"All Roads Lead To Sturgis" Interview with Edward

By Luuezz on 2009-03-19 20:51:06 www.rumblenews.com
"All Roads Lead To Sturgis"
Interview with Edward Winterhalder
I have always known that bikers are born, not made. Real bikers, that is. We must have an extra
gene or something that gives us this attitude: I'll live like I want, whether you approve of it or
not, and fuck your rules.
"You were born to ride, especially for us in those days." Winterhalder said. "These days, people
wear a Harley like a girl wears a purse. But for us, it was just in our blood.
"You know the people your parents warned you about growing up... don't look at them! They are
bad people, Scotty. You shouldn't look at them. They're criminals." (An excerpt from
Winterhalder’s latest book "All Roads Lead to Sturgis: A Biker’s Story)
Edward Winterhalder was one of those people.
In the summer of 1969 when Winterhalder was 14, a monumental event occurred that altered his
life forever. While hanging out at a carnival in his hometown, and watching the girls with a few
of his friends, he heard this loud, unusual sound. A pack of Harley choppers pulled up right next
to where he was standing. The bikers were members of the local motorcycle club from New
Haven, Connecticut.
Winterhalder was in awe of their beautiful Harleys, and vowed silently that he would someday
have a motorcycle just like those that he was looking at. He never forgot that promise he made to
himself, and in the fall of 1974 at the age of 19, he bought his first Harley, which was a 1963
Panhead chopper.
Winterhalder, known as "Connecticut Ed", was a member, and/or an associate, of outlaw
motorcycle clubs from 1975 to 2003. From 1997 to 2003 he was a high-ranking member of the
Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
The four largest outlaw motorcycle clubs in the world are the Bandidos, Hells Angels, Outlaws
and the Pagans. Bikers that ride with outlaw motorcycle clubs are known for living their lives
outside of what society considers normal; these outlaws make up only 1% of all motorcyclists
and are known as ‘1%ers’ in the motorcycle club world.
Shortly after becoming a member of the Bandidos, Winterhalder was faced with the challenge of
being a single Dad to a four-year old daughter while a member of a motorcycle club. "Being a
single Dad with custody definitely had its challenges, while I juggled motorcycle club life with
being a Dad. For seven years, my daughter and I went to the Parent Child Center where I learned
how to be a good father and she learned to cope with the temporary absence of her mother. As a
result, today my daughter is a well adjusted, balanced, fifteen year old teenager who gets good
grades in school and has already marked her one year anniversary working at a local restaurant",
Winterhalder said.
"But in spite of the fact that the club was supposed to come first, as soon as I got custody of my
daughter she immediately became my first priority. Most all of the members of the club agreed
with my decision to put her first and volunteered to do whatever they could to make sure that she
was well taken care of. During this time, I was also working full time in the construction industry
managing multi-million dollar projects. In hindsight, my plate was way overloaded, and by 2003,
something had to give, so I quit the club," he added.
Edward Winterhalder lives in Oklahoma where he now writes books and produces television; his
books are sold worldwide and published in multiple languages. He has appeared worldwide on
television networks such as Bravo TV, History Television, Global, History Channel and CBC.
In addition to his literary endeavors, Edward is a consultant to the entertainment industry for TV,
feature film and DVD projects that focus on the Harley Davidson biker lifestyle. Edward is also
a proud father, devoted husband, businessman and entrepreneur who has been a Harley
enthusiast for almost thirty-five years.
Winterhalder started writing accidentally and admitted it wasn’t anything he thought he would
do at this point in his life. "What started out as a way of recording history and the many world
changing events I had been involved in the biker world, somehow became a book. I wanted to
write everything down while I still remembered it," he said. "At the time it was more or less
therapy." Although he had never intended to become an author, however 180,000 words later he
knew something had to be done with it. With no interest from mainstream publishing companies,
he self-published his first book, "Out in Bad Standings: Inside the Bandidos Motorcycle
Club - The Making of a Worldwide Dynasty", in 2005.
"All Roads Lead To Sturgis: A Biker’s Story" is Winterhalder’s first novel and most recent
literary endeavor. The book was written with co-author James Richard Larson and published by
Blockhead City Press in February of 2009.
(Back side of book)
"Jim Larson and I met courtesy of the Internet; being fans of each other’s literary work, we
agreed to explore working together. Fortunately for both of us, it has been an exciting and
productive partnership that we both hope will last until one of us dies", Winterhalder said. Since
"All Roads Lead to Sturgis" is the first book in the Biker’s Story series, it should be no surprise
that we intend to publish the second book in the series in early 2010; this book is now 90%
complete and tentatively called "The Mirror."
Winterhalder is a truly gifted writer. "All Roads Lead to Sturgis" is a page turning adventure
about two identical brothers, who are adopted to different families shortly after birth, Scott and
Henry grow to manhood having no idea that the other one exists. They ultimately wind up on
opposite sides of the fence, for Scott "Zipper" Conlon is a member of the Skuldmen, an outlaw
motorcycle club, and Henry Baker is a federal law enforcement officer.
"Living on the Edge: Riding with the Vietnam Vets Motorcycle Club in Pennsylvania" is a
documentary Winterhalder produced in 2007. Focusing on the positive aspects of motorcycle
club life, this show is currently being shopped to television networks as a pilot. The DVD is
distributed by Blockhead City Entertainment and available for purchase at Amazon.com.
Winterhalder is also a contributing author to the popular anthology "Mammoth Book of
Bikers", published worldwide in 2007 and edited by Arthur Veno Ph.D.; this book contains
about 40 short stories about the biker lifestyle, written by 40 authors.
"The Assimilation: Rock Machine Become Bandidos - Bikers United Against the Hells
Angels" was released in June 2008 and published by Canada's ECW Press. In 2001
Winterhalder went to Canada to initiate Rock Machine bikers into the Bandidos club in a process
called a patch over. A patchover is where a club takes on the name, logo and patch colors of
another. Because of the Rock Machine's trouble with the Hells Angels, their members wanted to
become part of the Bandidos.
"Biker Chicks: The Magnetic Attraction of Women to Bad Boys and Motorbikes" will be
released in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia on May 1st. The co-authors for this
project were Australia’s Arthur Veno Ph.D. and Canada’s Wil De Clercq. The Foreword to the
book was written by country music superstar Tanya Tucker, who has been a Harley enthusiast
for many years. “Biker Chicks” is expected to be released in North America later this year.
You can purchase Winterhalder’s books at most book stores like Barnes & Noble or online at
www.Amazon.com
For more information about Edward Winterhalder or his books, please go to www.blockheadcity.com