Ride With Norman Reedus: A smooth ride up the Pacific Coast

The premiere episode of Ride with Norman Reedus aired tonight, June 12th, on AMC.  The first episode was titled ‘California: Pacific Coast Highway’. Norman traveled up the California coast with friend, Imogen Lehtonen, with several interesting stops along the way. Viewers were treated to Norman’s playful personality along with insight into unique products, places, and pieces of the past.

Products

Norman’s first stop in the episode was a meet-up with renowned racer and custom motorcycle builder, Roland Sands. The two took a ride through Palos Verdes after which Norman asked to borrow the Sands custom bike he had been riding. Of course, Sands obliged.

Reedus then met up with fellow motorcycle enthusiast Imogen Lehtonen in West Hollywood. Imogen’s family owns a jewelry store The Great Frog and she insisted on giving Norman one of their famed skull rings before the trip began.  She later referred to the two of them as “skull buddies”.  The skull theme continued when Imogen shared a display in the store containing an actual skull excavated from a plague pit (think Black Plague) found beneath the family’s London store.  Even Norman found that a little creepy.

The pair made a stop at Zero Motorcycles to try out their unique brand of electric motorcycles. Norman and Imogen took a ride through the California Redwoods on electric bikes experiencing the light weight and quiet nature of the bikes.

Past

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Ride With Norman Reedus included some tidbits of history here and there.  Viewers learn about the origins of the Pacific Coast Highway through Norman’s voice-over narrative. The PCH (as the highway is commonly referred to) links the Mexican and Canadian borders and was completed in the 1920s.

Norman also points out the location of a now closed restaurant named Damiano’s where his acting career began.  While he did not go into detail, you may have already heard the story of how he was actually “discovered” when he got into a fight.

Norman shared part of his own personal story throughout the episode, describing how he felt like an outsider when he first came to California. We learn that the motorcycle culture helped him feel included.

Places

Lodging for the first night of the trip was the Santa Barbara Autocamp.  The camp hosts fully furnished, luxury Airstream trailers.

The following day the pair stopped to experience dune buggy rides at Prismo Beach.  Norman was a big fan.

The next evening’s stay included an excursion roadside attraction Nitt Witt Ridge, the former home of Art Beal (a.k.a. Captain Nitt Witt), a garbage collector who uniquely filled his home with garbage accessories.  We learned that he used toilet seats as picture frames, a novel idea, for sure!

The final destination was Santa Cruz where Norman was a guest on the Motorcycles and Misfits podcast.  Norman had the opportunity to comment on the bikes he has ridden on The Walking Dead and described the ideal motorcycle for the zombie apocalypse. Norman shared that he would suggest an electric motorcycle from Zero Motorcycles pointing out that noise is dangerous when it comes to zombies.  He would add a solar panel to the bike as well.

Final thoughts

Interestingly, Norman’s friend Imogen has never watched The Walking Dead.…whaaattt?!  Also, during the podcast Norman likened his daily motorcycle rides to yoga as he thinks about his day riding to and from work in Georgia.

The episode concluded with Norman’s narrative on the diversity of California, the landscape and its people, providing a place for everyone.

Next: Season 6: All named character deaths

I enjoyed the premiere episode of Ride With Norman Reedus.  Like California, the series includes a little something for everyone. Some may enjoy the landscapes and travel aspects of the show while others may appreciate the visits to unique motorcycle shops.  History buffs will find insight into the past. And The Walking Dead fans get fans get a big dose of Norman’s playful personality and some tidbits about his work on the popular zombie drama.

To quote Norman from the episode, “Ride on, bro.” Be there for the next Ride With Norman Reedus on Sunday, June 19th.