Original subtitles

America. It's the land of the free.

Especially for those who experience it outside the cage.

- Who's better on a motorcycle. - - you or Dennis hopper?

Me.

I've been all over this land,

With some of my closest friends by my side...

You know, you're so good, I didn't even realize you were here.

And, man, we've seen some things.

You cannot believe the we've gotten into.

This is a country that begs you to lose yourself and discover...

Holy!

To take that exit off the beaten path.

Pbht!

Because if you don't know where you're going,

Any road's gonna get you there.

- Yeah! - Alright, hit it!

Here we go!

Yeah, baby.

I love it here.

Yeah, I always wanted to go from California to new york...

Like, do a cross-country and go through the desert.

The cross-country trip.

Is a distinctly American rite of passage.

From Kerouac to kesey and his group of pranksters...

To peter Fonda and captain America,

There's a mythology about our highways.

That inspires us to follow in their footsteps.

And with seemingly boundless land stretching coast to coast,

The road provides infinite possibilities of what lay ahead.

Yeah!

Through five seasons of "ride," we've covered a lot of pavement,

So in these times of isolation, uncertainty, and unrest,

I'm excited to revisit some of the places,

People, and ideals of a country I love.

You heard it right. We're doing a clips show.

But don't worry. We've got some new stuff to show you.

Look right down the barrel of the lens.

As myself, apparently.

- Test one, two, one, two. - I'm nervous.

You're so good. I don't know what you're worried about.

People see Mexico as just a desert wasteland,

But, really, it's this fertile valley of diverse culture.

The low country is such a beautiful place.

It's this beautiful masterpiece of open plains and water.

We like to cowboy up in Texas, you know?

We ain't got no room for being candy asses.

There's always been a struggle in Tennessee.

Wherever you have hardship, you're gonna get music.

Golden California.

The weather is ideal. The geography is amazing.

What's not to love?

Out on the west coast,

We'll revisit California bike culture.

Before I return to the sprawling desert of the southwest.

After looking back on some of my favorite locals.

In the deep south, I'll recall a history lesson.

In america's musical heartland.

Before I land in my home city of new york.

It's a 5,000-mile love letter to America.

Made possible by the magic of the edit room.

Steven! I'm kicking things off.

With one of my favorite people who I've met.

Through "the walking dead," Steven yeun.

- How's your baby? How's jo? - Good. Huge. So good.

Dude, I've missed you, man.

I miss you guys. How has it been over there?

- It's different. - Yeah.

It's... you know, it's... I mean, all of us.

Who started that thing... Yeah.

There was such a camaraderie there.

I think that's what was so awesome.

About our show was, I remember talking to you.

And being... looking around being like,

"none of us are supposed to be friends, but we are."

- Like brothers and sisters. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm gonna know you forever.

Forever. Sorry, man.

No. I'm sorry.

Dude, if this is what you do all season long,

you, man.

Steven joined me in the bay area.

For a ride back in 2018 when my buddy max schaff.

Hooked us up with an invite to the east bay dragons clubhouse.

Rad.

How's it going, man? Hi. I'm Norman.

All right. K-cloud. Nice to meet you, Norman.

- This place is amazing, yeah. - A lot of history.

The idea of a black motorcycle club.

Was controversial in the '60s.

They were just charting such wild new territory.

Coming out of a segregated society, being black,

We had to be together, you know?

And we had to stick together.

- How are you, sir? - Norman, this is pres.

Nice to meet you. I'm Norman. Nice to meet you.

Our 60-year anniversary is coming up...

- Next year. - Next year.

When you got a bunch of brothers and they is on the wild side.

And you know they gonna go to jail and do first one thing.

And then another and do something stupid,

So I had to get my brothers then interested.

- In building motorcycles. - Yeah.

The way he led this club got east Oakland, west Oakland,

North Oakland, everybody under one umbrella,

And nobody wasn't tripping about.

What neighborhood they were from.

He did not allow that.

Once you put this patch on your back.

And you make that pledge to be a east bay dragon, that's it.

I don't look at you like, "I'm different."

Y'all just like me. It ain't no difference between.

Because your skin is this and my skin is that.

I don't look at you like that.

My blood is red, too, so what's the difference?

I gotta say... what an honor to meet you.

You remind me of my pop.

I'm like... I'm about to tear up over here...

Tobie gene levingston.

United people through his love of motorcycles,

And by bringing different neighborhoods together,

His club forged alliances in the Oakland community.

I'm glad you guys came by.

And asked a bunch of doggone questions.

Unfortunately, tobie passed on in 2020,

But it was a real privilege to meet the man.

And to join the dragons for a ride.

Alright. Let's go.

Yeah!

This how we do it in the town.

I love it. This is nuts, dude.

We are the largest black club in the world.

We don't have any other chapters.

We're keeping the legacy alive.

This is an honor right here.

You know what I mean? This is a real honor.

What makes me proud to be a dragon?

We'd need a whole nother show for that.

For those who ride, California is a mecca...

Magnificent roads and views.

That need to be seen to be believed.

I'm excited to ride.

Yeah, it's gonna be nice today.

A few years back, I joined my friend

Imogen lehtonen in Santa Barbara. Ready?

She's a bad ass on and off the bike.

Her I.A. Jewelry shop, the great frog,

Has been adorning rock royalty for years.

This is fun!

I like riding around with you.

Shit! The ocean!

Whoo! Yeah!

Look how sparkly it is.

We hit the pacific coast highway.

On our way to Santa Cruz...

One of the most stunning stretches of road in the world.

Wow. I love it up here. Northern California.

Is so much different than southern California.

- It's different, yeah. - It has such a different energy.

You know what I mean? Yeah.

In California, the roots of American bike culture run deep.

After world war ii, returning soldiers.

Fueled a resurgence in ridership.

With a need for speed and the mechanic know-how.

Came the first choppers...

Bikes modified, or chopped up, from factory parts.

To create one-of-a-kind racing machines.

This culture of customization and ingenuity.

Continues to thrive in California today.

It's no wonder I really got into bikes while living here.

But you always need that one person to get you started.

- Hello. - What's up? Hi. I'm Norman.

- Liza. - Nice to meet you. Hi.

Hi. Imogen.

- Hey, Imogen. - Nice to meet you.

These are some nice little rides you got.

This is a little bit nicer version than mine,

But, you know... This is awesome, though.

Thank you. That's beautiful.

- I built that one. - Did you really? Right on.

Yes. Do you teach people that don't know.

How to work on bikes... How to work on bikes?

Yes, but nobody here is a mechanic.

We teach people how to ride, help them buy their gear,

Teach them what are the cool movies to watch.

Right, right, right.

Expose them to the entire culture.

- Wow. - Yeah.

And so we've kind of built up this crazy community.

How cool. How did the podcasts start?

When you get a group of people sitting around the garage.

Working on bikes, you have conversations,

Right. We play pranks. We tell stories.

We share rides and experiences and opinions.

Hey, there. Welcome to "motorcycles & misfits".

At the re-cycle garage.

Let's get to one of our topics...

What's the best bike for the zombie apocalypse?

And we have a special guest here,

Somebody who actually has experience in this field.

So I'd like to welcome here Norman reedus.

- Whoo-hoo! - What's up? What's up? Hi!

- Thanks for having me. - Hey, dude. Welcome.

I think what I would do.

Is I'd get one of these zero bikes,

And I would put a solar panel on the back of it.

That's because anything that makes noise attracts zombies.

- Right. - Right? Which...

And I caught a lot of flak for having that triumph.

With the ape hangers.

Of course.

When I fist showed up, Liza just shoved a broken moped at me.

And was like, "here, fix this!"

She does that to a lot of people.

Yeah. That's how she hooks you in.

She's like, " here's this free bike.

Just get it running, and it's yours."

And two years later, I was still here.

That's cool.

It's empowering to learn how to do something.

If you can build or fix something,

What else can you do in your life, you know?

If California is the land of extremes,

Death valley is about as far out there as you can get,

But it was out there in the desert eight years ago.

That babes ride out helped kick-start.

A new motorcycle revolution.

Today, almost a quarter of all riders.

Are female, and their numbers are growing every single year.

- Wow. Look how pretty this is. - I know.

- Mornin'! - Morning.

- How goes it? - This is crazy pretty up here.

I first met Anya violet and ashmore Ellis.

When they rode through Georgia and stopped at my house,

So when I was passing through Cali.

With my old I.A. Friend Balthazar Getty...

- Ready to do this? - Yeah, let's go.

They invited us to take the ride up to dante's view.

Yeah, welcome to the desert, boys.

Yeah!

Whoo-hoo!

You guys are twinning so hard right now.

I love it.

Don't hate. We're adorable.

All the colors on the mountainside look so crazy!

- So dope. - It's so weird to think that.

This is, like, 100 feet below sea level.

That trips me out.

It trips me out, too.

- My god! - Aah!

- Wow! - Wow!

My god. This is amazing.

This is awesome.

Holy crap!

This is probably the prettiest thing I've ever seen.

It's crazy. This is definitely.

The prettiest thing I've ever seen.

I mean, the mountains are, like, blue.

It's just like full-on no-man's-land.

I've never ridden in the desert ever.

- Really? First time? - Ever. First time, yeah.

This is a good place to start.

This is one of the probably most unique places.

In the entire world.

Do you see why we do babes ride out in the desert?

Hell yeah. This is beautiful out here. Like, I get it, you know?

Yeah, I'm glad we could be your first time in the desert.

This pops my desert cherry.

You're welcome.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

- It's so good. - Wait. I feel like the girls.

Are sort of taking credit for the desert thing,

But, really, I mean, I kind of...

This was your idea.

Thank you so much for doing this.

It's no surprise that we've taken a ride to California.

Four times now.

With the riding culture, its beauty,

The great weather, and the genuine people you meet,

This place never gets old.

Yeah.

But now with a taste of the desert,

I'm off to the American southwest.

- Thank you. - Thank you very much.

- Yeah. - Best hot dog ever.

Yeah. Really yummy.

- Hi. I'm a big fan. - Hi.

You watch the show? Wow. Do you know this guy?

- Dwight. - Yes.

I knew it. I knew it.

He kept saying the whole time, "that's Dwight." it's Dwight.

What's up, man? I'm reading the comic books right now.

Right. I notice that you're not in them.

I'm not in the comic books, no.

Nice to meet you, man. What a pleasure.

- Nice meeting you. - Yeah, man.

- Give him a hug. - Come here. Come here.

I've always been intrigued by the desert.

Everything's spiky.

It's why when I got the chance to explore Arizona,

I brought my "walking dead" nemesis, Austin amelio,

Who uncovered secrets.

Austin look at this guy. It's almost like an instrument.

Like this.

I mean, the guy literally has a cactus tattoo.

It got me.

Why do you have a cactus tattoo?

Because it's just kind of a symbol of the south.

That's awesome.

In Arizona, we met up with an indigenous.

Riding club in phoenix.

Before I crossed deep into the badlands of new Mexico.

Into the white sands missile range.

With musician amy Nash.

Wow. This is so nice, dude.

It feels like the wild west.

Those who endure the desert have a unique character.

The salt river pima-maricopa.

Share the same spirit and reverence for the earth.

As their ancestors once did.

There's some motorcycles.

Part of that connection comes through motorcycles.

- Hey. - Hey, what's goin' on?

- How you doing? - Leonard villanueva.

Nice to meet you, Leonard.

How are you? James Olson.

- How are you, man? - Austin.

- How was the ride over here? - Beautiful, man.

And is this your logo right here?

- Yes. - Yes.

You can see, like, that's a perfect drawing.

Of the mountain right there.

- Yeah. - You can hike up there, or...

Yes, community members only.

- Wow. - It's very protected.

It's a very sacred mountain.

One of the stories that I heard when I was young.

Was that the mountain was red.

Because of battles that were fought there.

- Years and years ago... - Wow.

By our ancestors.

I'll tell you. I was driving around.

It was kind of like one of those days.

Where it's real cloudy. Yeah.

Then all of a sudden, there was no sun anywhere in sight.

Except for on that red mountain.

I was like, "wow." that's so cool.

- Should we hit it? - Let's go.

- Yeah, let's do it. - Yeah, take me to the mountain.

Man, I could ride around here all day and just get lost.

- Yeah. - It's beautiful, man.

So now you get a nice view of the red mountain.

Wow! Yeah, I see it.

That's the last thing we see on our way out.

And our first thing we see when we're coming home.

As a visitor, you get a sense of the majesty of the desert...

Can I take a picture of you guys in front of the mountain?

And of the people who call it home.

You guys look like bad asses.

And two years later, I'm still finding.

Specks of it in my shoes.

- Yeah! - Perfect.

Good morning and welcome to the new Mexico show.

It's beautiful?

New Mexico was shrouded in mystique.

Hey. How you doing?

A few years back, I visited with Aimee Nash,

Lead singer of the black Ryder.

- We gonna hit it? - Yeah, let's go.

Let's do it.

- This is awesome out here. - Beautiful!

Wow! Look at this jet fighter plane thing.

Wow. What is that? What is that?

That looks like, like, one of those drone planes.

For decades, the government has used this landscape's isolation.

For top-secret projects...

Roswell, Dulce base, the atomic bomb.

And those are just the ones we know about.

"You are entering white sands missile range."

It's a conspiracy theorists' dream come true.

Whoa!

Yeah, this is crazy.

For me, coming out here was a chance.

To thank the hard-working men and women of our military...

And find out what they're up to.

Hello, sir, how you doing? I'm Sean Wilson from pmsss.

What's going on here?

This is the fwsi,

Which is the family weapon sites individual.

It is also coupled with an envg,

Which is an enhanced night-vision goggle three,

A thermal goggle that allows a soldier.

To see a thermal image that's down range.

So if the enemy is camouflaged or behind something,

The thermal picture sees that somebody is back there.

Wow, and you look bad ass.

Would you like to check it out and try it on?

Derr. Yes.

All right.

Now, we're just gonna lower this down, let me know.

That's about right. Are you good?

- This is so "terminator." - you okay?

So if you move the weapon sight back and forth,

You can see that it moves inside your goggle.

- This is crazy. - We're gonna have you shoot.

At that 100-meter target out there.

Whenever you're ready.

Whoo!

There you go.

Takes a second to get used to.

Yeah. Try the m-2 machine gun next?

- Let's do it. - All the way back.

We're hot.

- Yeah. - Whoa!

This is rad.

Whoo! Thank you.

How are you, sir? Norman. Nice to meet you.

So, we wanted to make sure that, you know, before you leave,

We give you a little bit of hardware from me and the sergeant major.

- Very cool. - Now you're a part of our team.

That's awesome. Thank you guys for your service.

Thank you, man. It's a pleasure.

You're official.

The servicemen and women in white sands,

They welcomed me as one of their own.

And even though we didn't discover any space aliens,

What we did find was American resourcefulness at its finest.

And enough heavy-duty artillery.

To stifle any disappointment.

- Like, that's so fun. - Yeah.

Wow, look to the right. Look how pretty that is.

So beautiful.

Crossing into Texas, a little green is a sight for sore eyes.

I always think of Texas as flat. You know what I mean?

But, like, there's hills here.

Beautiful, man.

And riding the infamous twisted sisters.

With my buddy, artist Jake lamagno,

I came to discover this place is a country unto itself.

Look at this turn. It's a 45-degree angle right there.

We're twisting the sisters?

A 100-mile stretch.

Of hairpin turns through Texas hill country,

This terrain demands focus and is pure exhilaration.

- We're stopping at this gas station. - Yeah!

Look at this road!

Onward we ride deep into the heart of the lone star state.

- This is great. - Yeah, this is awesome.

Now, twice we've taken a ride to Texas.

What sticks with me is the homegrown pride.

That's apparent everywhere you turn.

Dude, all this open road. This is awesome.

It has a rebel energy that radiates.

And a sense of individuality.

You'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.

Just ask my good buddy and "boondock saints" brother

Sean Patrick flanary.

That's how you ride in Texas, baby.

Sean and I hit new waverly to get a taste.

Of the old wild west.

Then I waded into the swamps.

Of breaux bridge, Louisiana, with metal god Brent hinds.

Before I visited my tv brother's hometown of jasper, Alabama.

Dude, you know how many interviews I've done on "walking dead".

When they're like, "in a zombie apocalypse,

What would be your weapon of choice?"

And I go, "Sean Patrick flanary."

That's beautiful.

The king string bucking bulls.

Cattle's synonymous with Texas.

I've always wanted to be a bull rider.

Just because it gets my heart pumping, my guts wrenching,

And the adrenaline's just a-flowin', man.

- Go time! - Go, Jared!

- Go, man! Go! - Yeah!

- Whoo-whoo! - Yeah! - Whoo!

He got kicked in the face.

- Hey, hey, hey, hey! - What's up, guys? B.A.

- I'm Sean. My buddy Norman. - Sean.

- Hey. Nice to meet y'all. - Nice to meet you.

- Pleasure, man. - What y'all think about that?

They kicked that guy in the face.

Yeah, I know. Right in front of y'all, right?

That's crazy, yeah. Yeah.

This is kinda what we do for a living, man, is breed.

And raise 'em and buck 'em.

Here comes the artillery, right there.

Is this like a-a training ground for bull riders?

Yes. And bulls.

How often do you climb on a bull?

When I'm not hurt? Yeah.

Every day, rodeoing. Whoa.

Bucking bull!

Whoo! Whoo!

One of the worst injuries I ever had,

I had a bull hit me in the side with his horn.

Broke three ribs, lacerated my spleen...!

Punctured a lung, and ruptured my liver.

Y'all ever thought about riding bulls?

I can't say I've ever thought about it, to be honest.

Do you have something soft to start him off on?

Yeah. Definitely. Come check it out.

Mount up, homey.

Free arm out in front of you.

Like that? Yep. And when he kicks, sit down.

Yeah. Yep.

- Like that. - See?

You want to me to do it one time and you'll see if it helps you?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You go up, down, up, down, up, down.

Yeah. I haven't done that motion in at least a week.

I feel like you should do this with your shirt off.

And baby oil or somethin'. Sean, let's see what you got.

- Squeeze harder. Yeah! - Yeah!

You know, when we first met,

We were Irish, but Sean is Texas.

I feel like you could get on bulls.

He captures the rebellious, devil-may-care attitude.

That makes this place such a good time.

They use one hand... no hands. Thank you for not killing me.

Now, when I made plans to see Louisiana,

The first person I called was Brent hinds,

The guitarist for the Grammy-winning rock band mastodon.

This is a really cool area out here. Yeah.

Halfway between Lafayette and baton rouge is real cool.

He's originally from Alabama,

But he spent a lot of time here when he was a kid.

Daiquiri drive-through... you see that?

Yeah, man, that's what I love about Louisiana.

This place looks awesome.

Looks like "Texas chainsaw massacre."

- How y'all doing? - Can you take us on the airboat?

- Sure can. - Man, this is crazy out here.

That's our backyard.

All right, guys, here we go.

You can't see anything below.

You going under this, you'll never come back up.

Yeah. Look, it looks like we're, like, on land.

This is amazing.

Wait, there he is. He's coming. To the left.

Yeah.

- Here he is right here. - Look at this.

It's incredible.

Yeah? Yeah? Yeah.

- Wow! - My goodness.

That was mind-blowing.

Sherry is about a 14-year-old alligator.

I found her a few years ago. She had run into a thorn tree.

She ended up losing one eye.

- Mwah. - That just happened.

- You know that lady, don't you? - That's only reason she kissed me.

She's blind.

When did you first, like, know.

That you could call the alligator over?

Well, when we were kids, you know, back in the early '60s,

Alligators were put on the endangered-species list.

There were very few of them left.

And when we saw an alligator, we were so intrigued with it.

You know? I have a big male we call big mack.

He's about a 12-footer. He'll go about 700 pounds.

He's calm as a kitten.

I can lay down on the deck of the boat and hold his tail,

And he'll drag this boat down the canal.

- Really? - Yeah.

I've seen a lot riding across this land.

Dude, you just called an alligator over here.

But nothing really prepares you for when your guide.

Locks lips with a 12-foot reptile.

Thank you so much. That was so fun.

Thanks a million.

Yeah, thanks are doing this, bro.

'Cause we... you asked me the first... I was like...

Yeah, I've been asking you since day one.

Man, this is great. Dixon brothers on the freeway.

Yeah, baby!

Spontaneity is key for any good trip,

But traveling with a crew doesn't always lend itself.

To getting off the beaten path.

So when Michael rooker took us on a detour.

Through his hometown in Alabama,

I saw another side of my tv brother.

This whole little area here is, where I grew up.

Wow.

And I gained a newfound appreciation.

For real southern hospitality.

This is the street my cousins and my aunts lived on.

No way. Yeah.

That's my cousin right there, the lady cleaning the grass.

No... are you serious? That's your cousin? Yeah. Yeah.

What's up, girl?

What you doing?

Can I say hi?

Give me a hug, woman.

- This is my neighbor. - Hi, Greg. How you doing, man?

Hi, man, I'm Norman. Nice to meet you.

- These guys are from. - - -how you doing, Greg?

- I'm Michael. - He's on that "walking dead" mess on tv.

Okay.

This is what... what'd they call you?

Merle, my name is Merle. Merle. The one arm...

That was him.

That was

"you still in that 'walking dead' mess?"

Yeah, that mess.

I was flipping the tv last night.

That was "galaxy."

"Guardians of the galaxy." "guardians of the galaxy."

You saw me on tv? Yeah, I flipped it to

I watched the last 30 minutes.

I seen you kill all them guys with that arrow.

That was the best part. I know it.

Where we going? Where we going?

Listen, you going in my house.

- Okay. - She's kidnapped him.

- She's taking me away. - Good luck!

Michael! Get in here. These dolls are awesome!

Your house is pretty.

Aah!

Why don't you have any boy dolls?

Hell, no. I got boy dolls, look.

Show me a boy doll. Right here, baby.

Say hi to everybody, peter.

"Hey, how y'all doing?"

Hey. Let's see what's in the fridge.

You promised you'd make me butter beans.

And cornbread, woman!

Norman, she didn't make any butter beans.

What? Because you didn't let me know.

I want you to look at all these messages

I sent him, and he didn't respond. You know!

I see butter beans and cornbread.

But he didn't respond. You've proven it.

You've proven it. Yeah. There's a whole bunch of messages to you, and

I don't respond to messages.

Well, you would have got some butter beans.

And cornbread if you had.

Geez, she didn't make us butter beans and cornbread.

She should have known I would like butter beans and cornbread.

Take a picture with us 'cause we're gonna...

We can't stay here all day.

Come here. We're busy people, woman.

Here, let me get this.

You ready? I'm dirty.

You are dirty. You're a filthy girl.

I'm messy. You're a messy girl.

You're a mean, messy, filthy girl.

Look, I can be.

- Bye, baby! - Bye, dolls!

Bye, little dollies!

- Bye! Thanks for having us! - Bye, Georgie!

Bye-bye!

You know, just when you think you've seen it all,

You meet rooker's relatives.

She's great.

Traveling through the deep south,

You come to appreciate the subtle.

And not so subtle differences.

In dialect, world view, and way of life.

All right, brother.

And experiencing it with some of my favorite people,

That just makes it all the more special.

Bye. Butter beans and cornbread next time!

Butter beans and cornbread next time, woman!

- Hello. - Morning.

You guys done much fishing before?

Not at all, really.

Back in 2018, I made a pit stop with Vivian nicastro.

And annemarie kelbon from the band sister antics.

On our way to Nashville.

Nice. Keep working line out.

Stop and stop. You're fly-fishing.

Tickle, tickle.

Tickle, tickle, stop. Perfect.

Tickle, tickle, stop.

Can they hear you?

I'll go back here. What?

- Okay, if someone gets hooked. - - you get hooked before me.

Keep it tight.

Just tickle, tickle, stop.

Tickle, tickle, stop.

"Tickle, tickle, stop"... You'll never forget that.

Tickle, tickle, stop. You'll never forget it.

Come on, fishy. This is it.

This is the one. This is the one.

Take your time.

God.

Fly! Fly everywhere!

That did not tickle at all.

American culture is rooted in song.

It's long been a platform for the marginalized,

A voice for the unheard.

And nearly 100 years ago,

Against the backdrop of the great depression,

It was in Memphis.

Where the defining genres of American music took form.

In 2018, bike designer Luke leatherwood.

And outlaw singer dale Watson showed me around the city.

Hey, Luke, we're coming up on sun, right?

Yep, it's where Elvis and johnny cash,

Jerry lee Lewis...

B.B. King, howlin' wolf.

Have you recorded anything there?

Yeah, I recorded three albums there.

Nice.

This is world-famous beale street.

- Home of the blues. - This is so cool.

This is where b.B. King.

And all those guys got their start.

A lot of these places,

Back when the African-American movement was really strong,

They had a big standing down here.

Where they could come and play music and not be persecuted.

Hey, over here is Lorraine motel, isn't it?

Yep, it's now the civil rights museum.

This weekend is actually the, anniversary.

Of martin Luther king's assassination.

It was on the second floor,

Room 306, where dr. King spent his last hours on the planet.

The legacy of martin Luther king is peace.

He represents the...

The diversity push that we have as the city's grown.

We want to make sure that everyone's culture and religion.

And race is accounted for,

Because we've lived through the times when it wasn't,

And we saw what happened.

60 years later, dr. King's cause still lives on.

It's been a long time coming.

But today, there's a real hope that a change is gonna come.

So, this place, royal studios,

Is, like, stuck in time, Norman.

Here we go. Cool.

Royal studios is an American music institution.

Is that Keith Richards?

Yeah. All these people recorded here.

In the '60s, producer willie Mitchell.

Helped reshape the sound of Memphis soul.

Hey, boo! Hey! What's up?

Welcome to royal, man.

Well, let me show y'all where the magic happens.

Aw, thank you, man. Thank you.

I love that it's... that it still looks the same.

Was it always like this?

So, the studio opened in '57.

It used to be a silent movie theater.

My dad, when he first got here,

One of the owners wasn't real progressive-thinking.

And would never let my dad engineer his records.

Finally, my dad sold enough records.

And bought the guy out.

Really? Wow. Yeah.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

This is pretty cool.

What is that? I've never seen that before.

This is, like, the world's first drum machine.

Yeah? Have you gotten to where, like,

Certain instruments.

Are the perfect instruments for this place?

Yeah, especially if we're, like,

Trying to duplicate records.

That sound like the ones my dad made. Wow.

So, this is the wall of fame.

Boz scaggs was the first one.

Then wu-tang and Bruno mars.

The Beatles had actually signed the walls in the back,

And sometime in the '80s, my dad was getting the place painted,

And this little, old man with a roller, like...

No, no!

So we started a new one.

I saw Keith Richards painted out on the wall out front.

I did a music video with him when I was like 21 or 22.

And there was some girl doing his hair.

He turns around and goes, "you know how I got this haircut?"

And I was like, "no, but, my god, you're Keith Richards."

Then he goes, "my mom gave me money.

When I was a little kid to get my hair cut,

And I kept the money and cut my own hair."

"I've been doing it ever since."

Yeah, we recorded his first solo record here.

I was about 17, and I was just in charge.

Of cigarettes and jack Daniels.

Yeah? That's all I did on set.

That sounds like a full-time job, though.

Music connects people.

And guys like dale and boo...

They're carrying the torch of the Memphis sound.

To a whole new generation.

Boom.

One of my favorite things about the road.

Is hitting up the local music scenes.

You hear things in song people won't tell you straight up...

Their struggles, what's important,

What they're proud of.

I've seen a bunch of great bands on "ride,".

But with my buddy Clifton Collins jr.

In Lexington,

One group struck a chord with us both.

I'm Norman. Hey, nice to meet you, yeah.

Cannon. Norman.

Nice to meet you, guys.

- Is this your spot? - It is, it is.

- Cool. Yeah. - Music and entertainment.

A lot of blues, Americana, you know, bluegrass.

Come on. Let's go check it.

So they're just getting warmed up.

- Yeah! - Yeah!

Sweet!

- Beautiful. - Ladies, ladies.

That was awesome. I'm Norman. Hi.

Hey, how are you doing? I'm Montana.

- Nice to meet you, Montana. - Hey, Montana.

- Linda jean. - Norman.

- Nice to meet you. Pleasure. - Nice to meet you.

- Glad you're in Kentucky. - Yeah, Kentucky's cool.

- This is my first time here. - It's really quirky.

There's all kinds of different culture that's developed.

In, like, different little pockets of Kentucky.

Yeah. And, like, really cool music has sprung up.

Huge thanks to this place. You know what I mean?

For real? Yeah. Like, we... we needed a big...

Everything, Louisville, Lexington, Kentucky.

We needed a place that we could, like,

All kind of curate shows here.

Play us a song. Play us a ditty.

- A ditty? - A ditty?

Music is a part of who we are as Americans.

Inspired by the traditions of the past,

We're driven to create.

To tell stories that evoke emotions.

And to connect with one another.

Through the power of a song.

Do you come up with cool ideas on the bikes,

Like, when it's just you and your helmet?

My gosh, yeah.

I do my best thinking on the motorcycle.

Like, really, riding bikes.

Is what kept me touring, everything.

I stopped riding, then I went

"I'm here. Let me just do a show while I'm here.

"Let me do a show." and I just kept going.

Yeah. Absolutely.

Low country is an experience all its own,

And Dave chappelle made the perfect companion.

Wonder what this guy is doing.

He was on the phone, looking for something in the grass.

He's looking for his wife's wedding ring.

He threw out of the car window.

I thought he was looking for, like, a bag of weed.

That he threw out during a traffic stop.

After Dave and I visited.

A historical landmark on st. Helena island,

I sat in with a biker congregation in Nashville.

Before the last stop on this cross-country trip,

My home city of new york.

Dude, thanks for doing this ride, man.

Thanks for having me, bro.

One of the most rewarding aspects of crossing this country.

Has been discovering the history.

That they don't teach you about in school.

This is where education for black people.

Started in the entire south.

So this is where it all went down.

Yes. In 1861,

The union forces came through and occupied this area.

The plantation owners fled,

And they left us behind.

They left their houses behind and their property behind.

We were property.

So the federal government decided.

The first people that should have the opportunity.

To purchase the land would be us.

And my family was... Were one of those people.

That purchased their land in the late 1860s,

And we still have our land today.

Wow.

My great-grandfather was in the state legislature.

During reconstruction.

South Carolina? Yeah.

Whoa!

Yeah.

Aren't you proud?

You know, yeah.

It's this weird thing.

Where I felt connected to something very large.

Yeah, absolutely.

And this idea of being enslaved and then being "emancipated".

And how some people were able to...

Like your family here, like a starter pistol.

Just...

But your ancestor was able to go from being enslaved.

To making the laws.

Right. That's amazing.

In this building right here, dara hall,

Portions of the "I have a dream" speech were penned there.

We found handwritten drafts in the attic, in the building.

No way. That's really crazy to think about.

It is, it is.

The March on Washington during that time period.

Was strategized here.

Why here? During jim crow,

Couldn't meet anywhere in the south because of those laws.

The school was highly unknown.

No one knew about this area that much.

That they could come here in secret.

Norman, this whole ride.

Wouldn't have had happened back then. No!

No, you'd be pulled over how many times.

And, threatened how many times and...

No.

You can feel the history here. You can, like, just feel it.

Yes.

And some of the first things that people will say.

That they feel like they really are on sacred ground.

Said I'm glad... I hope

I'm glad to see another day.

Glad to see you here today. Hope to see you soon.

There you go! Yeah, I got it.

How... what?! I speak it, I got it.

Ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first.

The white guy picked up Gullah.

The black guy's still trying to put it together.

You have to know the past to understand the present.

The lessons of tolerance and acceptance are ones.

That I've found resonating with people.

All over the country.

And a little up the highway in asheville, north Carolina,

I came across a biker congregation.

Preaching a message of unity and brotherhood on the road.

That's what freedom's all about.

It's about where you're riding across the country.

It don't matter whether you got long hair, tattoos.

- It don't matter... you know what I mean? - - However you dress.

How many of y'all have been judged because the way you look?

- Yep. - Absolutely.

How many of y'all judged the guy in the suit and tie?

Now, be honest.

- Yeah. - Absolutely.

Same goes both ways.

You can't do that. Life is a lot like a bike.

If you don't know how to ride it,

You're gonna wind up somewhere you don't want to be.

That was a beautiful sermon. Thank you, brother.

You said a lot of things that really struck me in there, yeah.

It's the biker way of life. Yes, sir. Yeah.

I mean, even if somebody is outside the biker community,

Man, they need help, man.

The bikers are gonna come and help, you know?

You throw on some barbecue out there,

And they're really kind.

I heard something about an outhouse race.

Or something like that, porta potty race.

Come here. Let me show it to you.

You don't realize you might die today.

This is terrifying.

I love that I won't be able to make production.

On Monday on the show.

Because I was killed in a porta potty.

Handle's right here.

Handle's right here? Yeah.

Alright. Hit it. Let's do it.

Did I win?

I think I won.

You did.

Over five seasons of "ride,"

I found that the real beauty of America.

Lies in the sum of its parts...

We gonna...

The diversity and complexity you see.

When you travel from end to end.

And nowhere is that more apparent.

Than at home in new york,

The whole world contained within one city.

But like everywhere else, it's about who you're with.

And for me, coming home is a chance.

To spend time with my son.

There he is.

You got him, Mingus. Get him.

Is that mate?

That was slick.

Thank you.

Bye, cornbread. Thanks, brother. Take care, guys.

I was telling him that I used to play here when you were a kid.

Yeah. Hustle the hustlers.

I don't know how fair that game was.

Wait, wait, wait. He cheated?

Not to say that he cheated,

But he just moved it incorrectly.

On camera? Yeah.

Seeing new york city alive and bustling,

It's a memento of better days...

So, we're headed this way.

Days I know we'll have again soon,

Because this ride has been a reminder.

Of what actually makes this country great...

People who pull together.

Value community and self-sacrifice.

For the common good...

A place where if your bike breaks down.

On the side of the road,

Someone's there to pick you up.

Because that's the America I know.