GOOD RIDE SALUTES CAREY HART AND BIG B GO TO GERMANY WORDS AND PHOTOS: MIKE CALABRO
As we roll up to the security gate, a stout polizei waves us over and asks to see our passports. A side arm on her hip, she gestures at my tattoo-covered companion and demands he “schow das handz! You schow me das handz!” In my head, I immediately go into panic mode, imagining being tortured in a dank cell. She demands that he remove his gloves. My new buddy is about to be cuffed in a foreign country. I haven’t been in Deutschland for more than 24 hours and already have a case of fear-induced anal leakage. “Vhere ist das tattoo?” Confused, he lifts his sleeve to show the fresh ink of an Indian Motorcycle tattoo. Suddenly the officer goes full-on fan girl. “It’s you! It’s you! It’s Carey Hart!” The security guard (it turns out, not police) starts taking selfies with my riding partner. Two more security folks show up, autographs are signed, and I desperately try to figure out when I’m going to have a chance to change my underwear. For this year’s Armed Forces Day, Hart teamed up with Indian Motorcycle and traveled to Germany to honor and celebrate with our active soldiers overseas in an event called Good Ride Salutes USAG Stuttgart. During the month of May, which is National Military Appreciation Month, Indian Motorcycle donated $20 per test ride, up to $30,000. But this ride was different, not a fundraiser, but a direct action to help lift the spirits of U.S. soldiers at Europe’s largest base: U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart. Good Ride is a nonprofit charity that was started by Carey Hart and Big B. In case you missed the memo, Carey is a freestyle motocross rider turned custom bike builder who happens to be married to pop superstar Pink. Big B is a rapper and entrepreneur. The two have been friends for a couple of decades, own businesses together (including a custom bike shop), and for
