(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
Hello, my name is Jeff Goldblum.
Motorcycles.
We think we know what the story is, you know, the rebel, rule breaker.
There's a lot more to this than meets the eye.
My first memory with motorcycles, my mom always said,
"Don't ride a moto... Don't do it, it's a magic carpet
"to death and misery."
Why do people have such a mad,
mad crush on motorcycles?
I've always found them kind of unnerving, to be honest.
In my acting career, a couple of times
I was called upon to ride a motorcycle.
I took the test, I flunked.
Never let it be said that I'm somebody who gives up too easily
without some kind of fight. But I tell you, a few decades later,
I don't know if I'm really ready to get back on the horse.
(UPBEAT MUSIC CONCLUDES)
JEFF: I think we start with baby steps.
Baby, baby steps, nice and slow, slow, slow, slow.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: I'm in a place called Huntington Beach.
There's a meeting of bikers and their bikes.
(MOTORCYCLE REVVING)
Howdy doody?
They don't seem all that friendly.
Okay, well, okay, here we go. Come on, come with me.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: I've had a pre-conception about bikes my whole life.
I, kind of, thought they were for a certain kind of person,
which isn't exactly me.
But I'm willing to be open-minded and clear eyed and big hearted
about the whole thing.
-I am a sculptor. -You're a sculptor?
And when I built this bike, I didn't want to ride a regular motorcycle.
I wanted to make something special.
We're in it for the wild-hearted adventure and the romantic expression.
-Look at that thing. -Yeah, it's a beautiful bike. Absolutely.
Wow! Well, okay.
The bikes here are beautiful. I'm all about a custom motorcycle.
How about all these... Look at... People are coming, coming, coming, great.
This is the one community where you could be with your kids, your grandparents...
your mom and your dad, all in the same setting.
Can I invite you to go on a ride with me? We're gonna make that happen.
JEFF: Well, I... Okay, maybe, maybe.
It's a pleasure to meet you, and this is "Sikh Riders", S-I-K-H.
Yeah. Founder and the president of Sikh Riders America.
How many Sikh Riders of motorcycles, if you can hear over all this...
(JEFF STAMMERS)
-Damnable noise. -Yeah.
-How many Sikh Riders are there? -We have about 150 members nationally.
JEFF: Okay, more are coming.
So, are there more motorcycles
in California than any other state? This seems to be like the...
-Yes, I believe so. -Why is this the motorcycle state?
We get the right weather to ride the year-round.
-The weather, of course. -GURINDER: Yeah.
JEFF: I think my pre-assumptions should be left at the door
because as we see, bikes are used by people of all stripes.
All around the world, you know, they're affordable, they're practical,
they do work.
And tonight, high style showpieces.
(CROWD CHEERS)
Jeff, you and I are going to be taking a little walk around the parking lot,
and checking out all the bikes.
(CROWD CHEERS, APPLAUDS)
I saw this one, very beautiful, yeah.
(CROWD CHEERS, APPLAUDS)
What are we going by?
MALE VOICE: So, we're looking for something that's really custom.
All right.
I'm certainly no expert, but I must say,
I'm enjoying being around this smorgasbord
of lovely people. Gee it's all feeling kind of communal.
I'm gonna tell you what, there's one that I really do like.
Where's Lenny? Nine-five-one customs,
-come on up. -(CROWD CHEERS, APPLAUDS)
-JEFF: So, that's your... -MALE VOICE: My vote.
-JEFF: That's your vote? -MALE VOICE: What's your vote?
Lily, is Lily here?
-MALE VOICE: Lily! -JEFF: Because...
The dragon bike. Awesome!
I think your bike is fantastic.
There you go, and there are our winners, they both get trophies.
-Congratulations, you guys. -Congratulations!
(CROWD CHEERS, APPLAUDS)
JEFF: Well, I had an initial expression of the bikers here.
Intimidating types, but you know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
They were certainly sweet and very welcoming, they were delightful,
no intimidating behavior here.
I already get the idea that they bond with each other
in sisterhood and fraternity, and that's a lovely thing.
Sorry about all the noise.
I guess that's part of the deal, that's what you sign up for.
They love the noise.
Of course motorcycles are expressions of individual style.
But, I'll tell you, there's something else about motorcycles that I'm not so
wildly crazy about. And that's gas guzzling.
But that's no good for our beautiful planet.
But I hear there's a revolution going on in motorbike design
that may be an important game changer.
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
-JEFF: Well, cheers to you and in Swedish? -Skål.
Okay, here I go. Hmm! Hmm! Hmm.
Hey, I'm using a little muscle pressure there.
What are your taste buds picking up?
Does it have any, you know, kale or spinach or celery in it?
Or anything like that?
You're actually drinking parts of the motorcycle.
Really? That's incredible, that's why we're drinking this.
If we can inspire someone
to say, "Hey, I didn't know you could make things out of that."
"That doesn't harm our environment. Why isn't everything else built this way?"
-Right. You got the bike on the premises? -I got the bike in the back.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: Are you confused? Let me explain.
Taras Kravtchouk is the brains behind a motorcycle
that's constructed in a whole new way.
I think I have a couple of ideas about what this is made of.
-That seat. -What the heck is that?
-What? -TARAS: You can smell it.
-Woah, well, what the heck is this? -It's mango leather.
-Yeah. -Dried, fermented mango.
-Okay. -TARAS: So, here's another part,
that you also drank earlier.
I drank some flax.
You take the long fibers from the flower and then you make it into a weave.
Oh, boy, I'm getting a lesson in a lot of things.
I'm starting in first grade in a lot of areas.
All the shiny is recycled aluminum.
Very, very good. So this is entirely degradable and non-wasteful.
Yeah, and just
understand that whatever nature already has,
we can build things out of them, you wanna go for a ride?
(MOTORCYCLE REVS)
JEFF: Now we're talking, this machine is lean and green.
Ooh, look at me go.
Oh, yeah!
Embracing the electric motorcycle doesn't mean losing any style.
It's a statement of intent, I think it's a blueprint for the future.
I feel like I'm flying, I'm flying.
Of course I'm not yet even moving.
You know, one step at a time. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
This entire machine gets, out of a possible ten Goldblums...
-ten Goldblums. -Nice.
-JEFF: Yeah. I love it. -Thank you, Sir.
-Well, thank you. -(TARAS CHUCKLING)
Grand work, electric,
green, sustainable, biodegradable.
Right up my alley.
Will I join that future in one way or another?
I still hear my parents' voices, here and there, saying "Danger."
What? "Danger, we said. Risk!" Shut up. Shut up!
But, are motorcycles worth the risk?
(EXCLAIMS)
Are they worth the risk?
MALE VOICE: They zoom their motorcycles towards the most violent and sadistic act.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: But let's make no bones about it.
Riding a motorcycle can be inherently dangerous.
Nobody should ever ride a motorcycle without a helmet. I never do.
JEFF: You can just get really, really hurt.
There are far safer forms of transportation,
that's all there is to it.
So sometimes, it is best to listen to that inner voice,
even if that inner voice might belong to your dear, sweet mother.
-(CROWD CHEERING, APPLAUDING) -(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: I've been invited to hang out, so to speak.
with a few bikers who have an interesting, and seemingly unrelated passion.
But it's been suggested that this might be a way for me to overcome my concerns.
EFE: Hey! Go!
JEFF: Hey, what have I gotten myself into?
Talk about going from the frying pan into the fire.
I'm not going to have to do this, am I?
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)
CHARLES: That was a little low. That's all right, it's good.
JEFF: Wow! Wow! Amazing, amazing, amazing.
What are the parallels, and, or, what do they have in common?
Motorcycles and trapeze.
In the air you feel so free, so alive.
On the motorcycle, you feel true freedom on the road.
So, I think a lot it's about that, it's that adventure.
You have to trust your own self
about controlling your own reflexes, your own emotions...
your own muscles.
They both require all your focus and being in the moment.
-EFE: Let's do it! -CHARLES: You got it.
-You got this, cool. -Hey, hey, hey yeah, I did it.
-EFE: Nice. -Okay, okay.
JEFF: I think, at this point I should disclose
that besides being trepidatious
around motorcycles, I'm also not crazy about heights.
Oh, boy, hey, it's a little shaky, this ladder, isn't it?
Yeah, it's made of aluminum, so it's designed to flex.
-I see, okay. -CHARLES: Don't look down.
Okay, already, I got to tell you, this is unpleasant.
I'm embarrassing myself already.
-EFE: You're doing amazing, man. -CHARLES: You got this.
EFE: Keep looking at your hands.
-EFE: Couple more steps. -But what happens at this point?
CHARLES: You're almost there!
EFE: Then you're gonna grab this one...
-Grab this? -...and you can...
-EFE: Exactly. -And up we go.
One more step, yes, sir.
-Right. -And now, step on the board.
Okay.
You guys, that's horrible. That's absolutely horrible.
-(CHARLES CHUCKLES) -JEFF: That's absolutely horrible.
JEFF: Now, let me understand this once again.
I'm putting myself through this, why?
Okay, here's the concept.
Sometimes life's most important moments demand courage.
(ENGINE REVS)
JEFF: Experts tell us that we, Homo sapiens, are neurologically wired up
to navigate a world that's full of uncertainties.
And in order to grow, we must seek our own balance of risk and reward.
When we face our fears, the brain releases dopamine,
which causes a natural high,
and that can lead us beyond just engaging with risk,
to actually embracing it.
Anyway, that's the theory, let's see what happens to me in practice.
Hips forward, little bit more for me, let me feel your body weight.
You're doing a great job, Jeff, don't change this position.
You are in a wonderful position, sir, you are ready to go.
So, ready, bend your knees, and jump.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)
CHARLES: Jeff, how are you doing up there?
JEFF: Good!
That's one small step for mankind.
And one giant plop down into the net for Jeffy Goldblum.
Hey, I know it wasn't exactly a triple somersault,
but I think it might have provided enough of a poke
-to my threshold for that kind of thing. -EFE: Very good.
JEFF: So, what's the lesson that we learned? Well, I think,
it's that everybody's got to find their own way of managing being scared.
And Charles is a good person to talk to about that.
Can I ask what caused you to need that?
Unfortunately, it was an accident, I was just trying to get
-from point A to point B safely. -Right.
And somebody lost control of their vehicle going the opposite direction from me.
-Yeah. -Jeez, I'm so sorry. I didn't...
It's okay, everything's risky, but if you're capable,
a motorcycle can be a great tool for the road.
Right, this is ostensibly, I guess, the idea.
If I can jump off and do some swinging on that trapeze,
then I guess I'll be able to ride a motorcycle?
It takes courage, but if you can overcome that challenge,
you can overcome just about anything.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: Okay. I've procrastinated, and jibber-jabbered long enough.
I think I'm finally ready to mount up.
Can I invite you to go on a ride with me? We're gonna make that happen. Let's go!
I thought Porsche had meant come and ride alongside her,
but here I am on the back of her bike, and that's fine.
It's a little bit of a rest, but I'm not chickening out.
I'm going to get a lesson on how to ride.
Hey, this is spectacular, look how beautiful.
PORSCHE: Isn't it?
-JEFF: Oh, my gosh. -PORSCHE: This is definitely
one of the best ways to see the country.
The world kind of opens up to you a little bit, you know?
-JEFF: Yeah. -PORSCHE: You have to become
one with the machine.
JEFF: One with the machine?
Gee, that sounds kind of advanced.
I mean, hopefully that doesn't have to happen right off the bat.
That kind of surrender.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
(GIRLS CHEER)
-ANYA: Yeah! -ASHMORE: Wow!
-You stay on, yes? -PORSCHE: I'm going to stay on.
-JEFF: Thank you very much. -PORSCHE: Welcome to the desert!
-You're gonna teach me to ride? -ASHMORE: That's right.
We're gonna teach you on the dirt bike, the best place to learn.
-ANYA: Absolute best. -On a dirt bike?
It is? Why is that the best place to learn?
Dirt don't hurt, just...
-Always remember that, dirt don't hurt. -Okay.
I'm so lucky, Anya Violet and Ashmore Ellis
belong to a collective known as Babes Ride Out.
And they host nationwide events that inspire women...
to experience firsthand
the thrill and power of riding a motorcycle.
And for today only, I'm their private student.
I want to know about bikes.
-(IMITATES DIRT BIKE) -(ANYA IMITATING DIRT BIKE)
That's the sound of a dirt bike.
-(IMITATES DIRT BIKE) -You gotta do this wrist, throttle wrist.
Oh!
And then if you're really sending it, it's like... (IMITATES DIRT BIKE)
(CHUCKLES)
-Listen to that vibrato... Okay. -Another octave,
-you know. Yeah, there. -(IMITATES DIRT BIKE)
-I wanna hear about the whole thing. -(CHUCKLES)
-Okay, I know nothing. -ASHMORE: Okay, I'm going to show you,
because you have to understand what the bike is telling you, right?
So if the bike wants to shift, you got to learn to be in tune with that.
-It's an intimate experience, how so? -ASHMORE: It is because you have to
-understand what the bike is telling you. -You want to meet your bike?
JEFF: I do.
-I got a huge leg up... -(ASHMORE CHUCKLES)
...and here comes one huge leg, and there's that.
Front brake is right here. So, this the throttle.
-(IMITATES DIRT BIKE) You said. -(ALL IMITATES DIRT BIKE)
-This is the clutch? Okay -ASHMORE: This is the clutch.
And your shift lever.
Okay.
The throttle is what gives you the power.
-Yeah. -But the clutch is really
the gateway to the power.
-JEFF: Okay, just... -Safety first, that's what
-you can remember about your gear today. -Yes.
Oh Go... Oh, don't pinch my... Hey!
-Okay. -ANYA: Perfect.
-ANYA: Yeah! Now you can... -ASHMORE: Nice.
It's easy to overdo it very quickly
because it takes very little to... (IMITATES DIRT BIKE)
-ANYA: Very little, right? -And that's why
it's so important to know that the clutch,
you know, you can just pull the clutch in,
-and you're good. -JEFF: Right.
That may not have looked, so impressive, but riding a bike
turns out to be much more complicated than you first think.
There's a lot of coordination to start to get a handle on, okay?
Ready to go a little further?
-Maybe. -ANYA: Maybe?
Maybe. So...
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: Ooh, here I go, here I go, look at this.
Oh, hey, it's all coming back to me.
Oh, that's why they say, "It's just like riding a bike." Yeah!
I get it. Oh, my Gosh. I'm feeling vibrations all over.
(ANYA CHEERS)
JEFF: But riding, academically speaking, is more than just physical.
-ANYA: All right! -Yeah, yeah.
JEFF: Heart, skeleton, blood may not be so different from engine, chassis, fuel.
Well, neuroscientists have postulated that our sense of personal space
changes when we, human beings, use tools and machines.
The theory goes, that the brain subconsciously redefines it's perception
of our form to incorporate the device that we're manipulating,
and this process is known as the body schema.
(ENGINE REVS)
JEFF: Hey, after this ride of, what, like a minute and a half,
I don't think I'm yet 50 percent Jeff and 50 percent machine.
I may be... Well, maybe 99 and one, I think.
-(ANYA CHEERING) -(ASHMORE CHEERING)
-ANYA: You did it! -ASHMORE: You did that!
-Watch my giant leg. -Whoo!
-ANYA: Such a natural. -Okay. Oh! Okay.
I think that's it, look at me.
-ANYA: You did it! -Look great your helmet hair.
-Helmet head. -ANYA: We got to do a celebratory dance.
-JEFF: Okay, so -ANYA: Celebratory dance.
-It goes like this... (HUMS) -ANYA: So this is my arms.
Real flat footing just...
Okay, that's about it, have a good trip. Don't ride too easy.
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: Well, as we enter the last stage
of our motorcycle encounter
I would say that motorcycle culture
seemed like a closed world to me.
Now, look what happened.
Jeez, my head has spun, spun around.
Now, I'm ready to hit the road.
What am I going to ride though, specifically?
That's the question.
No, I have an idea, something a little Goldblum.
(CHUCKLES)
Easy does it.
For once in my life, I swear, I'm going to be bad to the bone.
-(ENGINES REVS) -(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: On a bike, nobody ever asks, "Are we there yet?"
The journey is it, not the destination, enjoy the ride.
We're intimate uniquely with nature, and at the same time,
we're so intimate with the machine.
I was just on the road, you know, with some of my great friends here,
and you're really on your own in this singular vehicle.
But you're part of this group.
That's a nice combo platter, isn't it?
Stereotypes, out you go, hit the road, Jack.
No more just the big, gruff, bearded... (GROWLS)
...grizzly, macho man, nobody left behind.
Take care of each other.
And the road is big enough for everybody, that's a better future.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
(UPBEAT MUSIC CONCLUDES)