Life as a Gypsy MC Moscow Prospect and Beyond by Gypsy Gold Finger
July/14/2011 Filed in: Hangarounds and Prospects
When everyone got back to the “correct” place I was met by an irate Chapter President, and Road Captain who explained in nice, simple terms just how badly I had messed up. “If I ever catch you not following the pack again, I will pull your $hit on the spot” exclaimed an exasperated SAM. Big N Rich (no longer a Gypsy) also came over to offer me words of encouragement, “you 
SOB if I ride off the side of a cliff, you had better be with me!” So after all the discussion I came to the realization that “follow the Road Captain is not a recommendation, but more of a “rule” that bettet be followed.
A couple of years later the roles were switched. I was riding with a new prospect who insisted on riding handle bar to handle bar and h3 even passed me when he thought I was going too slow. I finally had enough, slammed on the brakes, and we had our discussion on the side of the road. Here’is how the conversation went.
Me “Do you know the way we are going?”
Him “No.”
Me “Are you the Road Captain?”
Him “No”.
Me “Then you either get the HELL behind me, or turn around, leave your $hit and go home as an independent. You will follow me if we are going to continue!!”
At that point I remembered how I had felt as a prospect and thought about apologizing. That feeling quickly passed as I red faced climbed back on my bike and headed down the road to Austin. I fumed for the next 20 miles, but calmed down by the time we got to the next fuel stop. At that point I was actually a bit sorry for chewing the prospect so hard, but that feeling also passed without saying anything to the prospect. From that point on, he road in a staggered formation and didn’t pass me one time! I can only hope that when it is his time to pass on the Road Captain rule I’m around to laugh, chuckle, and remember my screw up on the road. Don’t ask me what Prospect this short story was about, but I’m sure he remembers. By the way, he is a full patch now and one of my favorite Gypsies.
Prospecting was a fun time for me. I remember one Saturday with my new colors and newly sewn patches and rockers (no center patch of course), Gypsy Prospect Charlie (Gypsy Charlie is currently Gypsy Whiskey Tango of Surf Side chapter) and I went for a ride. The weather was marginal, with deep black clouds to the north and the west. That meant one thing; head south and east. Riding while wearing your club colors is something you can’t describe to a non MC person. The pride and pleasure were showing from every inch of my face. You couldn’t miss us on the road, with those new BRIGHT Harvest Gold vests. It was a hot day, but by riding on the edges of the storms we were able to catch nice cool breezes to make an enjoyable and comfortable ride. After the first stop we developed a plan. Up to that point we were only going in the direction that was the coolest, and not in the black-as-ink rain part. We decided, since we were already close to Angleton, we would pop into Goe’s Harley Davidson dealership and look at all the new iron that was in the display area. While we were there we met two Gypsies that were down from the Hill Country chapter visiting her mother in Angleton. After talking and exchanging goodbyes we hopped on our bikes and continued our ride. One of the things I really like about being a Gypsy is the doors that are opened by wearing the vest. Under normal circumstances we would have never talked to those two Gypsies. I believe that many more doors are opened than closed wearing the Gypsy colors. I have had many people come up to me and talk with interest about my club, my bike, and just about every subject under the sun just because I was wearing my colors. Prospect Charlie had lived in the area and led us on to a really cool bar on a river (can’t remember the name) where we drank a couple of cool drinks, watched some wave riders, and talked about being prospects. By the end of the day we split up and went to our respective homes, another grand way to spend an afternoon.
Prospecting with Moscow had its unique traditions. One of those traditions was called “SAM watch”. You would be responsible to follow SAM around the run site, making sure that his beverage of choice, Old Milwaukee, never ran out. During these walk-abouts SAM would introduce you to all the Gypsies that he knew and make you introduce yourself to all the patches that were around. SAM has been a Gypsy for many years and knows just about everything Gypsy. The trick as a prospect was to do more listening than talking during those trips. After several cans of Old Milwaukee, SAM would teach you the SAM dance. The SAM dance is a complicated juxtaposition of your feet in gyrating motion. (Actually it is just more of a coordinated shuffle back and forth. If you don’t believe me ask SAM next time you see him!). After several SAM watches I came to understand what he was doing. I was getting introductions to many old and new Gypsies that I wouldn’t have gotten while sitting at our camp fetching beer. It was one of those “snatch the pebble out of my hand” moments when I realized what was actually happening. He also instructed me to ask the people I met where they had gotten their road names. From those conversations I got to know several great people and I heard some really interesting stories. What I thought would be the explanation for a road name was frequently not the story that came out. Turns out that SAM is actually an acronym for Slow As Mud (SAM).
Being a Moscow Prospect during Moscow’s first run in several years was another interesting experience. During the poker run, myself and one other prospect were sent to shepherd the Gypsy flock from bar to bar. Of course this was the July 4th Moscow run and the temperature was blazing. Not having had a lot of experience with poker runs, we, the prospects, made an error on how long to stay at the second stop. The longer we stayed there, the more everyone drank to cool off and re-hydrate. One Houston member, legendary for his re-hydration habits, was re-hydrating more than most. This didn’t seem like a problem until we looked in our mirrors and saw the end of the pack swaying back and forth like the tail of cat. An emergency stop was made on the fly so we could figure out our next
move. After careful evaluation we determined, that due to re-hydration (wink), the Houston member was not capable of riding any further. A call was made to his President who showed up in 5 minutes with an exasperated look on his face. This was the first time I met Gypsy Raoul, Houston President. Raoul quickly assessed the situation, threw said member in his truck, put his wife in the driver’s seat, and jumped on the member’s bike. He started the bike and motioned the scared prospects “follow me and keep up!”. We tore out of the parking lot at 85mph and accelerated when we got onto I-45. All I could see was the back of Raoul’s bike creeping further away from me. White knuckled, head down, and knees together, I flew down the I-45 with this crazed Gypsy leading the way. When we got back to camp Raoul graciously thanked us for not leaving his member at the gas station. Wow, what a day.
Prospecting for Moscow was fun and I think I learned a lot. Now, as a patch and responsible for passing on to the new prospects the Gypsy ways, I feel a great deal of pride. A pride in the knowledge that I was not the first, nor was I the last to share in the unique bonding experience we call prospecting. I can only hope that when I am too old to ride, that the new guys will continue the traditions for generations to come. Damn, it’s good to be a Gypsy!
A couple of years later the roles were switched. I was riding with a new prospect who insisted on riding handle bar to handle bar and h3 even passed me when he thought I was going too slow. I finally had enough, slammed on the brakes, and we had our discussion on the side of the road. Here’is how the conversation went.
Me “Do you know the way we are going?”
Him “No.”
Me “Are you the Road Captain?”
Him “No”.
Me “Then you either get the HELL behind me, or turn around, leave your $hit and go home as an independent. You will follow me if we are going to continue!!”
At that point I remembered how I had felt as a prospect and thought about apologizing. That feeling quickly passed as I red faced climbed back on my bike and headed down the road to Austin. I fumed for the next 20 miles, but calmed down by the time we got to the next fuel stop. At that point I was actually a bit sorry for chewing the prospect so hard, but that feeling also passed without saying anything to the prospect. From that point on, he road in a staggered formation and didn’t pass me one time! I can only hope that when it is his time to pass on the Road Captain rule I’m around to laugh, chuckle, and remember my screw up on the road. Don’t ask me what Prospect this short story was about, but I’m sure he remembers. By the way, he is a full patch now and one of my favorite Gypsies.
Prospecting was a fun time for me. I remember one Saturday with my new colors and newly sewn patches and rockers (no center patch of course), Gypsy Prospect Charlie (Gypsy Charlie is currently Gypsy Whiskey Tango of Surf Side chapter) and I went for a ride. The weather was marginal, with deep black clouds to the north and the west. That meant one thing; head south and east. Riding while wearing your club colors is something you can’t describe to a non MC person. The pride and pleasure were showing from every inch of my face. You couldn’t miss us on the road, with those new BRIGHT Harvest Gold vests. It was a hot day, but by riding on the edges of the storms we were able to catch nice cool breezes to make an enjoyable and comfortable ride. After the first stop we developed a plan. Up to that point we were only going in the direction that was the coolest, and not in the black-as-ink rain part. We decided, since we were already close to Angleton, we would pop into Goe’s Harley Davidson dealership and look at all the new iron that was in the display area. While we were there we met two Gypsies that were down from the Hill Country chapter visiting her mother in Angleton. After talking and exchanging goodbyes we hopped on our bikes and continued our ride. One of the things I really like about being a Gypsy is the doors that are opened by wearing the vest. Under normal circumstances we would have never talked to those two Gypsies. I believe that many more doors are opened than closed wearing the Gypsy colors. I have had many people come up to me and talk with interest about my club, my bike, and just about every subject under the sun just because I was wearing my colors. Prospect Charlie had lived in the area and led us on to a really cool bar on a river (can’t remember the name) where we drank a couple of cool drinks, watched some wave riders, and talked about being prospects. By the end of the day we split up and went to our respective homes, another grand way to spend an afternoon.
Prospecting with Moscow had its unique traditions. One of those traditions was called “SAM watch”. You would be responsible to follow SAM around the run site, making sure that his beverage of choice, Old Milwaukee, never ran out. During these walk-abouts SAM would introduce you to all the Gypsies that he knew and make you introduce yourself to all the patches that were around. SAM has been a Gypsy for many years and knows just about everything Gypsy. The trick as a prospect was to do more listening than talking during those trips. After several cans of Old Milwaukee, SAM would teach you the SAM dance. The SAM dance is a complicated juxtaposition of your feet in gyrating motion. (Actually it is just more of a coordinated shuffle back and forth. If you don’t believe me ask SAM next time you see him!). After several SAM watches I came to understand what he was doing. I was getting introductions to many old and new Gypsies that I wouldn’t have gotten while sitting at our camp fetching beer. It was one of those “snatch the pebble out of my hand” moments when I realized what was actually happening. He also instructed me to ask the people I met where they had gotten their road names. From those conversations I got to know several great people and I heard some really interesting stories. What I thought would be the explanation for a road name was frequently not the story that came out. Turns out that SAM is actually an acronym for Slow As Mud (SAM).
Being a Moscow Prospect during Moscow’s first run in several years was another interesting experience. During the poker run, myself and one other prospect were sent to shepherd the Gypsy flock from bar to bar. Of course this was the July 4th Moscow run and the temperature was blazing. Not having had a lot of experience with poker runs, we, the prospects, made an error on how long to stay at the second stop. The longer we stayed there, the more everyone drank to cool off and re-hydrate. One Houston member, legendary for his re-hydration habits, was re-hydrating more than most. This didn’t seem like a problem until we looked in our mirrors and saw the end of the pack swaying back and forth like the tail of cat. An emergency stop was made on the fly so we could figure out our next
Prospecting for Moscow was fun and I think I learned a lot. Now, as a patch and responsible for passing on to the new prospects the Gypsy ways, I feel a great deal of pride. A pride in the knowledge that I was not the first, nor was I the last to share in the unique bonding experience we call prospecting. I can only hope that when I am too old to ride, that the new guys will continue the traditions for generations to come. Damn, it’s good to be a Gypsy!
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