Two-Wheel Motion
Beach Cruisers in the Bay
Story by Adrian Avila

If you're walking through the block, look out!   You might see me rolling through on my 26's.   About three months ago, I got myself a smooth little beach cruiser.   Cruisers are the new version of the OG ride.   Since I could remember, I have always wanted to have a nice ride.   I would go to Santa Cruz and see these off the wall bikes - chrome, man-made-steel-shaped into works of art. They would have paint jobs that shine in the sun and glow in the dark.   So when my dream came true and I got my "shiny new bike," it was over.   No more walking around everywhere, it's straight rolling from here on out.

A good-looking cruiser kind of looks like an old-school car.   Some get done so fresh that they look like low riders or even some classic looking cars. Since I can't afford a car, having a nice car-looking bike makes up for not having one.   When you are on a fresh looking cruiser, not having a car doesn't seem to matter.

Every day I see some off the hook style bikes that just blow my mind -- crazy paint jobs, and all different kinds of modifications.    You can really tell people put in a lot of hard work into their bikes when you see all of the little things that make the bike unique, like a cool little bullet light-up front, or a nice little basket.    Hell, I even like the colorful streamers that some of the ladies have, true-true, they keep it gangsta.

I used to think that only rockabilly/punk people were into beach cruisers, but now that I am a part of this culture, I see that it is very open to anyone.   I have always been around all kinds of cultures -- graffiti, breaking, the whole hip hop culture, even a little of the skating scene.   But nothing is like the beach cruiser scene. I have seen all kinds of people with some dope-ass cruisers, anywhere from a hardcore cholo to a 75-year-old-man.   It's all for the love of being behind the handlebars of a bad little piece of steel.   It lets you create your own image out of steel and display it to folks as you ride by them.   The best part of cruising on your bike is when you see someone else with a nice bike go by and you give this look, like an unspoken brotherhood that has just been acknowledged.

So no matter if you have an original Schwinn, a remake of one, or one that you put together yourself, as long as you have that pride in what you have and keep it looking nice, you will be sure to make some new friends you never thought you would have.