Original subtitles

I've learned life is best lived in the moment.

Can I pee in a tree real quick?

Because tomorrow, you never know.

Steven!

Reuniting with my friend and old co-star steven yeun.

For a three-day ride around san francisco...

- Sorry, man. - No, I'm sorry.

Is exactly what I want to be doing in this moment.

So sorry you got your head blown off.

Yeah. But I'm back. I'm back with my dude.

Freaks and outcasts have long ruled the golden gate city.

It's where fringe music steps out of the shadows.

We were just the weirdo band.

It's a place where people push back against convention...

- Is that wrong? - It's so wrong that it's right.

And every so often revolutionize the world.

All right. Let's go.

All right, hit it!

Here we go! Yeah, baby!

That was crazy!

Wow. Look at that view.

Is that the golden gate bridge right there?

Yeah, golden gate bridge, and the marin is over there.

Is that alcatraz, that little thing right there?

Yeah. "Welcome to the rock."

Now, this is a sight for sore eyes...

Two iconic cities backdropped by infinite blue california skies.

From the 922-foot summit of twin peaks,

The bay area is an instagrammer's dream.

- So there's downtown. - It all doesn't matter.

It's just crazy... There's... there's your focus, oakland.

That's max schaff,

Born and raised across the bridge in oakland.

He's a skateboarding legend.

And a highly acclaimed custom-bike builder.

A mutual friend hooked us up.

For an early morning ride around the city.

Then I'm going to go meet my friend steven,

Or as you might know him, glenn.

This is a pano... Panorama situation.

Yeah, this is a pano. For sure.

In oakland, you say, "the best thing about san francisco."

Is the view of it from oakland."

yeah.

Let's get out of here. I'm freezing.

Whoo-wee. That is awesome.

This is ridiculous, this view.

For myself and many others,

San francisco isn't just a place.

It represents an ideal.

From the beats in the north beach.

And the hippies on the haight-ashbury.

To the gay rights activists in the castro.

And the tech takeover today,

This place has been at the forefront.

Of some seismic societal shifts.

That have reshaped generations.

San francisco, you can't beat it, man.

I'll tell you. It's the cutting edge for culture.

It's the place where all the weirdos can go.

And find each other.

It has the hippies still. It has mission still.

It's got a amazing, unique character.

That's really not found in any other city in the world.

For me, san francisco symbolized.

The cutting edge of metal and punk.

Bands like operation ivy and primus.

Could have only come out of san francisco at that time.

It's been a minute since I've been here,

And I can't wait to get reacquainted.

Here's haight street right here.

We'll buy you a hacky sack and a...

- And a veggie burrito? - Yeah, exactly.

Over the next three days,

I'll re-explore this city.

Before cruising the pacific coast highway.

Into la honda.

After a stop in wine country,

I'll ride to oakland to meet one of the most.

Notorious motorcycle clubs in the country.

See you in two days. We'll do oakland.

Yeah. Let's do it.

Right now it's time to part ways with max.

We're gonna meet up again in a few days.

To explore the streets of oakland.

I have a good friend who just arrived into town,

Someone who I haven't seen in far too long.

And I would kill to see again.

What's up, buddy?

Yeah. Good to see you. It's been a long time.

Yeah. Steven!

Dude, it's good to see you.

How's your baby? How's jo? Good.

You look so good. Dude, I've missed you.

For seven years, steven yeun and I.

Worked side by side,

And life on "the walking dead" isn't the same without him.

We used to ride together down in georgia,

And we're gonna pick it up just where we left off.

- Let's do this. - Yeah, man.

You want to go get some lunch? Yeah.

When is the last time you were in san francisco?

I just did this movie. I shot something in oakland.

Dude, I want to move here, man.

- It's beautiful. - You want to move here?

- Yeah. Kind of. - Should we get an apartment?

- Let's get... - It's good to see you, bro.

Right this way. I got a table for you.

Thank you.

Dude, so, wait, you were just in oakland?

I was shooting a movie in oakland for, like, two months.

I did this movie called, "sorry to bother you."

You've been working nonstop.

Yeah, but I got to settle down with the baby,

So I'm gonna take a break for a second, I think.

- Like, just take a little break. - Just a little break.

Like for a year or six months or what do you think?

- Like a month. - Like a week and a half.

Like a week and a... I'll just go on a vacation.

You and bernthal.

Like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

It's awesome. Yeah. I miss you guys, though.

- Yeah. I miss you, too. - 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. Yeah.

There was such a brotherhood there.

- I was, like, 25... - Yeah.

- When you met me, man. - Yeah.

And you were just kind of starting out in the business. Yeah.

And you became uber famous. Yeah.

And I was there when you proposed.

Yeah. You saw all of it.

There for the baby. There for the everything.

I mean, like, I've seen you do all this stuff.

Yeah. That's what was so awesome.

About our show was, I think we were...

I think it was the second season, we, like, looked...

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.

Thank you for doing this. Are you kidding, man?

- Yeah, this is gonna be awesome. - This is my pleasure.

Yeah, brother.

Like, thanks for getting me into bikes.

That was some of the best times in georgia.

Veg out, ride for miles across giant fields.

- Where you see nobody. - Yeah.

That's... that's the best thing ever.

I still live in the same spot.

Like, I-I still do that same ride.

This is a free tour for me.

To see if I really want to move here.

- Get out of here? - Yeah. Let's do it.

- Dude, steven, I love it. - I love it.

I love that you're here, man.

- This is dope. - Yeah, brother.

Hey, are we allowed to curse on your show?

Yeah!

It's such a pretty day, too.

Dude, I miss this. This is their winter, man.

Awesome.

We're on our way across town to hunter's point.

To see a misfit crew I've heard a lot about.

They call themselves the dirtbags.

Hey, look at this place.

Look at the bike behind you.

What's up? I'm norman. What's up?

- Nice to meet you, dude. - Yeah, it's steven.

- Hey, norman. - How you doing, man?

Hey, norman. What's up, man?

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

- Nice to meet you, bruh. - How's it going?

It's a pleasure, brother, pleasure.

So, what do you guys do out here?

- Whatever we want. - Whatever you guys feel like.

- I like that. - Okay, then.

Poll brown is the leader of the dirtbags.

15 years ago, he created the first dirtbag challenge...

A low-budget chopper build-off.

That began with a few simple rules...

One month and one grand to build a bike.

That can make it 100 miles.

Sane people need not apply.

I grew up riding in... In England.

Where it rains every day, pretty much.

Basically I moved here 'cause you can ride every day.

Yeah. So tell me about the thing that you guys do.

- You guys... - Dirtbag challenge?

Dirtbag... Dirtbag challenge, yeah.

Yeah, I started that with, three friends,

Talking smack amongst us, who could build a bike.

For the cheapest the quickest, you know?

We made trophies and stuff, you know, and...

But there's no money or anything like that.

It's just, for the glory. Yeah.

So this is my bike, one of my bikes.

Been through an engine and crashed it a few times and...

I built that.

This my homeboy's bike.

- This is cool, too. - It's a harley-davidson '45.

- Ooh. - So see... see this bike here?

- Yeah. - This is a 500 yamaha,

And I rode it back from north carolina.

About 80% of that was dirt roads,

And then they've got no rear suspension.

"Ai-ya-ya-ya." whole way.

Yeah.

And how do you guys all know each other?

- We're all dirtbags. - Yeah, I know...

- Met at the dirtbag. - Yeah.

Except for satan, who is my shopmate, so...

Satan? Why do they call you satan? Do I...

Should I... should I even ask? He earned - he earned that.

- I'm trying to figure it out. - He earned that name.

That's a story for another time.

- When there are no cameras recording us. - Yeah.

It's such a sense of community.

I mean, like, you can see all the little communities here,

Like, but, I mean, san francisco in general.

Has been always a place that,

Like, political movements and... Absolutely.

Artists who speak their mind.

Do you feel, like, a collective, like,

Everybody agrees and understands, like,

"hey, you just do your thing, and I'm gonna do my thing"?

Um, that still exists obviously. We're all here.

But, um, there's less of it, and it's noticeably less.

And what it's been replaced with.

Is a attitude of wealthy entitlement.

Basically, 20-something college grads.

That are coming here and getting paid,

You know, six figures or whatever to write code...

They've got so much money, they can do what they want.

It's like wall street guys. I mean... Yeah.

Real-estate agents. They're just...

They're milking the beast.

- Yeah. That's crazy. - Right?

Here's the thing is none of us have any money at all. Yeah.

Like, we're all broke as but we don't care.

This entire neighborhood is made up of people like us.

We live the kind of lifestyle, you know,

A lot of people could only dream of.

San francisco has always been a refuge.

For those outside the mainstream,

A place that prides itself on social and economic diversity,

And it's locals like poll and his crew.

Who are fighting to keep that spirit.

And sense of community alive.

Where are you taking us? Where are you taking us?

So I think we're just going to tour.

Down the coast towards la honda,

And there's a little biker bar there.

Called, apple jack's that's been there forever.

- Let's go. Let's go. - Let's go ride.

- Yeah. - Let's go.

Is your brake a needle-nosed plier?

Yeah.

That's awesome.

It's like the dirtbags say,

"build the bike you want. Live the life you choose."

- Welcome to california, bro. - Wow.

I am so sorry you got your head blown off. Yeah. Thank you.

Once you put this patch on your back, that's it.

- Stevey! Yo, look over! - Yeah.

I'm so happy you came, man.

Yo, thanks, man. What a dope day.

Well, you wait 'til we get around this bend.

Check that out, man.

- Wow. That's amazing. - Welcome to california, bro.

Riding around the bay area with the dirtbags,

It's easy to see why this is.

Where american motorcycle culture.

Came of age.

That's badass, ain't it?

Leaving san francisco, steven and I are heading south.

For a scenic 50-mile shoreline ride.

Down the pacific coast highway before cutting inland,

Where we're gonna reach la honda.

Can I pee in a tree real quick?

- People live nice here, man. - I could do this for days.

Yeah.

Riding into la honda, I'm on the lookout.

For ken kesey's old cabin in these redwoods.

In the '60s, kesey and the merry pranksters.

Helped kick off the counterculture movement here,

Throwing wild lsd-fueled parties called the acid test.

Back when that kind of thing was still legal in california.

But if you can't find kesey's, apple jack's,

That's the next best thing.

Let's find some warmth and a drink.

- Yeah. Let's go. - -That was awesome.

- That was great. - So fun, man.

Come on, steve.

What's up?

This place was the pranksters' local watering hole,

An old hell's angels haunt.

That's still going on strong today.

What's up, man? Hey, norman.

Nice to meet you, dude. What's going on, buddy?

- Hi, puppy. - Cutie.

- Steven. - Hi, steven.

- Holy. - What's up, y'all?

- Nice to meet you. - Whoa, dude.

- Nice to meet you, sir. - Man. Yeah.

I am so sorry you got your head blown off.

Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate it.

- How was the ride? - It was good.

The last hour, I was kind of frozen, but...

How long you been coming here?

- 10-plus years. - Wow-wow. Wow.

- Yeah. This is the place. - What's your club?

Al... alco... alcohol... Alky haulers.

- Alky haulers. - That's a great name, man.

- Hey, norman. - Yeah?

I'd like to buy you a beer and a shot.

You guys don't mind?

- Thank you. - Nice to meet you, brother.

- Safe roads and to safe riding. - To killing zombies, I guess.

Absolutely. Safe roads and killing zombies.

I like it.

Cheers.

- Hell, yeah. There we go. - There we go. Cheers.

- Cheers. - Yeah!

Well, I mean, I got... I super died, but...

You got super died.

- Aw, sorry about that. - No worries.

Still have a splitting headache.

Great ride.

Wait. Did you just say.

You still have the splitting headache?

He does.

That's awesome.

I'm not going to lie.

Laughing over glenn's death feels kind of wrong,

But at least for once, I'm not the one getting the blame.

You should sign the wall in the ladies' room.

Yeah. Nice.

Off you go, steve.

We just show the ladies' room.

- This is awesome. - Get it.

Yeah. Nice. Point.

- Point, steven. - Yeah. Yeah.

Whee!

And just like that,

I think we're gonna retire our bikes.

For a while and stick around.

Welcome home, mother.

Last night, after steven and I left the bar,

Our producer threw us in a van back to san francisco.

I'm just waking up.

Whoo.

Some mornings make it hard to get out of bed,

But sights like this... That's the perfect cure.

How cool is this? This is un...

Imagine waking up every day and riding this.

Dude, this is awesome up here.

Man, I got to move here.

- This is perfect. - Yeah.

This one's, like, a real, real, real thought.

That went from weed smell to cow poop.

Did I just ruin it?

Did I just ruin the whole thing?

Man. Stevey!

Last night, we ran into some locals.

Who raved about a group of riders up in sonoma,

So we're gonna cross over the bridge into wine country.

And hook up with the slow adults, a group,

Which I've been told, proves no adventure is too small.

This is awesome.

Yeah, this could not be prettier.

Yeah, man. This is clean air. You know what I'm saying?

Do you ever come up here and do, like, the wine tour thing?

I took jo on a wine tour in santa barbara one time for fun.

Is it fun or is it just boring?

You just get wasted, so it's fun.

- What's up? Whoo! - Hey. How's it going?

Ooh.

Yeah... What's up? Hey, I'm norman.

- Grant. Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you, dude.

- Hey. Steve. - Steve, mike.

- Nice to meet you guys. - Nice to meet you, man.

- Right on. Right on. - Hey. Steven. Nice to meet you.

Wow. What a cool place you guys have. It's beautiful.

It's one of the best places in the world to ride, man.

Yeah, yeah. Steven's, like, already looking for a house.

- Yup. - -Game time.

You know, I've never ridden one of these before.

- Today's the day, man. - Yeah, I'm excited.

What got you guys into mini bikes?

You get on one one time and you have a lotta... a lotta fun,

And then you're searching craigslist for your next ride.

And the slow adults, is that right?

- Yeah. - That's so good.

- So good. - Don't let the name fool you.

There's a handful of us kind of in long beach, too.

I've seen a gang of, like, 20 dudes.

Typically, if they're on one of these...

- Eating tacos, like... - Yeah.

There's no way to really be serious on these things.

They're becoming harder and harder to get, you know,

'cause they're vintage.

This all original paint, too, right?

- Yeah. - These are adorable.

They kind of have their own hum.

- Do they? - Yeah. Yeah, they're fun.

I feel more, like, comfortable on this than that bike.

- Do you? - Is that wrong?

Yeah.

Maybe it's super right.

No, it's... it's so wrong that it's right, yeah.

This is excellent.

Right on. That's rad, right?

Take us for a ride!

- Yo. What up? - What up?

We're not overcompensating for anything,

You know what I'm saying?

We've all got huge penises. We don't care.

Slow adults, mount up!

- Yeah! - Yeah!

This is so relaxing.

I'm gonna name this one little xanax.

Little xa...

This one's called, tiny viagra.

- Stevey, where are you? - I'm right behind you.

- Yeah! You think, you go! - Whoo-hoo!

There it is! There he goes! There he goes! ..

This boner won't go down.

Perfect day.

Yeah, this is a beautiful day.

Dude, it's crazy how close the fire got to the road here.

- Wait. So all this got burned? - Yeah.

- That is terrible. - Yeah. Look at that.

- Geez. - Heartbreaking.

My god.

Over several weeks in 2017,

Wildfires ravaged 245,000 acres of northern california...

Firefighters across california.

Are battling nearly a dozen wildfires.

That have scorched tens of thousands of acres.

There are still 283 people missing at this hour.

Destroying everything in its path.

The fires came in like a tidal wave.

They were so big, moving so fast.

It looked like a bomb had went off.

Everything was wiped out.

Everybody here went out of their way to make sure.

That if you lost a house, you were taken care of.

It was an excruciating time, but we're coming back.

The fires spared few in this region,

Members of the slow adults included.

- Great hanging out with you. That was a blast. - Be safe. Dude, yeah.

But riding those vintage mini bikes, you'd never know it.

- See you guys. - See you.

It's been awesome, but steven and I have places to be.

We're gonna go grab some lunch.

With one of my favorite musicians of all time.

I'm a huge south park guy, by the way.

It's love. I put love to it.

Whoo-hoo!

You know, I was 19.

When dead kennedys started.

That mini bike was fun, but, like,

I have to say, I prefer this.

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

you, man.

I'm super lucky.

I've been able to explore a lot of this country's beauty.

And riding into northern california.

Is hands down one of the best experiences.

It's a 45-mile ride west through backroads in sonoma county.

Until we reach bodega bay.

It's a quiet coastal village.

Worlds away from the streets of san francisco.

You know, we're meeting les claypool.

- He's the best bass player ever. - His bass is so crazy.

It's like...

- What a pleasure to meet you. - I love it here.

- Norman. - Ahoy. Les.

Nice to meet you, sir. It's a pleasure, bro.

- Howdy. Les. - Nice to meet you.

Les claypool is one of my musical heroes.

His band, primus, shot to stardom in the '90s,

Playing woodstock, headlining lollapalooza,

And his innovative style on the bass.

Has made me a fan for life.

He grew up in this area and still calls it home.

- Dude, this is your boat? - This is my fishing boat, yes.

- Come on aboard. - Yeah. Thanks.

Wow. I've never been on a boat this size.

I've been on a big, luxury...

One of those ones that look like a...

Like the beverly center. What you trying to say, man?

No, I mean, not, you know... You know those cruises like...

I've never been on such a... such a dinghy.

- It's tiny. - No, no.

No, I was thinking of me getting seasick is why I thought of it,

- But I... - Do you get seasick?

I get seasick, yeah. That's why I ask.

- What are you catching? - Yeah?

Salmon season's startin'.

We're just finishing crab season.

Nice. Do you cook all the fish you eat?

- I'm the 'que meister. - Are you really?

You know every salmon fisherman, they all claim to have...

To make the best smoked salmon, and they're all wrong.

Because I make the best smoked salmon.

Well, what's your secret? What do you do?

Well, I'm not going to tell you my secret.

Well, I mean, like, I mean...

Wait, but you got some moves?

- Is it msg? - -No msg.

- It's love. I put love into it. - Love. Love.

What's it like, boat life? Is it... is it awesome?

I mean, I grew up, my dad would take me fishing.

Is that what he did for a living? He was a fisherman?

No, he was a mechanic all... all...

All my dad,

Step-dad, grandfather, uncles, they're all auto mechanics.

Was there, like, a natural affinity for you.

For the bass or...

I didn't want to be an auto mechanic.

Um...

I'm a huge south park guy, by the way, man.

I'll tell you one thing right now.

So, the greatest thing about being the guy.

At the beginning of south park.

Is when I'm going through customs, and I stand up there,

And they say, "you're a... You're a musician?"

So who... who... who do you play with?" I go, "primus."

And they just look at me with this blank st... nothing.

I go, "I do the theme song for south park."

"South park!" and they just stamp me...

Stamp me right through. So I'm like...

Matt and trey, forever... I'm forever grateful.

So, the chowder place here that I'm gonna take you to...

I try chowder all over the country.

This is the best chowder... Really?

That I've ever had.

Yeah. All right.

Well, since you're a master salmon chef,

You must know your chowder.

Well, I'm the master salmon smoker.

Smoker. You use a smoker.

- This is it right here? - This is it.

- Nice. - Spud point crab company.

- My god. This is magic. - Right?

It gets cold here when the sun goes down for sure.

Yes. Chilly today, hot tamale.

- Hey, hey. Come on. - All right.

So we put this in the... That's the...

That's the jam right there?

Dude, I can't wait to get into this, too.

The clam chowder is so good.

Smoke 'em.

- Yeah. - It's warming the chilled bones.

How many kids you got?

Two. My daughter is gonna.

She's a huge "walking dead" -ite.

So...

Do you go out at all? Like, do you just...

Do you mo... are you mostly like a family guy, like...

All the places I used to hang out in san francisco,

They're all gone, now. Yeah.

You know? Because it's very gentrified,

And it's a lot of young wealth there now,

And clubs that we used to play in and underground warehouses.

And whatnot, it's... it's all gone.

The first club that primus ever played.

Was the mabuhay gardens, the fab mab,

Which was the dead kennedys.

Was a dead kennedys club. Yeah. Yeah, we...

Yeah, we heard about that one. We were just the weirdo band.

Nobody knew what to do with us.

Do you feel like, after this long, illustrious career.

Of just making lots of things...

Illustrious career.

Obviously will evolve, but is there, like,

A zen you find with it these days.

That you didn't before at a younger age, or...

For me, turning over new rocks.

Is always, like... That's exciting for me.

Things like, you know, it's like the old woody allen

"annie hall," saying, how a relationship is like a shark.

It needs to constantly move forward or... or it will die.

I think being creative is like that, as well.

You know, if I don't continue to move forward or do something,

- I get bored, and... - Yep.

I become a dead shark.

Sage advice from a bass god and a smoked salmon master.

Thank you for the... For the chowder. Like...

You're awesome. You're... I-I...

I usually don't shake hands.

That's a... that's a rare thing for me. I'm a huge fan of yours.

This is a big thing that you did the show.

- Really? All right. Cool. - I really appreciate it.

It's easy to dwell on what once was, but one day,

You'll look up and discover you've left it all behind.

As we ride back to san francisco,

I can't help but think of its own recent transformation.

I hope that the new generation finds ways to push forward.

And keep the city's soul alive.

Someone who's never been shy about challenging the status quo.

Is my good friend jello biafra.

Both as a frontman for one.

Of my favorite punk bands, the dead kennedys,

But also when he took his politics to the streets in 1979.

And ran for mayor of the city.

It's already been a crazy-long day,

But as they say, there's always room for jello.

Jello!

This is the musée mécanique.

The attraction is these really old machines that still work.

This is english execution.

All right. The camera is gonna need to go in there.

"Faces of death."

- Allyoop. - Ooh.

They don't let you see the hanging though.

Anne marie! It's the kiss... It's the kiss-o-meter thing.

- Here you go. - Perfect.

What brought you to san francisco?

The dream that brought a lot of people there.

Before all the, you know, the tech holocaust.

And the google buses.

And the rents going through the roof...

Summer of love and all that and punk.

What drew me to san francisco was the band.

They made a point of being political.

We just met les claypool.

He was talking about he used to play with you at... at mahumba...

Mabuhay gardens.

- Yeah, mabuhay gardens! - Yeah. Yeah.

It was such a small number of people,

And most of the audience was the people in the other bands.

So the peer pressure was every band.

Must sound different from every other band.

- Wow. - And blow everybody's minds.

You know, I was 19 when dead kennedys started.

Too dumb... young to know better.

Mayor, I ran at 21. Too young to know better.

Tell me about running for mayor.

Like, what... what were you wanting to do?

Like, what was the whole idea behind it? Um...

Because they'd just passed proposition 13,

Cutting the taxes down,

Now california is almost at the bottom of education.

Instead of the top.

You know, the early version of tea party wreckage.

I suddenly have a platform for mayor.

Were you fully prepared to win it?

No. I just wanted to up.

A true punk and san francisco original.

As long as people like jello call this city home,

I think it's gonna be all right.

Last night, we hit san francisco hard,

But today...

We've crossed the bay bridge into oakland.

So you may live up here. You might move.

- That's what I'm saying. - You should do it.

We're hooking back up with custom-bike designer max schaff.

He's gonna show us around his hometown,

And he got us an invite to the east bay dragons clubhouse.

They're an oakland motorcycle club with a history.

That's as massive as their bikes.

You'll like max. Max is super cool.

Like, he'll be able to tell you about oakland.

And you know what I mean? Like...

- Yeah. - Tell you the nitty-gritty.

Dude, if you move up here, I'm gonna come visit you.

Once.

Yeah.

This is cool. I like this little area, man.

- Get some coffee. - Yeah.

I like this decor. What's a yoko?

Grapefruit juice. It's a little shot of...

Can I have a yoko?

- Yeah. - You want a yoko?

Get a shot of grape... grapefruit juice.

I don't know. Okay. I'll have a yoko.

- Okay. - Uno yoko.

Get it?

Psh-psh!

Yeah. Thank you.

- You're welcome. - Nice to meet you.

- I'm norman. That's steven. - I'm julietta.

Howdy. Yeah, here he is. Yeah. Good to see you again, man.

- What's up, man? How are you? - I'm great. I'm great.

This is steven. This is max. Hey, steven.

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

- And you met julietta? - Yeah. We just met.

Her other shop in the city, you go in there on a...

- We just scream at you. - Sunday morning,

And it's, like, a line down the block, and they're...

They're just blasting black flag.

How do you guys like living here?

Both of us have seen, like, the positive parts of,

Like, the melting pot of the bay area,

And, of course, you have the... like, the techy invasion.

That, like, drives you insane. Sure.

We feel a lot of that tension around here sometimes,

But then you kind of get to meet your tribe.

That's kind of how oakland has become.

Yeah. I have these dreams of coming up here,

But I kind of don't want to be part of the money turnover.

That kind of displaces people.

But when I was here, a lot of people were like,

"we just got to find our place in it."

And take advantage of the growth, as well,

So that we don't get swept under the rug.

"So that everyone's part of this upward climb."

That's true.

And they are the people who will fight to stay.

Yeah. That's what I like about the bay area.

They're just like, "hey, man. Let's stick together."

That is a cool thing about oakland. It... it's still...

It is a small town.

When we go out to the dragons, that's east oakland, man.

I mean, you're... you're gonna see it's very real.

And everyone knew each other.

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

We're off to check out max's vintage custom-bike shop,

And then it's a meeting with the dragons.

What an honor to meet you.

This is nuts, dude.

The largest black club in the world,

And we're keeping the legacy alive.

What happens if you use electronic devices?

- We shoot you. - You shoot me?

- You get shot. - Geez.

That's why you got an etch and sketch right here.

To distract you, you know, and then...

Dude. This is so cool. Remember this?

I'm so bad at that.

Yeah, I'm not very good at this either.

I'm trying to spell ride, but it's not working.

I like the little, double mountain e.

This is, like, something I would've taken apart as a kid.

And tried to put back together.

Ooh. You've turned it up for that e.

Who's got an e? Who's got an e in 'em? Right? Not bad.

It's like if you wrote ride with your, like...

- With your penis. - Yeah. Yeah.

That's what I was gonna say.

Yeah.

- Welcome. - Hi, puppy.

What is up?

- Ooh. - That's bud.

- Bud. This place is great. - It's pretty nice. Yeah.

Hey, dude.

We're stopping in at max's custom motorcycle.

And paint shop, 4q.

Come on in.

Such an artist's shop, you know what I mean?

It's where max gets the inspiration to produce.

Some of the most unique bikes in the bay area.

- Old painted tanks. - Yeah.

Just years of, like, going to the flea market.

This one is one of my favorite.

That was a bay area bike.

I found it in the magazine, and it was called the junker,

And he added that little snorkel on the top.

And just, like, a far-out look,

But they were smoking good outdoor weed.

Back then, you figure, there was just no rules.

There's a story behind every tank.

This is beautiful, this 4q bike.

- Thanks, man. - Wow.

That's a tank that they made a few of.

Whenever I see these things, I grab 'em.

- This is cool. - Yeah. It's a great shape.

4q is what you used to write on your binder.

Or you'd say under your breath.

To, like, another kid, like, "hey, 4q."

Like, that's it.

Who are the framed photographs?

These are all old...

Sonny.

Yeah, sonny, and then, animal.

These are all oakland guys. And then that's...

Yeah.

- This is where we're headed. - That photo is so sick.

East bay dragons, it's, like, one of those things.

That you just... You see in oakland,

And tobie gene has been the president since day one.

I'm excited to meet this guy.

I'm excited to see the dragons, man.

I've never been to their clubhouse.

Yeah. Me, too. What an honor.

The east bay dragons have been riding strong in oakland.

Since 1959,

Making them the oldest all-black club in america.

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 from being black,

We had to be together, you know? And we had to stick together.

- This is dope. - Rad.

Wow. Super cool. Yeah.

This is cool in here.

How's it going, man?

- Hi, I'm norman. - All right. K-cloud.

- Nice to meet you, norman. - Nice to meet you, sir.

Yeah. It's my first time to oakland, too.

Really? Well, ain't no place like home.

Yeah. Yeah, it's been awesome. Yeah.

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

What are all the trophies for?

You know, we got trophies for long distance ride,

Most participation.

If we had all the trophy they had collected over the years,

We wouldn't even have nowhere to stand right now.

This is the photo in your place.

- Yeah. Yeah. - Same photo.

Dragon number one, tobie gene levingston.

You know, tobie and sonny grew up together. Yep.

And so, you know, um, we were real close with the h-as.

The legend goes that tobie gene.

And hell's angels president sonny barger.

Became tight back in the '50s even before hopping on bikes.

Their friendship fostered a mutual respect.

Between the angels and the dragons,

And together, they shared the oakland streets.

As an unlikely band of brothers.

Dragon number one himself, tobie gene levingston.

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

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

Yeah, I was telling these guys

'cause they were coming to oakland.

And they'd never been here before,

I said, "you got to come see the dragons."

Our 60-year anniversary is coming up...

- Next year. - Next year.

60 years, you know, we've been together.

So were you guys riding choppers back then, in the...

All the choppers then. I bought my harley in 1957.

When you're riding a hog, 99% of the time,

You get along with everybody.

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 in-interested.

In building motorcycles.

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.

It's not about what hood you from anymore.

It's about togetherness.

And we get along good in this neighborhood.

We have a organization in the community.

With all the motorcycle clubs. It's a way to give back.

The city of oakland gave us a... our award.

Right there for dragon day. They actually...

The city of oakland gave us a dragon day.

To come down here and celebrate.

Awesome.

We're trying to leave a legacy behind us.

Whatever the dragons do in this community,

They do it for they heart.

That's what we've been doing for years.

What an honor to meet you.

Yeah, you're awesome. You're awesome.

I'm... such a pleasure to meet you guys.

As a group, the dragons broke all stereotypes.

And today are an esteemed institution.

Ingrained in the oakland community.

I'm honored to be joining them for a ride.

- Let's go. Let's go. - All right. All right.

This is nuts, dude.

Let's go. Let's go.

All right. All right. All right. All right.

Now this is how you do oakland.

The east bay dragons roll deep,

Bringing roaring thunder to the city streets.

Even on a cloudless day.

All right. Tell me when y'all ready.

All right. Let's go.

Yeah.

- Wow. - Yeah, baby.

This how we do it in the town.

I love it.

- This is nuts, dude. - This is an honor right here.

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

Sup now? Sup? Sup? Sup? Sup?

We are the largest black club in the world.

We don't have any other chapters.

We're keeping the legacy alive.

You know what I'm saying?

Today is actually huey newton's birthday.

Founder of the black panthers.

Hey, what was the relation between the black panthers.

And the dragons? They got along well.

You know, of course, you know, the panthers are more political.

We never really got into the political thing,

You know what I mean?

We left that to the malcolm x and the black panthers.

The east bay dragons, they definitely,

You know, look super tough,

And they look like nothing else in the neighborhood.

You know, automatically, just going down the street,

Like, you had respect.

They're a badass club,

And I see them on the bridge all the time,

And I'm like, "man, those guys are sick."

What makes me proud to be a dragon?

We'd need a whole nother show for that.

I smell cookies.

You're getting close.

You're getting close.

Yeah. That was awesome. That was awesome.

Yeah. Thank you, man. Such a pleasure.

K-cloud has owned it's all good bakery.

In north oakland since 1996.

It's famous for two reasons...

It makes the best pound cake west of the mississippi...

World's famous! It's all good!

And in the '60s,

This building was the headquarters.

Of the black panthers.

So here's the actual picture right here with 'em.

Standing in front of the... the bakery right here.

- Whoa. Yeah. - Right here.

Yep, and at the time,

The oakland public school did not serve breakfast,

So a lot of time, we would go to school hungry.

So what happened was, the black panthers.

Start providing breakfast for us.

They would help us with our homework,

And they policed our community.

They were like us. What they did and you know...

And how they got along, we got along right along with them.

It's easy, I guess, to get turned into a gang.

That's the term that they like to use.

Everybody got their good and bad side.

I don't give a damn who you come from.

But we had fun with them, and we went to they parties,

And they had some damn good parties.

Dude, thanks for doing the show, man.

Thank you. You got it.

- You're freaking awesome. - That was fun.

I never thought I'd be riding.

Down broadway with the east bay dragons.

- It was a good day. Yeah. - Good day.

Yeah!

What a gratifying end to a jam-packed three days.

There's a band in town I like called middle class rut.

It's just one more night I get to spend.

With my good friend steven.

- Let's have a drink. - Yeah.

Yo! We did a lot of stuff. Learned a lot.

- There's so much history here. - That was awesome, man.

I got to see, like, all of the bay,

And we, like, talked to a lot of, like, good people.

Jello to les to the dragons to max. Yeah.

It was a good group of people.

I definitely want to live up here.

I don't know if it'll happen, like, immediately,

But it's good to know.

That something like this is confirmed.

Jo and I are gonna have to have a good, long talk about it.

Do it. That way I can come visit.

- Once. - Yeah, one time. Cheers.

Cheers. Thanks for doing this ride, homie.

- Thanks, man. - Yeah, I love you.

I love you. Yeah.

Spend a little time in san francisco.

And the surrounding bay area,

And you'll find that it's a diverse yet complicated place,

But dig a little deeper,

And you'll find that the true essence of this region,

The ethos, the values, and the ideals.

That this place was built on are still strong.

Theirs is a love for a city that will not be denied.

The same spirit that birthed this place is the same.

That will allow it to survive.

Because here, what makes us outcasts.

Is the very thing that binds us together.

Whoo!