Wishing you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons and a brilliant new year! If the worst happens on the road, or if you have questions about motorcycle law, call or text Rider Justice: 303-388-5304.
Mediocrity is a premature death while you are still breathing.
A lot of people choose to drink mediocre coffee and live a mediocre life. At Kids & Cobras, we roast specialty coffee & design goods that inspire you to live a courageous life without regrets.
Collecting Stories about People who love motorcycles & Coffee.
Slow Mag is our unique way of inviting you to slow down and enjoy that brew. With a heavy emphasis on photography, each issue captures the sexuality, danger, rebellion, freedom, and adventure that motorcycles bring to our lives.
This month our friends over at Dirt Culture took over the storytelling components. Dirt Culture is one of those brands of same heart and mind with a passion that helps us discover what unites us in these times rather than separates and divides us.
So pause. Sip some coffee. & Enjoy!
Ride Fast Drink Slow -
V2. i9.
Dirt Culture @dirtculture_usa
Sam Wake @samwake_
Joshua Winders @jkwinders
Brock Junak @brockjunak
Sam Tullis @samuelatullis
Bryant Abbott @bryantmabbott
John Johnston @juanjuanston
Motorcycle Rider Justice @motorcycleriderjustice
This month we are excited to bring a unique issue of Slow to you in collaboration with the good people over at Dirt Culture. Meet Bryant and John. Last year at Mama Tried in Milwuakie we bumped into their crew and walked away with a few pieces of apparell, prints, and shop towells. Their energy was contagious. Their passion to contribute to the culture that inspired their existence solid. In particular we were intrigued by their interest in print. Seeing that we publish a monthly Slow Mag we had to get them invovled and were so grateful when they were down to collaborate and share some of theri art with you.
In the pages that follow enjoy a few articles crafted by the creative prowess of the Brand Dirt Culture.
“We are rebel creators inspired by the people and moments which inform our world of experience. Our stories are mere reflections of the beauty we see all around us--the remarkable in the mundane, the exceptional in the ordinary. We invite you into our world, to share in the triumphs and tragedies, and to help discover what it is that unites us in these times rather than separates and divides.
With grateful hearts-- Bryant and John.
“The whole forest was peopled with frightful sounds--the creaking of the trees, the howling of wild beasts, and the yell of Indians; while sometimes the wind tolled like a distant church bell, and sometimes gave a broad roar around the traveler, as if all Nature were laughing him to scorn. But he was himself the chief horror of the scene, and shrank not from its other horrors.”
Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown”
REBEL 100
PICTURES: Dirt Culture
Dirt Culture
Words: Bryant Abbott
The Inaugural Running of The Rebel 100 was a kickass invitation-only 100 mile minibike race spread out over two days on a 15-acre plot of open field beside a quiet lake in Charles City, VA. An experiment in how much fun adult humans can have together over the span of two days in an open field, the weekend agenda included seven killer live bands (Riot Queen, The Folly, Mel Machete, Deau Eyes, Vulcanite, Long Arms, and Prabir Trior), evening karaoke solos & duets (Paradise by the Dashboard Light), camping, a food truck (1115 Mobile Kitchen), top-shelf booze at the OPEN FREE BAR (Rebel 100 Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Pearl Vodka, Lady Bligh Spiced Rum, Green Hat Gin, Exotico Tequilla, Vita Frute Hard Seltzer), lakefront skinny-dipping (why not), and a hell-raising bonfire (rained-out).
The brainchild of John Ryland & Friends at Classified Moto in Virginia, this event is truly something special. Words cannot express how grateful were are to have been a part of this inaugural experience. The event is exceptional, the people are extraordinary.
The two-day format kicked off on a Saturday morn
ing @ 10am when the flood gates to the campground opened & all event invitees began arriving for checkin at the registration booth and personal campsite setups.
For those guests who wished to compete in the twoday-minibike-ultra-marathon-relay-race, there was a basic competency test to pass before the action got underway. The minibikes, pull-start automatic “twist and go” models powered by 196cc engines with throttles on the right handlebar and rear brake levers on the left, were provided courtesy of Classified Moto. 5 teams of approximately 10 riders each quickly assembled at high noon in the pit area beside the med tent. And from that point forward, shit was on.
The temperature rose to a scorching 103 degrees by mid-afternoon on Saturday which transformed the half-mile track into one-part pulverized sawdust, onepart arid dry dirt, and one-part pure particle dust. Like gangs of minibike marauders hellbent on terrorizing the wasteland of some post-apocalyptic world, out into the dust turbine they raced, one after another, throttles pinned, tops optional.
In June of 1929, an act providing for the establishment of the Fairfield State Hospital (later known as Fairfield Hills Hospital) in Connecticut was passed and construction of the buildings on the 800+ acre campus began. Three years later, in 1933, the hospital opened its doors and welcomed its first patients, 32 men. At some point over the next 60 years, that number peaked at just over 4,000.
In 1941 electric shock therapy was introduced to patients. That same year, five attendants at Fairfield State Hospital were charged with beating a patient to death. Two of the attendants were convicted of manslaughter and one with assault.
Quality patient care is the cornerstone of any 5-Star Hospital. Patients in crisis enter through hospital doors seeking comfort, compassion, a sense of relief. Hospitals with decent upstanding reputations typically tout “exceptional quality care” as their “top priority” reiterated in their mission statement emblazoned in bronze and mounted on a plaque above the entranceway.
“When it comes to providing exceptional exceptional care, Seattle Grace outperforms all other hospitals. The difference is, WE DELIVER.”
“If a competent qualified staff and exceptional qual
ity care are things you look for in a hospital, then look no further than Grey Sloan Memorial.”
“Cook County General Hospital: Consistently delivering superior care with lower than average mortality rates.”
A survey on ward staffing patterns conducted in the late 1970’s at three Connecticut state hospitals indicated a level and quality of care considerably less than exceptional. The data collected, or the sets of data collection, revealed that the majority of patient care was being delivered by nonprofessionals. In the summer of ‘78, approximately 800 inpatients at Fairfield Hills Hospital were being cared for by an average of 9.4 nurses, 55.3 psychiatric aides, and .20 (less than one) psychiatric social workers or psychologists per shift, per day, on any given ward. Not the kind of patient-staff ratio you really want hangin’ on billboard over some busy freeway.
There were a limited number of American medical students opting for psychiatry in the 1970’s. Those who graduated and entered the field were choosing employment in privately-funded general hospitals, not state-run facilities like Fairfield Hills with low, limited, or restricted funding.
