Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Long Ride

Last May, former WWE wrestler and El Cajon resident Chuck Palumbo teamed up with The Horse Backstreet Choppers magazine for an eight-day cross-country charity ride from San Diego to Rockingham, North Carolina. Palumbo spent ten weeks building the chopper he would ride across the country at his CP Kustoms shop in La Mesa. A week before his departure, Vet Fest drew about 500 people out to a rented warehouse at Jackson and Navajo in San Carlos for the unveiling of the bike, an opportunity to buy $25 raffle tickets to win the bike, and a show by Palumbo’s classic-rock cover band Three Spoke Wheel.

The ride was inspired by Palumbo’s younger brother Chris, a helicopter pilot who was gunned down in Iraq and awarded a Silver Star upon his return to the U.S.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Palumbo rode 500 miles a day, stopping in Cottonwood, Arizona, to sell raffle tickets at the two-day Smoke Out West rally. Three Spoke Wheel joined him a few days later in Nashville to play a benefit show. “Every stop along the way we picked up a new rider,” Palumbo says. He left San Diego with four riders. A week later he rolled up to the Smoke Out East rally in Rockingham with a gang of 69 riders.

A railroad worker from West Virginia won Palumbo’s custom chopper. He had bought one raffle ticket. “It was a pretty rewarding moment after all the work I put into [the bike] and then riding across the country on it,” says Palumbo. “The guy who won the bike deserved it. He was a blue-collar guy. It worked out well.”

A documentary of the trip will be released this summer. Every 60 Miles, titled after the frequency that Palumbo had to refuel his small chopper tank, will feature an original soundtrack by Palumbo and his guitar teacher Greg Vaughan (Danyavaad). “When you’re riding a bike without rear suspension, you need to stop every 60 miles anyways.”

Palumbo is gearing up to make the long ride again this summer. His shop won’t be giving away a bike this year, but he will be selling merchandise along the way and donating the proceeds to Fueled by the Fallen, a charity for veterans. Three Spoke Wheel will be following in a van and playing shows along the way.

Palumbo’s send-off party is June 12 at the Greek Sombrero on Highway 94 in Jamul.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, ZZ Top, Gem Diego Show

Events October 31-November 2, 2024
Next Article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night

Last May, former WWE wrestler and El Cajon resident Chuck Palumbo teamed up with The Horse Backstreet Choppers magazine for an eight-day cross-country charity ride from San Diego to Rockingham, North Carolina. Palumbo spent ten weeks building the chopper he would ride across the country at his CP Kustoms shop in La Mesa. A week before his departure, Vet Fest drew about 500 people out to a rented warehouse at Jackson and Navajo in San Carlos for the unveiling of the bike, an opportunity to buy $25 raffle tickets to win the bike, and a show by Palumbo’s classic-rock cover band Three Spoke Wheel.

The ride was inspired by Palumbo’s younger brother Chris, a helicopter pilot who was gunned down in Iraq and awarded a Silver Star upon his return to the U.S.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Palumbo rode 500 miles a day, stopping in Cottonwood, Arizona, to sell raffle tickets at the two-day Smoke Out West rally. Three Spoke Wheel joined him a few days later in Nashville to play a benefit show. “Every stop along the way we picked up a new rider,” Palumbo says. He left San Diego with four riders. A week later he rolled up to the Smoke Out East rally in Rockingham with a gang of 69 riders.

A railroad worker from West Virginia won Palumbo’s custom chopper. He had bought one raffle ticket. “It was a pretty rewarding moment after all the work I put into [the bike] and then riding across the country on it,” says Palumbo. “The guy who won the bike deserved it. He was a blue-collar guy. It worked out well.”

A documentary of the trip will be released this summer. Every 60 Miles, titled after the frequency that Palumbo had to refuel his small chopper tank, will feature an original soundtrack by Palumbo and his guitar teacher Greg Vaughan (Danyavaad). “When you’re riding a bike without rear suspension, you need to stop every 60 miles anyways.”

Palumbo is gearing up to make the long ride again this summer. His shop won’t be giving away a bike this year, but he will be selling merchandise along the way and donating the proceeds to Fueled by the Fallen, a charity for veterans. Three Spoke Wheel will be following in a van and playing shows along the way.

Palumbo’s send-off party is June 12 at the Greek Sombrero on Highway 94 in Jamul.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
Next Article

Morricone Youth, Berkley Hart, Dark Entities, Black Heart Procession, Monsters Of Hip-Hop

Live movie soundtracks, birthdays and more in Balboa Park, Grantville, Oceanside, Little Italy
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader