Flying Monkeys…… Riding through Greenville this morning on California Highway 89 just south of Mount Lassen, we saw this sign that said “Leathers, Denim, Coffee”. Not a sign you can pass.

At Flying Monkeys we had an absolutely delightful visit with Chris Biggs who sells leathers to bikers and denims to loggers; or the wannabes in each category. He shared his coffee and his life story and provided a quirky and funny update on the history and outlook for this town.

Chis raced bicycles in France until a cycling accident put him in a wheelchair, he opened a Vanson leather dealership when living in Hamburg for ten years selling leathers to the Germans who loved British bikes, he moved to Greenville in 2000 and opened this store a couple of years ago, his buddy Bobby dropped in when he saw our bikes, Bobby “hasn’t been the same since ‘Nam”, told us he used to ride with his pals and pass the whisky between bikes until the cops pulled them over and said “You can keep the bottle but I’ll take the keys”, the guys in town with dead eyes and no teeth are making and taking meth, the Indians get all this government money and just drink it, not much work for loggers any more but they still hang around, used to be a load of mills around here processing ore but no more, he tried to get local kids into the garage and teach them mechanical skills but they weren’t interested, “shoulda been better than staying at home with Dad drunk on the sofa”.

You cannot make this stuff up and we could have stayed there all day swapping stories. If you are ever on Highway 89, make sure you drop into Flying Monkeys.