A few years ago when I received a message from a journalist who wanted to meet up in Lawrenceville to talk about motorcycles and publishing, I had little knowledge of his past or what he was trying to establish here in Pittsburgh. Typically, this type of a meeting meant that I needed to activate Business Professional Mode and hide the rough, unrestrained half of my personality in the back of the room until I got to know them better.

Oftentimes, there’s a lot going on with people under the surface. Similarly, there’s a lot more to a bike than just the bike. As someone with no plans to get involved with two wheels, Jon “Wes” Harrison never planned on building this Triumph Bonneville but was always being pestered to get into motorcycles by his good friend, Mark Marino. They served together on the police force for nearly two decades before Harrison was dealt the heartbreaking shock of losing his friend to suicide. The loss was indescribable, leaving Harrison with grief so heavy that he eventually had to leave his job.

Hey, Pittsburgh! Your annual vintage and custom motorcycle show returned this year on Saturday, September 25 at the national historic landmark of Carrie Blast Furnaces. Glory Daze was back in a big way with a new lineup of custom bikes from builders throughout the country, many of which returned to the Steel City from the last round in 2019 with new creations. After the whirlwind of 2020, this year was off to another uncertain start with a pandemic hangover causing supply and labor problems, a new virus variant, and the unpredictable worry of more occupancy restrictions.

Throughout the years, our publication has inherently gone through every type of Sportster there is. From cafe racers to stretched choppers, there’s no shortage in Pittsburgh. The XL train keeps chugging along in issue Number 10 but with another twist—this Sporty is set up for desert racing.

I’ll have to admit, it’s a little odd interviewing my wife, the photographer, for our publication. At the same time, it’s a little odd that we’ve hit a milestone issue and she hasn’t been properly introduced. With the exception of a few contributor features here and there, she’s solely responsible for every single photo you see within our pages and on our website. She’s a master at understanding light and working under high-pressure circumstances. Every day, her work is shared on social media, often with no credit or recognition.

Every community has its local motocross racers. They’re the ones who spend most of their time in the garage preparing their bike for the weekend. It might seem a little weird to our peers to disappear on Saturday and Sundays, but this way of life was all that many of us knew growing up.

Certain things in life are impossible to ignore. Whenever a custom-built BSA bobber is brought up, there’s a one-hundred percent chance we’re going to check it out. These intriguing motorcycles were manufactured by the Birmingham Small Arms Company in England throughout the 1900s and have always been considered classics in my lifetime.

It would be foolish to highlight the stylish panhead chopper from Nick Miller in our last issue without a follow-up feature of one of his other notable machines, the 1979 Harley-Davidson FXE with the appropriate nickname of “Milwaukee Vibrator.” Carrying a perfect balance between elegance and grit, the bike embodies everything that people love about choppers.

Often referred to as one of the most outlandish forms of motorsports, vintage motorcycle sidecar racing exists today as a close-knit community of dedicated enthusiasts. The thrill of a two-person team throttling around the track on a heavily modified machine keeps the spirit of vintage racing alive in more ways than one. Just one look at these rigs excites even the most seasoned motorcyclist.

The frantic pitter-patter of squirrel paws foraging through the dry fall leaves occupies my very first thought as I awake to my uncommon surroundings. The damp morning dew still holds the calming scent of last night’s campfire. I roll over in the coziness and perceived security of my tent, briefly relishing in the idea of waking with no schedule, no alarm clock, and no Zoom meetings.

In our rapidly changing world, it might shock some to know that it’s somehow still legal to roll down a highway on a motorcycle this intense. What you’re looking at is an extended 1949 Harley-Davidson FL chopper from Tony Provenzano, a personal friend of ours who builds bikes under the name Choppers to the Grave.

Again and again, the Harley Sportster proves itself to be one of the most versatile and customizable motorcycles out there. It’s the most popular base model for bikes throughout our publication, so much so that we have to set a limit per issue. For someone as tall as Pittsburgh’s Ed Jankoski, the smaller Sportster model wouldn’t seem like the right fit for his chopper build. That is until you sit on the bike.