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My name is Alden Olmsted.

When I was 19 years old,
I dropped out of college

to start a BMX bike company,
that ultimately failed.

And I never forgave myself.

I do remember way back

to the levee for a ride

like being shot from a bottle

on that first ride

when I flew above ya

BMX. It stands
for bicycle motorcross.

It started in the 1970s
with kids
in Southern California

outfitted their Schwinn
sting rays to mimic
their motorcycle heroes.

Community. A group of people
living in the same place

or having a particular
characteristic in common.

I had one, but not the other.

I grew up
in Northern California,
in Sonoma,

small town
of about 6,000 people.

Classic, old,
wine-country town.
Grew up with a single mom.

One brother. My father
had left a few years earlier to
go save California State parks,

and do some, kind of,
amazing things that I would
find out about later.

But as a kid, what I knew
was I didn't have a dad.

I think not having
a father around for me

added to the feeling
of not feeling normal.

A rebellious,
challenging child.

A lot of tough times
of feeling very alone.

I assumed it was me
against the world.

No one was going
to help me.

My mom loved me,
put food on the table.

She didn't have the bandwidth,

I think, to go further,
to encourage me.

Whatever I was going to do,
succeed or fail, I was going
to be on my own.

My first BMX experience
actually comes back
to my dad a little bit

because he did visit
every couple of years.

He showed up on this
one birthday and he said,
"We're gonna get you a bike."

We went to all these yard sales
all over Sonoma and Napa,

trying to find the right bike,
one we could afford.

We finally found this bike

that was, kind of,
goofy-looking, and my dad
bought it for me.

I don't know if I loved it,
but I loved spending
the day with my dad.

And, um...

Spending the day with my dad
to find the bike was a pretty,

was a pretty big deal,
and that was like
this big moment.

I felt, kind of, normal
because I finally
had a cool bike.

As soon as I could ride,
my world was expanded.

And that freedom of being
on a bike,
challenging yourself,

and succeeding, I think,
is why BMX is still popular.

I do remember getting
into the BMX world
via the magazines.

It was like your telephone line
to what's going on
in the outside world,

and I started noticing
which bikes were
better than other bikes.

I remember I was finally
big enough to jump.

When you first catch air
on your own bike,
your own power,

you just feel amazing.

You just feel like
you could go do anything.

I would be out 'til
the street lights went off.

Hours practicing
all up and down the block.

All of a sudden, I had
something that I had
and nobody could take away.

When I was a freshman
in college, and I started
to put two and two together,

and think I might actually
drop out and start this
BMX bike company,

I had no idea what to do.

Who do I ask, Who do I talk to?

I didn't want to talk to my mom
because she was already upset.

And my friends were already...
had stopped riding bikes.

So I wrote a letter
to Bob Haro, my hero of
the BMX freestyle world.

He was a guru.

He, kind of,
invented freestyle BMX,
the trick riding part.

He had created
something from nothing,
and I really respected that.

There was a clear style
to a Haro bike, the Haro team.

So Bob Haro, I really felt,
was kind of like
the Steve Jobs of BMX.

And then he wrote me back.

In the letter, he said
I could call him back,
so I did.

He definitely told me,

"I'm not saying you should
drop out of college,"

but he said,
"If you want to make bikes,

"you could try CycleCraft."

Well, I already knew
who CycleCraft was
because they made good bikes.

So they were very popular.

They had their own team,
and a lot of the pros raced
for CycleCraft.

They were a very good company.

And when Bob told me,
"You know, maybe
they'll weld bikes for you."

So I looked up
who the owner was.

His name was Joe Martino.

We initially had
a great report.

I didn't know him
in any other way,

other than that, he was the guy
that was gonna make my bikes.

My mom was not supportive
of my dropping out of college
to start a bike company.

My mom grew up in
a very traditional household.

You do not drop out of college
for any reason.

But at the time,
this was in my gut.

This was, like,
a huge burning passion

to start this company on my own,
and I saw no other way.

Eliminating the flex
in the frame is the goal
of the bike builder

if you're building
a racing bike.

What made
Homestead Bicycles unique
was a twin-tube stabilizer bar

that stiffened
the rear triangle.

So when kids are racing,
they're on this thing
called a gate.

There's eight of them across,
the gate slams down,
and everyone tears off,

and they're trying to
get to that first turn
the fastest they can,

because they don't want to get
stuck in this crowd of kids.

So at the time, I wasn't sure
it was going to work.

The other thing that made
the bike unique was that
I painted 'em all green,

and named it after a lizard
from South America.

I sponsored a kid.
I went to the races.

I handed out stickers,
I printed fliers.

I've made T shirts.
I tried to do everything,

but I didn't feel like an equal
to the other companies,

because again, they had
the one thing I didn't have.

They had community.

I tried to find
business partners

and investors during the time
when I ran Homestead Bicycles.

Homestead Bicycles.

It was hard to convince people
of this vision if they weren't
bike riders.

So I wasn't able to find
the right person.

But it did confirm my feeling
I had from being little of...

It's just me against
the world.

The best shot I had
with Homestead Bicycles
was right at the end.

This guy, Ken,
that owned a shop
in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

He was excited about my bikes.

He loved him. He wanted
his whole team to ride

the exclusively
Homestead Bicycles racing team.

I'm like, "This is it."

And I called Joe Martino.

No answer, and I called back
the next day.

No answer.

It took a couple months
to get a hold of him.

Finally, he answers the phone
kind of, sheepishly,

and I ask him, "Hey, Joe,
I got 20 more frames coming."
I had paid for 50. I had 30.

And he, kind of, waffles
and says, " Oh, I don't know
how to tell you this, Alden,

"but I'm retired."

And I said,
"What about my bikes?"

I'm sure they got welded,
they're at the shop.

Just mail 'em.
And he just said...

And I said, "What do you mean?"

I... That's $1,800.

90 bucks a frame

times 20 bikes is $1,800.

Big deal back then.

The closest I came to,
you know, feeling like
a real company, it all went out

because I couldn't provide
any more bikes.

I woke up one day
and I thought,

"If I stop, who's going
to ask me to start it again?"

And I thought, "No one is."

This is all on me.

If I stop it, it stops.
So I just... I let it go.

My life right now
is, kind of, rough.

Although it's carefree,
I guess, is the positive way.

But it's tough.

I've been bouncing around
since my dad passed away.

Life has been
a challenge
to remain positive.

Getting older
and being a dishwasher
or doing odd jobs

is, obviously, not what
I want to be doing at this age.

I think it's been difficult
for me to maintain
a stable financial life

because I just have
too many dreams.

I have too many things
I want to create.

I've thought about it
as a curse a lot.

People say, "Oh, that's so great
what you do.

"You have these things
you create."

Why can't I just focus
on one thing?

Why can't I do a day job?

I don't know. Why do I need
to be fulfilled,

to do something
that I'm pouring myself into?

My dad poured his own life
and my mom's life
and my brother's life

and my life.

He poured everyone's life
and it didn't work.

Is that what I'm taking after?

I never wanted to be
anything like my dad.

I've made a couple films,
going back to college and doing
what I had to quit on.

I've done some state park work,
things I can hang my hat on.

But where does it get me?

I can admit it now.

I had been in a king-sized funk
since my father died,

and it took a serious
blast from the past
to snap me out of it.

That slap in the face
came in the form of an email

from a friend
I hadn't spoken to in years,

and a curious link
to a BMX collectors website.

The whole thing
that started this documentary

was this one kid
that posted a bike

on a website called BMX Museum,
and he put it out there

because he didn't know
what kind of bike it was.

No stickers on it,
but it was one of mine.

When I looked closely,
there was a different dropout,

and I noticed that
that was a CycleCraft dropout
on a Homestead bike.

The dropout is the rear part
that the wheel slides into.

What the heck was
a Homestead Bicycle frame
doing on this website?

I drew those dropouts
so I knew what mine
looked like.

Did the last 20 bikes
I paid for actually get welded
but just never shipped?

Had Joe Martino at CycleCraft

sold them after
I quit Homestead
and just pocketed the money

for those 20 frame
and fork sets?

Then I started wondering
about the 30 bikes I did get.

I wondered how many
were still out there.

Was anyone still riding one?

With nothing holding me in LA,
I decided I had to know.

Maybe I'd find out where
I went wrong with Homestead
and what I got right.

And just maybe I could find out
what happened to my life

by finding those missing bikes.

I always get depressed
going to my storage unit.

Seeing proof that my life
is still in transition.

But I knew I kept
one file folder, and I knew
there were a few receipts.

I don't remember
writing down serial numbers,

but maybe there's
the name of a shop
or a name of a kid.

Anyone who bought a Homestead.

I knew my own bike
would be in there,

and I wanted to verify
which serial number it had.

Oh, boy.

Here we have, uh...

Serial number.

Let's check it.

Wow. Serial number 001.

Oh, man.

So I know I had
a Homestead Bicycle file.

No, it's not it. It's not it.

Let me try one more.

Homestead Bicycles.

Wow!

So there's my fictitious
business name statement,

doing business
as Homestead Bicycles.

After I ran one ad
inBMX Action magazine,
it was called "Go"

at the time, I got letters
from all over the world.

Airmail from Germany, I think.

"Hamestead Bicycles."
This kid wrote me,
I think from...

My gosh, I think
from Czechoslovakia.

There's Fairview,
Alberta, Canada.

Just from one ad placed
in BMX Actionmagazine.

This is the power
of that magazine at the time.

So this is a picture
of the basilisk lizard,

the paint was based off of,
the green with the blue specks.

That's my first drawing
back in high school
of a basilisk.

So there might be some receipts
from bike shops that bought,
that bought the bikes.

This is the first receipt.

Moby Dicks Bike Shop.

One bicycle frame.
Santa Clara, California,
Homestead Road, oddly enough.

Sweet! Here's another one sold
to the pedal pusher.

There's another receipt.
A good lead.

This one is April 20th, 1993,

on consignment,
Homestead frame and fork.

Oh, there we go.

This is it.

That's a good piece of proof.

50 bikes from CycleCraft,
Homestead frame and forks.

Oh, yes, Haro designs.

This is where
this whole thing started.

Maybe I need to
track down Bob Haro and see
if he remembers this letter.

When I'm telling you
I had nothing to lose,

I'm saying I had nothing.

So I headed up the coast
to the exact spot

where the last Homestead
was sold to track down
the last guy to sell one.

Is this Ken Kingsley?

Hey, this is
Alden Homestead, man.

I know.
It's been a long time.

How are you doing?

I'm doing good.
It's been like... 23 years, man.

I'm actually trying
to track down these 30 bikes.

Oh, my gosh. Okay.

It turns out I might actually
be up in Felton Scotts Valley.

I don't know if that's
too much for you to come
over the hill and meet me?

The last place
that I sold bikes at
and worked at

was a bike shop on Highway 9
in Felton, California.

So I haven't talked to Ken
or even thought about him
in 23 years.

Did you ever think
we'd be here in this position?

Not really.

Did you ever think
you'd see me again?

Probably not.

That was my big moment
of you saying, "Hey, I love...

"These bikes are cool."

Let's outfit our whole team
with Homestead Bicycles.

We did.

I can't believe
you remember names.

So it should
I write them down or...

No, I gotta a list for ya.
Oh, you gotta list?

Don't know if you remember
any of them or not,
but we got Shane Ellett.

Shane Ellett?

Yeah, he's in Boulder Creek.

Chad Steven,
I think is in Boulder Creek.

Chad I do remember.
Chad was the kid that would
ride with me down

-at Henry Cowell, I think.
-Yeah.

He came riding
once or twice.

And then there's Amber Howard,
which is the only girl rider.

Which actually rode
one of your frames.

-A girl rider?
-Yeah.

She actually did
very well recently.

Really? I did not...

Then you have Nate Escoto,

-which is one of
our senior riders.
-Nate I remember.

He was probably about 22 then.
Just got out of the military.

Ken was pretty sure
Nate was still around.

And that I might find him
at a pump track
south of Santa Cruz.

Get out. Now way, man.

Fancy meeting you here.

How you doing, man?
Thanks for taking my call.

Sheesh, how long's it been?
23 years?

Something like that. Yeah.

Dude, it's good to see
you're still riding, man.

Thank you.

We were introduced
at Ken's shop in Felton,
California.

Yeah.

And that's when I first
saw the Homestead bike.
I thought it was pretty cool.

You told me about, this
was your baby and your project.

And you were putting together
a racing team,

and you and Ken had invited me
on a joint venture

to, uh, join your team.

-Yeah, well...
-Off we went,

we toured all over the country
with your bike.

I raced it in Arizona
and Nevada,

all over Southern California,
Oklahoma,

-at the Grand Nationals.
-At the Grand Nationals?

You raised the Homestead?
I had no idea.

Yeah, it handled well in turns.

It was good in traffic.

Zippy little ride.
I liked it.

Where did your racing
lead after that?

I just reached the point
where I just had enough
of racing.

I've been racing my bike
since I was 13 years old.

Walked into Ken's shop,
and I gave my bike to

my good friend, Shane Ellett,

who raced on our team.
He was a younger kid,

and I handed my, uh,
my Homestead to the young gun.

Do you think Shane
still lives in the area?

Pretty sure he does.
I think he's
an electrician now.

I remember you.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry
I don't remember you.

I'm glad for everyone's memory
because, Ken...
Ken has got a great memory.

He gave me these five names.

Apparently,
you've got a great memory.

-Yeah.
-Do you mind if I...

-Sit down.
-Yeah, yeah.

So when did you know
that I had my own company?

Well, right from the beginning,

you had a cult,
I think three bikes.

It was promised that, you know,
20 more were coming.

-Or...
-So you remember that, too?

-Yeah.
-Yeah. Okay.

When they came,
I got one.

I rode it for about
three years.

I won 17 races
in a row on it.

What was cool about it?

Why did you like it,
if you rode it that long?

It was a fast bike.

When you would put
the pedal down, the power'd
go right into the bike.

- Into the ground. Yeah.
- It was snappy and fast.

Well, let's talk about
your bike.

And where is it now?
And I'm, I'm hoping
you have it still.

-I do not.
-You don't have the bike.

No. You came all this way.
I'm sorry.

It's okay. Do you know
what happened to it?

Um, it went to somebody else
on the team.

Yeah. And do you remember
who else was on the team?

A girl, Amber.

Okay.

Hello, Amber.
My name is Alden Homestead.

And I got your number
from Ken Kingsley.

I made a bike called
Homestead Bicycles

that I think
you may have ridden.

You did ride a Homestead.

Awesome. Do you mind
if I stop by and ask you
questions about the bike?

The story just keeps
getting more interesting.

I didn't know that Ken
had any girls

on the bike shop team.
So that's pretty awesome.

This is an angle
that I did not expect.

Hello.

Hello.

Hi.

-Amber.
-Hi, Alden.

-Alden, nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.

Wow.

Did you know your mom
was a BMX racer?

You didn't? Well,
you're about to find out...

-Yeah?
-...how awesome she was.

That was the first bike
that I was on

that really, kind of,
awakened this, like,

love of biking and just
being on a bike in me.

I just loved it.

This adorable little green bike
and Ken told me about it.

I joined the bike team,
and he said, "You know what?"
He's like, "You're pretty fast."

I think I have
a good bike for you.

So he showed me this
cute little green bike

and it was called the Homestead,
and I got on that,

and I remember it felt like
it just fit me perfectly,
and I-I loved it.

What was it like to get on that
starting gate and actually race?

So, it was super intimidating,
but I decided to
go for it anyway.

So I got up on the gate
and had my little bike.

I think that's why I got
so attached to it.

It was my comfort.
I was comfortable on the bike,

so I felt the confidence
to just go for it
and try it out.

I just took for granted
all these years that, you know,
my bike's just came and went.

Not even a chapter in BMX,
just a... half a page.

To hear from people
that are complete strangers,
that I never even knew

to think of like a girl being
confident on one of my bikes
is, it's just bizarre.

I guess, let's get to
the nitty gritty, why I'm here.

So, the film is called
30 Bikes.

And so I want to know
which one you have.

Do you have any idea
of your serial number?

Oh, my gosh. I wish I had it.

I don't have the bike anymore.

You don't have the bike?

No.

I was disappointed
that Amber didn't have
her bike,

but being so close
to Santa Cruz,

I had to go see if there were
any bikes at Camp MayMac.

Man, this just
used to be so manicured.

I'd water it every day.

The Homestead Bicycles
was a part of this track.

The kids would come up here
and they'd say,

"Oh, there's a new guy
running the track."

And then someone would say,
"Yeah, he makes
his own bikes."

And I remember kids asking me,
"Where can I buy one?"

And they were good kids.
We had a lot of fun.

This is the bike shed.

This is where
we housed all the bikes
for the kids to ride.

Wow, Some memories
are coming back.

Just being in here
is pretty amazing.

I'm hoping I find something.
Let's see what we got.

We got Diamondbacks,
Diamondback, Diamondback.

We got GT's, Diamondback.

What is that? No.

Shoot.

There might just be
one frame... sitting...

No.

Nope.

Back to the drawing board, huh?

Man.

It's not looking good
for one missing Homestead.

I was getting
ahead of myself

visiting Camp MayMac,
without tracking down the guy
who gave me the job,

Neil Sundblad.

Neil the Wheel.

Dude, it's been
a long time, man.

Good to see you, man.

-Wow.
-That's awesome.

-How you doing?
-Great.

Yeah.

You know,
the last time we met

was on the starting gate
at Santa Clara PAL
BMX track.

Exactly.

-You remember that?
-Yeah.

You do?

Wow. Did you ever think
we'd be meeting like this?

God does mysterious things.

So how'd you get the name
"Neil the Wheel"?

I tended to take your wheel
in the turn...

I would T-bone you...

Give you the elbow
and they

gave me the nickname
"Neil the Wheel"

because you never know
where I was coming from
on the turn.

-I kind of got to start
and say thank you.
-Yeah.

Because, you know,
if you wouldn't have met me

-and offered me the job
at MayMac...
-Yeah.

-then I never would've met
Ken Kingsley.
-Yeah.

I never would have sold my bikes

in Felton, in Santa Cruz and--

-All over.
-Had kind of a second life
with the bike company.

That's great.

So it's pretty crazy
how it all worked out.

I got to ask you, why me?

Because I was looking for
a Christian

that loved God
and wanted to work with kids.

I know. But you only knew me
for five minutes
when you offered me the job.

I already prayed about that.

I knew God was sending someone.

-And I was desperate, too.

'Cause I didn't want, you know,
the thing to end.

We needed someone that knew
how to do BMX
and jump and ride

and show the kids the way.

I went down to a local
coffee shop

to research a name Shane
had given me,

Logan Alexander.

I found him on Facebook,
and turns out,

he's actually only about
20 minutes away.

-Hey, good morning.
-Hey.

-Are you... You're Logan?
-Yep.

-Logan Alexander.
-That's right.

-No way.
-How's it going?

-Good. Shane gave me your...
-You got your list?

Your name... I got my list.

I'm just making sure
you're the right...

Yep, that's me.

So you knew Shane?

-Oh, yeah.
I knew Shane, yeah.
-Okay.

We used to race
and ride BMX, for sure.

Well, man,
you know the big question.

Shane gave me the short list.

Do you still have
your Homestead?

- Here it is.
- You got it?

Yeah.

Dude!

One of the chrome ones.

Yeah, I got... Picked out
the first chrome one, actually.

-I remember now. Yes.
-Yeah, look at this bad boy.

-Yeah.
-Dude, that is so sweet.

I can't believe it. Look 23.

I didn't know
what it was gonna feel like
to find these bikes.

I really didn't,

but it's kind of like finding
a child.

This is well worn, man.

-Yeah. I still see some use.
-You got some...

-Uh, might be a little bit bent,
but it still looks good.
-Thatt's all right.

Do you ever remember
riding around and people going,

"What kind of bike is that,
man?"

Yeah, actually, I remember
I was at PAL one time,

and some kid saw me,
he was like,
"Is that a Homestead?"

I was like, "Yeah. Yeah.
How do you know?"

He was like,
"Oh, I've heard about 'em."

It was lightweight.
I remember that.

I think my bike weighed like
23, 24 pounds.

That was really nice.

-I think I was able to bunny hop
like 33 inches back then.
-Wow.

- I could not do that
anymore. You know?
-- Yeah.

I wanted something
that had some character,
some soul.

Definitely unique frame

and unique look,
unique following.

Semi cult following, you know.
People knew about them

and mystical sort of
thing to have
that appeared once in a while.

To have a Homestead
was sort of a special thing.

I figured it was time
to go back to where I grew up,

the little wine country town
of Sonoma,

and follow up
on a consignment receipt
I found in my files

for the Good Time
Bicycle company.

It was the only bike shop
in town growing up.

Maybe the guy who ran it,
Doug McKesson,

would have a record of
who he sold that first bike to.

You couldn't have
scripted it better man.

The bike is still on the side.

It's worn.
It looks like it's maybe

as old as my bike company.

-How you doing, man?
Good to see you.
-Good. How're you?

-Wow!
-I don't remember
you being that tall.

Yeah.

-I was just a little squirt
when I was here.

You got my phone calls.

So, you know, I'm trying
to track down these 30 bikes.

That's number,
serial number two,
right on my car there.

So that was...
The one that you would've
had was green.

Um, towards the end of the run,
I had a few of them chromed

and, um, I just
never got stickers
for the chrome ones, but...

It's very cool.

-It was cool bike,
though, huh?
-Yeah.

Just have some kid
in the neighborhood

have the chutzpah, you know,
to kind of come along

and actually design something
that was cool

and then follow through
and have it done
was really neat,

so didn't buy it for me.

-But I put it on consignment
for you.
-Okay.

You don't remember,
specifically, it selling.

-I don't.
-And I'm gonna guess you don't

have receipts in this box.

-- No. All gone.
-- Okay.

But as far as my brand
and my unique thing,

you think I started something
that maybe I could restart?

I think people wanted
something different.

Certain part
of the nostalgia sells.

But if it really functions
and it works,

then you can bring it
into the market today
and be something unique.

I guess if I relaunched
Homestead Bicycles today,
it would...

it would be
having a second chance
at my first big dream in life.

You've got the perseverance,
you had it back then,

which is kind of the neat part
of the whole thing.

And here you are again,
coming around at it.

I think that's what it's about.

It's just sticking with it
and you have something unique,

and it will sell
if you get the word out.

So I'm looking for
all 30 bikes.

-I have one.
-You have, You do actually have
a bike?

Yes.

Oh, sweet.

-You got... Ooh...
-It's got a little...

Just needs a paint job, man.

-Yeah, it does.
-That's nice, though.

-What number? Oh, number 12.
-Twelve.

All right. Number 12.
Found another one.

Why did you want a Homestead?

Um, well, knowing the founder
of Homestead Bicycles
had something to do with it.

These Homestead designs
are still out there.

And, uh, this is not
the first person
I've heard from

that still has their,

their sweatshirt
or their T-shirt.

So this is pretty awesome
to see.

So Homestead Bicycles went from
roughly 1991 to 1995.

You're telling me
that you would like to see

Homestead Bicycles 2019.

Definitely.

My biggest fear,

if I were to relaunch
Homestead Bicycles today,

would be just a
failing all over again.

Falling into the rut
or the traps
that I fell into before.

Now I think I would embrace
the niche and go for it.

And go all in.

So where you headed next?

This kid that I sponsored
from Auburn,

he lives in Eureka now,
and he just found me
on Instagram.

When I met Neal,
my first and only
Homestead sponsored rider,

I knew I needed a good rider,

but I knew
I couldn't afford much
in the way of a pro rider,

so I probably had to find a kid
that was 15, 16,

you know,
just about to turn expert.

So I remember I called him up
and I said, "Hey, Neal,

if you're up for it,
I would like you to be

the Homestead Bicycle
factory rider."

Hello?

Are you Neal Skadden?

-Dude. What?

I don't even know
what to say, man.

-What's up, man?

-Jeez.

-Good to see you, brother.
-Good to see you.

There's a few things
that happened.

Your finding me on Instagram
was one of the things that

got the wheels in motion.

Think about maybe it was time
to tell the story
that there was,

-I mean, I left something
on the table.
-Right.

You know, when I closed down
the shop,

the company, maybe I,
maybe I left something there.

-- We're here
for two reasons.
-- Right.

One of the things
we're here for is,

-do you have a Homestead still?
-Yes, I do.

All right,

because I have been
meeting people

-that have these great stories.
-Right.

They're excited about the bikes.

They love the bikes,
but mysteriously moved
or gave it to someone.

-So...
-I still have it.
I don't have it here.

-Okay.
-But I still have it.

-Still have it.
-It's 019.

-- 019? All right.
-- 019.

Okay.
I got to get my book.

We'll write it down
before we leave.

You thought
we had reality before?

This is reality
because you're going to see
old man BMX.

All right, let's rock, man.

Now, with the camera on,
I gotta just...
Gotta get used to it.

You showed up and gave me
this brand new frame
and everybody's like,

"Where'd you get that?"
They were just like,
patting me on the back.

I remember your friends,
well, seemed to be impressed,
and they were like,

"Dude, you just got,
some guy shows up
and gives you a frame."

It was great.
I mean, a couple races in,

I was in magazines and stuff.

He was ready to go.

He was all in.

And he was exactly
the kind of kid that I wanted.

I don't know,
what did that do for you

confidence-wise, or whether
or how'd that make you feel
or ride different?

Riding for Homestead
let me travel to more places
to further my riding.

It kind of showed my parents
that it was more than
just a passing fad.

What happened?
Did we just kind of fade away?

Did you stop racing?
Did you call me?

Did I call and say,
"I can't respond
to you anymore"?

I don't remember.

You called me in '93 or '94

and offered to give me
a whole 'nother bike.

and everything.
Come racing for you some more.

I actually turned you down

because I was like,
at that point, I was almost,

I thought I was done
with riding bikes.

It's time to get a job and a car
and do all this different stuff.

And where are you now?

Yeah, at 44,
I'm back riding bikes.

You're back riding bikes,
around the skate park.

Well,
good to see you, man.

-Good to see you, man.
-Glad we reconnected this.

I don't think this is the end.

It's been a while
since I've been out here.
-It has been a while.

-How are you doing?
-Good to see you.

Good to see you.

-So you got my message?
-I did.

-You heard I'm trying
to track down the bikes.
-Oh, yeah.

Oh, the boy's put a tire on it.

-Oh, sweet.

-I told you they wanted to
put it back together.
-Nice.

Sweet. Whoo-hoo!

Wow! Well, another bike found.

-021, right?
-Yeah.

Well, I've got to tell you
on this journey,

people have been asking me,
and it started at the first
person we interviewed.

-Okay.
-Said, "Are you making
more bikes?"

-Yeah. Yeah.
Well, I wanna know.
-And I said,

"Well, I didn't plan on it,
but it's looking like

-that's how things are going."
-Yeah.

If I make
more bikes today,

I don't want to
just make bikes to say,
"Oh, I did Homestead right."

I need something
that changes my life.

Because I'll be honest,
I don't like my life right now.

So if I didn't know
there was this demand,

and I didn't know
people liked the bikes
as much as they did...

-That sounds silly to say.
-Yeah.

-But I just didn't know.
-It's a classic, man.
I'll never get rid of mine.

What's up, man?

What do you remember
about the beginnings
of Homestead Bicycles for you?

First off,
you were the coolest guy

in the world to me
when I was 16.

It was very exciting

to be there,
like with you in it.

Other than knowing the creator,
what was different to you
about the Homestead?

Having a cool bike
that I loved to ride

and was original
and was unique.

That was it.
That was enough for me.

Here's the big question.
This is why we're here.

Where is the bike now?

The bike ended up
in my dad's house, right?
Down in the garage.

And my dad may have taken it
to a recycle center.

Oh, man.

Do we remember at all
what serial number that was?

I don't.

Do you remember telling me
it was maybe time
to put the company down?

At that time, it felt like maybe
you've taken this as far
as it can go.

I felt like you needed to grow
beyond it.

Yeah, I mean, that probably
was the truth at the time.

Do you realize that
that conversation we had
was what caused me to think

that maybe it was time
to put down Homestead Bicycles?

Did that feel like defeat?

At the time,

you telling me to put
Homestead down
or to let it go

felt like relief.

Who's to say that you shouldn't
spend your life

pursuing the things
that you're passionate about?

Yeah, there's a lot
of truth there.

Any of those kids
that rode at camp?

Do you know any kids
that might have
a Homestead today?

I believe it was the summer
after you were at MayMac.

You and I built the BMX track
at Mount Gilead.

Think there were
probably six in that shed.

Wow, man. I definitely
don't remember this.

-- Now...
-- That's pretty cool.

We put that up
a number of years ago

for all of our campers.

Now. Do you remember
if there are any Homesteads
in the shed?

I'm not sure.

I don't know
how to identify
a Homestead. So...

Well then, this'll be
a good opportunity.

-I'll show you.
-Okay. All right.

So these were the rules
of BMX in this track
that I made up.

I forgot about this.

And this is how to take care
of the track,

shovel and patch it
for major repairs,

rake it, sweep it,

um, water it and then ride it
as much as possible.

A ridden track is much better
than an unridden track.

I totally forgot about this.

-Well, you have
a legacy here, Alden.
-I forgot.

-It's just easy to forget.

Wow.

I got to tell you,
it still looks like
a fun track.

I got half a mind
to rake this thing

once it dries out in a month,
then come out here
and ride it, man.

You're always welcome
to come back
and work on the track, Alden.

-You're always welcome.
-What you're saying is,

-free labor is always welcome.
-Absolutely.

-Free labor is always welcome
at summer camps.
-Yeah. That's right.

All right, let's go see
if we can find one more bike.

-All right.
-Come on.

Well, here they are.

I don't know
what they look like, Alden.

Well, they...
Yeah, they had
a twin stabilizer bar.

Rear end.

Um... These are cool bikes.

This is a...
This looks like SE racing,

SE racing, SE...

All these are SE. What is this?

That's another SE racing
right there.

Oh, you got a Redline.

And what is this bike?

Oh, it's a Trek.

That's a Trek with a...

With an interesting...

frame, but not a Homestead.

This is it, huh?

That's all we have.

Argh.

Well, there might be one
at the warehouse
if you want to go check there.

So here are where the bikes are.
They're up there in the rafters.

Oh, wouldn't it be awesome
if there's just one.

Even just one.
Wouldn't that be awesome?

This is it, huh?

Yeah. This is
all the bikes we have.

Well, you had me going there.

I thought we might find one
back here.

Man, it would have been awesome
to find one, but it's still fun
to come back here.

Even the ones that are here
bring back memories.

Oh, yes!

-Wow!

-What's up, man?
-Welcome, brother.

-Oh, my.
-How are you doing?

Dude, I've been good.

So how many years
has it been?

I was trying to think about,
I think it's been 28.

Oh, my gosh, 28?

Well, since we met.

-So would you...
-The last time we rode,

you had just gotten the bikes
out of the shop.

-You'd only got about
half of what you were getting.
-Yeah.

But I think
you were only about 25 in.

Did I bring you the bike?

-Do you remember?
-You brought me one.

And then you had the black one
still in the trunk,

and we dropped by DJ's house
and DJ's like,
"I want one, too."

Whoo-hoo!

Nice.

Oh, man,
I remember that color.

There was only a couple
of that color, man.

You got a rare one.

So what number is this one?

Twenty-five.

Twenty-five.

Twenty five. Mark Wilson.

Do you remember
the first time you heard

I was starting a bike company?

-Yeah. Camp.
-Yeah.

We had talked,
and 'course riding.

And you talked about
the Homestead Bicycle company

-and your dream.
-Yeah.

And of course, we were proud
and excited for you.

What was it like owning
a Homestead bicycle

and actually riding it
around every day,
being on a unique bike?

You're one of, at the time,
was going to be 50...

And everybody'd stop ya...

Of course, that was
the hardest part about riding

because you didn't want
to be stopped.

You wanted to go ride.
You wanted to go jump.

You wanted to go have fun.

Kids were always asking
where they could get
a Homestead,

but I didn't want to divulge
my information, you know?

I had one... I was one
of two guys in the town
that had a Homestead.

DJ and I still talk
about Homestead, you know,

'cause it was all
part of our life.

To think that
something that I did mattered.

That I assumed was a failure.

It mattered to people back then

is already empowering

and extremely redemptive
and fulfilling.

I never thought I would be
revisiting Homestead Bicycles.

DJ.

Hey, you still got
your Homestead?

Why don't you bring it by?

I got a guy here
interested in it.

Dude.

Number 11.

Number 11! Awesome.

You could be totally honest,

but you felt that it was
a little tighter out of the gate

with the way
that rear triangle was designed?

I remember my Homestead
got me through the gate

and got me out
in front of the pack.

-Thanks for keeping it, man.
-Oh.

Thanks for keeping it
in good shape.

Right on.

-Still rocking the vdub, man.
-Yep.

-I made an impression.
Dude, Brad Hodges.
-Hi, Alden.

What's up, man?

-How are you?
-It's been a long time.
I'm good.

-Let's go into my shop.
I'll show you around.
-I can't believe

you've got your own
welding shop, man.

So you do still have
the Homestead?

-- Yes, I do.
-- Nice.

Part of my BMX collection.

And I posted a photo of it
to BMX Museum
a couple of years back,

and somebody contacted me

and offered me
a ton of money for it.

-No way.
-Strictly over the factory
Foster paint.

And then he said that it's
a very rare CycleCraft item.

And I guess that some
of the CycleCraft owners

remember your production run
of those bikes.

And so they're a sought after
CycleCraft product

as well as a very rare
BMX product alone.

You're telling me that online
with BMX Museum,

there's this whole community
that knows

that CycleCraft
welded Homesteads

and that they're valuable
as like a weird CycleCraft
offshoot or something?

Exactly.

I questioned myself
so much back then

and now I realize you know what?
My instincts weren't crazy.

I created a cool product
that a certain, not everybody,

but the people that liked it
really liked it.

-- It's in good company.
-- Well.

Whoo-hoo.

Oh, I forgot
it had a basket on it. Nice.

I totally forgot...
Oh, yeah, of course.

Wow, dude.

Nice job, Brad.

Nice job.

Look at that original
factory Foster paint job.

Brian Foster.

Number 16. Oh.

Most of the people say that,
you know, they like
the twin tubes

'cause they stabilized
the rear end for racing.

But why did you like the frame?

So it supported the rear end
for the bash card.

Nice. And, hey,
I don't care why.

Well... And just be honest.

Tell me why you liked the frame
when you were riding it?

I wanted something
that felt like a race bike
that I could also ride

as a street bike
and the Homestead
met all those criteria.

Why have you kept the Homestead
all these years?

Well, it's a weird green bike.

It's limited production.

That's sort of sought after.

And I just remember that
it being a good time in my life

and it having a lot of
good memories and sort of like,

if you will, that was the bike
that was like the end
of my innocence.

What I created
with Homestead Bicycles

was a unique vibe

and feeling
about an inanimate object.

I think I created something
more than I realized
at the time.

This was an epic trip,

and reconnecting
with these old friends
was amazing.

But the truth was
I was running out of funds
and, hey, I had to face it.

I needed a job.

Good news.

I'm going to be selling water.

It's a refillable water bottle,
kind of starting at the bottom.

But I think
it's a good opportunity.

Best part about it,
off the couch.

I got a cool apartment
and things are looking up.

No.

Another job,
just a means to an end.

But I was happy to have it.

Glad to do some work
and come home
at the end of the day tired.

I think it was because
I finally had
a clear purpose again.

Figuring out
what kind of person
I was at 19,

and what I created
was addictive.

But what I really wondered was,
"Would I find any more bikes?"

I'm about to call Joe Martino
of CycleCraft in Tennessee.

I'm actually pretty nervous.

Enough time has passed.

I'm hoping
that Joe will let me know,
"What really happened, man?

"What happened to my bikes?

"Why'd you let me down
for that final batch of bikes
that I paid for?"

I actually found my receipt
for 50 bikes that I paid,

and it's got
a phone number here.

Let's do it.

You have reached a number

that has been disconnected
or is no longer in service.

I have
a sneaking suspicion
that there's 20 more bikes,

and they're hidden
in eastern Tennessee.

I learned
from a local bike shop

that some of
the '80s BMX riders
I grew up following

still rode down
at Huntington Beach,
doing tricks and hanging out.

Eddie, the King, Fiola.

And Martin Aparijo.

They called him "the Chairman."

I couldn't believe
I found these guys,
and they're still doing it.

They were plastered
all over my walls,

on the pages ofBMX Plus
andBMX Action.

And of course, they rode inRAD
the best movie ever about BMX.

I had to pinch myself
when I saw them on bikes
I used to ride,

doing tricks I used to do.

So you guys still come out here
and ride?

Yeah. You know,
we used to come out here,

underneath that pier,
back in 1985,

and throw on a hat,
make some money,
and we just had fun doing it.

Now we're out here,
you know, at50-ish.

Kind of like that movieTag

where we didn't end the game.
We're still playing it.

And we're not getting old, so.

Nice. My name is Alden.

-Eddie Fiola.
-Eddie Fiola. Nice to meet you.

Wow.

It's a prototype,
so it's got no name on it
right now.

-So how did you invent?

How many tricks did you invent?

-Like, 27 or something?
-Uh, yeah,
probably more than that.

But there was, like,
13 initial tricks,

like Cherry Picker,
the Lawn Mower,
the Backwards Long Slider

and all those tricks,
those tricks that led to
variations of those tricks.

-Right.
-So, yeah, all the foundational
tricks back in day.

I have to the tricks
that only you invented?

-Lawn Mower!
-Lawn Mower!

I guess I wanted to
see if I still had it.

If I still fit into this world
I'd walked away from.

All of a sudden the swarm
of wheelie bikers showed up
at the pier took over.

This was too much.
Martin and Eddie
and now Todd and the SE guys.

This journey was pulling me
deeper into BMX than I ever
could have imagined.

After months of trying,
I finally nailed down
freestyle guru Bob Haro.

Would he remember me
or the letter?

Or our conversation
about CycleCraft?

I was just stoked
to finally meet my mentor
and graphic design hero.

-What's happening?
-Wow. Alden.

Bob Haro.

-Hey, buddy.
Nice to meet you.
-Oh, my goodness.

Just after all these years,

so many logos,
so many designs and pictures
and photos and...

Yeah, I'm just, um...
I'm spinning a little bit.

All right, Well, yeah,
I kind of can't believe
things I've saved in my life.

But apparently, I did save
this letter that you
wrote back to me.

I don't know
if you remember that.

To go back
and look at this and, uh...

this is my writing
and all of my typos

because, like I told you,
I'm good at putting typos
in everything.

But, um, yeah, it's cool
that you saved this,

and I'm flattered.
Thank you very much.

I was thinking about
dropping out.

I wasn't sure what to do
about a bike company,

but I thought,
if there's one place
I know where to start,

it's my BMX hero
and that's Bob Haro.

A lot of what I did,
and I continue to do that,
is to try to help other people

because when I was young,
people helped me.

Well, since this did start
with a conversation in a letter,

it's kind of cool to see
what came from it.

And that is my frame.

I remember seeing them.
I don't remember seeing one
in real life.

Right.
Well, there were only 30.

-So.
-What number is this one?

This is number one.

So tell me your logic
behind these stabilizers.

I don't know if there's
a placebo in my mind,

but it felt stiffer
for a racing frame,

this definitely did the trick.

If I decide to dive back
into Homestead Bicycles
and relaunch this company,

is there any advice
you can give me?

If it's something you want to do
and you've got the energy and...
You could do it.

You don't have to--
it doesn't have to be
500 bikes.

It can be a small quantity.
And you get that to market.

And maybe that closes a chapter
in one of your aspirations.

Okay, that was crazy.

I was dying for some time
to chew on Bob's words,
and I was about to get it.

No sooner had I got back
from meeting Bob,

that I got laid off
from the bottled water job.

I didn't have time
to get bummed out, though,

because a BMX collector
in the Bay Area had just
confirmed he had a Homestead.

-Wow, Darren?
-Hey, Alden.

-What's up, man?
-Nice to meet you
after all those texts.

I know. Texts and...

And after giving all the excuses
why I couldn't dig out
your frame.

I put it together, and I wanted
to get the NorCal flavor with
the boss and the VG.

And look at this VG.
I have not seen these
for so long.

-Dude, I was started thinking
I wasn't going to find any more.
Really.

There's nothing like
the true old-school stuff
made in the '90s or '80s.

You can always copy
the older designs
and stuff, but, you know,

it's not the real
original thing,

just like this
frame right here.

All right. Well, Darren,
you're in the book, man.

-Okay, thanks, man.
-021, Darren Chan.

Those dropouts look familiar.
Like CycleCraft dropouts.
But that's not a CycleCraft.

No, that's not a CycleCraft.
That's actually a-a block frame.

Um, there's a guy
by the name of Rich Bartlett.

He had some frames made.
It had that wishbone design.

That name Rich Bartlett
does sound familiar
from the late '80s, early '90s.

B93.

-Yeah, I heard there were only
like a hundred of those.
-Wow, XLX. Yeah.

That does-- You know what?
That does sound familiar.
Block.

Rich and I both had bikes
welded by CycleCraft,
both in the early '90s.

Maybe Rich could shed
some light on what
happened with Joe Martino.

Maybe even lead me
to the missing 20 bikes.

Wow, Rich.

Man.

Dude, after all these years.

-Good to see you.
-How you doing, man?

Great. Awesome.

Sheesh. This is--
What an awesome
property you got.

-Yeah, I lucked out.
-You got jumps front
and back, looks like.

Yeah, the lifestyle.

When I left the Martinos,
I was done with CycleCraft,
like I'd--

when I moved out of the house,
I was no longer wearing

CycleCraft stuff
from that point on.

CycleCraft was their hobby.
It had nothing to with
making money.

Betty was kind of over it.
They'd been doing over a decade

of being number one team
and that kind of thing.

Terry Shaughnessy from Florida
assumed the brand.

'Cause he been on the team
since as long as it was.

And he took all of
CycleCraft down to Florida.

So while I'm waiting
for more frames,

wondering what I'm going to do,
I'm driving around
the western U.S.,

going to be ABA races.
I had a sponsored rider.
A kid.

-The company, meanwhile,
moved to Daytona Beach.
-Yeah.

I never knew about it,
and then I call him
two years later.

No wonder they didn't know
what I was talking about
with 20 extra frames.

And he wouldn't have
assumed your liability.

So Terry's gotta know
more, though.

-He's gotta know at least
what he bought...
-Yeah.

...all these years.
The past is different
than I thought.

Man, that's bizarre.

I guess it's clear I gotta
go to Daytona Beach, find Shag.

I had to finish this journey.
So I packed up and
headed to Daytona Beach

to track down Shag
and get to the bottom
of this once and for all.

But first, I had one last
bike lead to follow up on
just outside of Oklahoma City.

I'm tracking down this
mystery bike
that I never thought I'd find.

This is the first bike
that was posted on
this BMX foreign website

that got this whole
movie started.

This whole project
of tracking down these bikes.

This guy's name is Derek.

It looks like a Homestead,
but there's no serial number.

-Derek.
-Nice to meet you.

-Hey, nice to meet you.
-This is Harper.

Hi, Harper. How you doing?
Nice to meet you.

Meet the camera.

-Say hi!
-Hi!

This is truly a treasure hunt.

Oh, my gosh.

No way!

I mean, look at this.

This is what got me
on the BMX website.

These, I think, are pretty much
are CycleCraft dropouts.

This is bizarre, dude.
You have, like,
the most rare Homestead

aside of not having
a Brian Foster paint job.

That mystery frame
was truly bizarre.

What exactly it was,
I still didn't know.

It was a two-day drive
to Daytona Beach.

Plenty of time for me
to digest everything
I'd learned on this journey.

Who I'd met
and the bikes I'd found.

I was hoping Shag
would have some answers.

-Terry?

-Wow.
-Yeah, Terry Shaugnessy.

-Shag, I guess so.
-Shag. Yeah.
Just call me Shag.

CycleCraft has moved to Florida.

I mean, this is basically like,
Alden thinks his bikes
are in Tennessee

-and CycleCraft is
moving to Florida.

And we got the proof.
We got the proof right here.

I came to Florida
in '91, in September, '91.
End of September.

So your timeline
must've been close.

You must've just built them
right before I went over
and took over, I guess.

So Joe never mentioned
anything about,
"Hey, you're buying CycleCraft

"and by the way, we got this guy
in California, we got to make
some frames for?"

I never heard about
us making your bikes,

or, you know, carrying it over.
'Cause we would've made 'em.

So I didn't think
nothing about it.

And now that you only got
30 of your 50, I'm like,
"Wow, that could be Joe."

-Yeah, that was when I folded
Homestead Bicycles.

And all this time I assumed
it was something I did wrong.

Or I failed or I didn't do
a business plan or--

Now it seems like
I just got the shaft.

So why did Joe not just tell me,
"Hey, give Shag a call."

I don't know.
That's something you're going
to have to find out from Joe.

And I don't know what I would
say to him, honestly.

At the time, I was just
so disappointed that I felt like
here's another thing in my life

that I put effort towards,
and here we go again.

It's just not going to quite
work out. I'm not going
to quite be normal.

I'm not going to quite
have a normal bike company.

And I had a shot, man.
People liked my bikes.

Do you have Joe's number?

Like, does he live
in the same-- I don't know,
in the same house?

As far as I know,
still in Kingsport, Tennessee.

I don't really know
if I'm going to see Joe

or if I'm going to see
what that 19-year-old kid
was thinking.

But maybe I'm wondering
what I'll find when I go
back to my past.

Hello?

Tell you one thing.
that's not the house that
I stayed at 25 years ago.

So I might have to do some
searching around Kingsport
and see if I can find Joe.

Even though I know CycleCraft
isn't welded here,

I think we should start at
the old factory.

So this is Shipley Ferry Road,
Kingsport, Tennessee.

Yeah. This is it.
This is the address.

This is where CycleCraft frames
were welded.

I guess, until--
What did Terry say? '91?

And Homestead Bicycles
were made right here.

We gotta try to find Joe.
Someone's got to know where
the heck he is.

I drove around Kingsport
trying to remember
what Joe's house looked like

but it was impossible.

Out of total desperation,
I saw these ladies

sipping lemonade
on their front porch,
and I took a chance.

Hello.

Um, this might be
kind of weird, but...

I wanted to know if I could
ask you a couple questions

about someone
in your neighborhood.

- Sure.
- And the name is
Joe Martino.

Does that name sound familiar?
Do you--

It does?
No way.

I see two ladies sipping
lemonade on the porch
in East Tennessee,

and they know
right where the Martinos lived.

Hello?

Hello?
Is this Joe Martino?

You're looking for
my dad, I think.

I'm just wondering
if I can talk to Joe.
Yeah, Joe Sr. I guess.

I'm outside at your gate.
Do you mind
if I come in and say hi?

Yeah, hang on a second.

Dude, we got it.
All this way.

And I found it 3,800 miles
all across the country,

and Joe's son is coming out
to open the gate for us.

He might not live here,
but we got him.

You up for some company?

No, are you up
for some company?

Okay, um, be just about
two or three minutes.

- Hey, Joe.
- Hey.

How you doing, man?

-I'm good.
-You remember me?

-Not really.
-Alden Olmsted.

I remember the last name.

-That's good.
-You from the West Coast?

Remember these frames that...

-Yeah.
-...you made back
30 years ago?

How many?

-30 years ago, 28 years ago.
-Wow.

-You didn't ride it much,
did you?
-Not that one.

I rode the other ones.
Yeah, I got the other one
on my car.

So I finally just decided to
tell the story of this
little bike company.

And I've been tracking down
as many of the bikes as I can.

And I've tracked down
nine of them.

-Really?
-One of them in Oklahoma City
on the way out here.

Well, they've been after
CycleCraft like that, too.

Yeah, and I just came
from Shag in Daytona Beach.

-You're kidding.
-Yesterday?

Just came from seeing
Shag yesterday.

Weren't you from
Washington state or...

-Northern California.
-Northern California.

-And you've come
all this way...
-To see you.

Shit.

What was happening
at CycleCraft
right before I came along?

So this is the middle of 1990.

We were in a growth spurt.

We were doing production
for other companies.

I don't know where you got
our name, but when you called,

I felt like,
here's a young kid that
wants to fulfill a dream,

and I invited you to come,
and you came enthusiastically.

Not many 19-year-olds.
In fact, you're the only
19-year-old I knew that...

came and asked to have
something made.

I had other 19-year-olds.
But their daddies backed 'em.

I think the timing
was right for you.

But it was wrong for us

because of us getting out
of the business, regrettably,

and that might've hindered
you some. I don't know.

So when Shag
bought the company, were there
any other commitments

or bike companies
that he was responsible for?

He bought CycleCraft
lock, stock and barrel.
Except for my machinery.

I know that you were just
getting started about the time
Shag bought us out.

I don't know whether
he chose not to...

make your stuff or not
because he was getting
somebody else to make it.

I've been
pretty hard on myself

about when the company
didn't work out.

Why would you be
hard on yourself?

I guess because, you know,
when your dad leaves
when you're a year old,

you put a lot of burden
on yourself, even if
there's no reason for it.

How many of them
were brave enough
to take first steps? You did it.

I think you might be
beating yourself up
a little bit.

I don't know if you are,
but on your-on your
bike production, manufacturing.

But you did a dream.
Very few ever do.

If you've planted a seed
for someone
by having a unique bike,

you did what
your intended purpose was.

I mean, you had a success.

Yeah, maybe that's
the first step
for me to move on

is to stop thinking of it
as a failure
and realize it was a success.

-Well, yeah, it's a learning
experience, for one.
-Yeah.

In fact...

there's some tubing,
I think, still down there,
that was yours.

-You're serious?
-I'm serious. Never sold it.

Never shipped it to you
because it's 20-foot lengths

and the cost of shipping
would have been more
than what the tubing was worth.

-And where's the tubing now?
-It's down in my old barn.

Yeah.

Top shelf, second shelf
a little on the third shelf.

-That might be
my 20 bikes right there.
-It could be.

It could be. You can walk
over here and look
a little closer if you want.

That tubing up there is the
beginning of Homestead
bike frames.

This is not where I thought
I'd find my 20 bikes.

I could not believe
the 20 bikes had been
there all along,

just sitting, as raw steel
tubes in a barn
in Eastern Tennessee.

But now I had
some bigger questions.
What was I going to do?

I said I wanted
my life to change,

and I did feel a huge weight
had been lifted.

But what was I supposed to
do with that?

Maybe this was
just about the journey.

About finding myself.

About forgiving that
19-year-old kid
I was so hard on.

I took a chance
and called Brad,
the welder up in Sacramento

and asked him if I could meet
at his shop the next Saturday.

Do you have time
to build me a bike?

-Always. Come on in.
-All right.

You know, my entire life
changed after I met you...

because you came to my life
at a very pivotable time.

I was a young, impressionable
15-and-a-half-year-old kid

who just wanted to build bikes
and, like, you did it.

You were the guy
that started the bike company
and made it happen.

And much like you talked about
writing the letter to Bob Haro

and like, that kind of changing
your existence and your path,
I saw you do it.

And so at that point in time,
everything changed for me.

Watching the bike
come together was surreal.

It was the past.
But it was now.

It was another step deeper
into this world.

What I did know is that
I just wanted to ride.

I wanted a new old style
Homestead that I could
ride with pride.

I didn't care if I got back
in the business.

I didn't care about the future.

I felt like a customer.

I wanted the bike that
all these people were
talking about so positively.

I wanted one for me.

I was shocked at how
quickly I felt at home again.

This was my community.

They didn't go anywhere.
I did.

These were my people,
but they were more than that.

They were family.

And to think the strangest
meeting of all
was meeting myself,

my 19-year-old self.

I'm no Freudian scholar,
but after what
I just went through,

I'd say it's pretty important
once in a while
to check in with that dude.

That person you were.
That kid who didn't even
blink at risk.

Who laughed at failure.

That kid was confident,
enthusiastic, creative,
relentless.

And going forward
wherever this life takes me,
I have to remember...

that kid was me.

off of the rack

ride around in cul-de-sacs

start growing long

it's going to be

all these silly dreams

and another time

back on the rack

there's no take backs

begin to fall

he still recalls

it's going to be

I hate these dirty jeans

these broken dreams

like my wheels keep spinning

you'll never know

And it's all been done

you'll never see

And it's all been done

back off of the rack

still ride

Dink! I can't remember
that part. I'm sorry.
I'll figure it out.