redgst97
03-07-2006, 09:58 PM
I am not too sure if you know what our friend Alex has been up to the past few days....
As written by Nico:
"A good friend of mine, who happens to be a senior member of the International Allstars, created a design for a bike in tribute to the 343 firefighters lost in the tragedy of 9/11. And just in case you were wondering, he had the idea and plans for the bike before Orange County Choppers did their Fire Fighter chopper bike, which is also an extraordinary piece of art by the way. Following the suggestion of another Allstar's team member, Carlos Avelar, Alex decided to trailer the bike from Atlanta, GA to New York to have firemen from 3 different houses view and ultimately sign the bike, since for him he saw no bigger honor than presenting it to them as a small token of his appreciation for their sacrifices.
I had the honor of joining Alex on this journey and it's my distinct pleasure to share with you some of the pictures that we took at each house. The houses we visited were Squad 1 of Brooklyn, NY; Ladder 148 of Brooklyn, NY; and 10 Truck of Manhattan, literally 10 feet from Ground Zero on Liberty Street. Alex chose these houses each for different reasons: Squad 1 because their house lost 11 firefighters, almost half a house of 24, the most of any house in NY; Ladder 148 because their Captain, Capt. Mike Gala, expressed extreme interest in being a part of the bike as he himself was in the World Trade Center moments before it collapsed; and finally 10 Truck because of it's proximity to Ground Zero.
For me to have the opportunity to be a part of the presentation of this bike to these fine Americans is one of the most memorable and honorable moments that I have had the pleasure of being a part of and I will forever be grateful to Alex for allowing me the opportunity to join him in his quest. We laughed, talked story, shot the shit, joked, and cried all in the same day with these great individuals, and as the late great Jim Valvano would say, "That's a full day, that's a heck of a day." Without further ado, I present to you our pictures:
BIKE 343, THE FIRE FIGHTER'S BIKE
Here's the link address for non-html users: http://photobucket.com/albums/v206/ARFNSX/FDNY%20Motorcycle%20Signing/
You can also find more specific info about the bike itself on our team website: http://www.teamallstars.com/bikes/01kawasakizx7r.php
Sincerely,
Nico Figueroa
PS - Please feel free to contact Alex yourself ([email protected]) and let him know how you feel about what he's done with this bike. He had no outside sponsors or investors in the project, he financed it from it's conception and he's still not completely finished with it. According to him there are some other finishing touches that he'd like to add. His goal is to tour the bike in various locations around the country (car/bike shows, etc) and ultimately auction the bike off and have the proceeds go towards charity. Also, if the link is flooded, please be patient and visit it again later. The high traffic to the site may cause access problems."
Take a look... its pretty amazing IMO
As written by Nico:
"A good friend of mine, who happens to be a senior member of the International Allstars, created a design for a bike in tribute to the 343 firefighters lost in the tragedy of 9/11. And just in case you were wondering, he had the idea and plans for the bike before Orange County Choppers did their Fire Fighter chopper bike, which is also an extraordinary piece of art by the way. Following the suggestion of another Allstar's team member, Carlos Avelar, Alex decided to trailer the bike from Atlanta, GA to New York to have firemen from 3 different houses view and ultimately sign the bike, since for him he saw no bigger honor than presenting it to them as a small token of his appreciation for their sacrifices.
I had the honor of joining Alex on this journey and it's my distinct pleasure to share with you some of the pictures that we took at each house. The houses we visited were Squad 1 of Brooklyn, NY; Ladder 148 of Brooklyn, NY; and 10 Truck of Manhattan, literally 10 feet from Ground Zero on Liberty Street. Alex chose these houses each for different reasons: Squad 1 because their house lost 11 firefighters, almost half a house of 24, the most of any house in NY; Ladder 148 because their Captain, Capt. Mike Gala, expressed extreme interest in being a part of the bike as he himself was in the World Trade Center moments before it collapsed; and finally 10 Truck because of it's proximity to Ground Zero.
For me to have the opportunity to be a part of the presentation of this bike to these fine Americans is one of the most memorable and honorable moments that I have had the pleasure of being a part of and I will forever be grateful to Alex for allowing me the opportunity to join him in his quest. We laughed, talked story, shot the shit, joked, and cried all in the same day with these great individuals, and as the late great Jim Valvano would say, "That's a full day, that's a heck of a day." Without further ado, I present to you our pictures:
BIKE 343, THE FIRE FIGHTER'S BIKE
Here's the link address for non-html users: http://photobucket.com/albums/v206/ARFNSX/FDNY%20Motorcycle%20Signing/
You can also find more specific info about the bike itself on our team website: http://www.teamallstars.com/bikes/01kawasakizx7r.php
Sincerely,
Nico Figueroa
PS - Please feel free to contact Alex yourself ([email protected]) and let him know how you feel about what he's done with this bike. He had no outside sponsors or investors in the project, he financed it from it's conception and he's still not completely finished with it. According to him there are some other finishing touches that he'd like to add. His goal is to tour the bike in various locations around the country (car/bike shows, etc) and ultimately auction the bike off and have the proceeds go towards charity. Also, if the link is flooded, please be patient and visit it again later. The high traffic to the site may cause access problems."
Take a look... its pretty amazing IMO