s not good, but here is my line in the sand. I am not going to go on about opinions and assholes again I have said it way to often, so here is my brain fart. I use social media to promote myself, and my studio, I don’t have a shop front, street studio, I have chosen another path and that is to build the kind of space I want to be in all the time, and then share that with my clients. So we work on an appointment based routine, which gives each artist time to spend with there client and design custom pieces for them. There are many pros and cons to this as you can well imagine, but the single most important thing is getting the message out there and as any small business will tell you this isn’t always easy. Client word of mouth has been our greatest allies, but social media has really catapulted this idea of mine and made it a viable venture. Every morning I get up and “check the wir...

Thursday night at about 9pm we had just closed the shop, and I was making my way home on my Vespa. Crossing over the bridge and onto the circle on ramp to the highway I saw the moon, it was huge and hung low over the Durbanville hills, bright and gold, it felt like you could reach out and touch it. Swinging around on the on ramp Table Mountain came into view with the sun setting behind it, this huge beautiful black mountain with the most spectacular vignette from aquamarine to indigo to black, behind it as the darkness fell. I had just spent 10 solid hours tattooing and was really exhausted, but this beautiful vision could, no, would not be ignored and the message that came with it either, you really are your nickname Mr Lucky. Lucky to live in such a beautiful place, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, I have two brothers, a wonderful person with two amazing kids in my life, and my child little Laika,  but those are the obvious ones, I am lucky all the time, my shop is doing...

Well nothing really good comes from all the shit around you and this situation is no different. The morning of the 27th I got a call from the IStore manager, saying that he was really sorry, but they had found the issue, and it was gonna take 5 more working days to return my money. I had just got out the shower, was drying myself while taking the call, speaker phone dudes, and I just lost my mind, I am pretty sure I was close to bursting a blood vessel in my brain, bursting through my skin and like a party balloon that gets away from you my head would go flying wildly across the room, I'm grateful it didn't. Certain threats were issued, and I gave him 12 hours or I was going to the store. Yesterday after having been contacted by a young woman from the group, they had arranged and did, in all fairness drive to my home and give me my money in cash, and for my troubles a R500 gift voucher for the IStore, for those that don't know I was brought up in an Italian Catholic house...

It's been a few weeks since I wrote something, and I guess you could say I been content, but you know you would be wrong... I just have been giving to much energy to the shit surrounding me that I just haven't taken the time to write. Things have been weird, I mean really weird, people getting possessive about fuck all, and taking up my space and time, not to mention the constant freeloaders, I just had to eventually make myself heard, and so some are pissed at me, but I really don't give a continental shit. I have been doing some cool work of late and have some great projects besides the 3 new t shirt designs, I have been doing some really nice tattoos. Every morning for 2 weeks I'm woken by a baby crying in the car park across the street, firstly why is this mother bringing her child with to sit in a car park all day? Secondly why is it constantly crying? I need to find out what is going on, and call child protection services. Jeez I have so much to b...

I have been talking to my good friend Rob, a financial adviser, about money, and how we go about spending it, he drives a A5 wanted to own a coupe in his life, and on impulse went and did it. Now he's thinking of getting something smaller less expensive, but was feeling a little pressure to keep up appearances in his industry, that clients might not see him as successful. But what came to mind, especially in his circumstance is that he's advising people to spend wisely, not to spend on huge luxury items, and so the thinking was that by not bowing to this pressure you would show that you take your own advise. Now you're wondering, cool, good for you but what the fuck are you on about. Well last year I felt the financial pinch in a big way, and I had to make some really hard decisions, as I'm sure many have had to do in the last 3/4 years under the financial climate, but I found one thing, one solitary sentence that pulled me through. DO I REALLY NEED THIS? before any cu...

1  a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to  happen ,  without proof :  they made certain assumptions  about   the  market  |  [ with  clause  ]  :  we ' re working   on   the   assumption   that  the time of death was after  midnight . I was amused at assumptions made by what I had posted, and it came to mind that people making assumptions say a hell of a lot more about themselves and there characters and motives. Assumptions are made without fact, or proof, so already this sets the scene for disaster,  assumptions are just mere mental conjectures that do not thrive on reason ability and are therefor, questionable. An extreme and overt reaction, made by some one on an assumption, says something very clear about them, the reaction is that the issue pertains to them in some way, (the assumption) but if it didn't then that extreme reaction only underscores the guild or involvem...

So January has begun with a bang, and the workflow is good and I am most grateful to all my awesome clients. This month brings up two big things on both end of the spectrum for me, First is the annual SIX tattoo convention held here in Cape Town and I will be exhibiting of course, but the really awesome thing is I have great friends who are coming from upcountry and it always is a complete blast. So if you are in and around don't forget to come and visit at the BMW Pavilion the dates are 27th, 28th and 29th. The other is the second anniversary of the passing of my beloved Hymne, not a single day goes by still without thinking about her, so a very bitter sweet month. But I’m not going to leave you on that note, this is the year that is going to the end of the world, according to the Mayans. The Mayan calendar is divided into Seven Ages of Man. The fourth epoch ended in August 1987. The Mayan calendar comes to an end on Sunday, December 23, 2012. So having said that wha...