| Author | Message | ||
     Milo_h |
Friends of mine from Barrie, Ontario, Canada mailed this to me today. With their permission I pass it along for all of you. Peace Milo Several months back one of our sales guy's custom bikes was featured on the cover of Motorcycle Mojo magazine. A local soldier, Jody Mitic, emailed our sales guy, Cory, that he loved the bike. Wanted to know who built it, what they started with, etc. Said that when he came back from Iraq he was going to build one just like it. HAD to have one. 2 weeks later Jody stepped on a land mine and both of his feet were blown off. He emailed Barrie Harley and said "well, my plans have changed a bit..." 2 nights ago the custom bike that Barrie Harley, Motorcycle Mojo magazine and a bunch of other people donated and built was presented to Master Corporal Mitic. The bike has a hydraulic hand shifter and the hand and foot brakes have been combined so he doesn't have to use his feet at all. Somehow, even though dozens of people were involved, they managed to keep it a complete surprise. Lots of other stuff was donated too. ($50,000 altogether.) The bike is called "The Buellseye", Master Corporal Mitic is a sniper. Here's a video of the presentation put together by Freakin' Leather, who donated leathers to the cause. Jody will continue as a sniper instructor with the Canadian Forces. Here's a link to the video: Mitic's Militia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXDJZjutN2c (Message edited by Blake on April 17, 2007) | ||
| Bomber |
oh, my -- what a wonderful story -- show's what people can do when they decide to do good thanks for posting! | ||
| Sleez |
too cool, video not available!! | ||
| Milo_h |
OK guess I'm not doing to well in the link dept. Try this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXDJZjutN2c Peace Milo | ||
| Tunes |
Great story!!! I support your troops as much as my own!! | ||
| Ezblast |
That Rocks! | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Outstanding display of gratitude. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Truly awesome. | ||
| Crusty |
 | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Thank you Jody for your service to the free world! We all appreciate the sacrifices you have made! | ||
| Bcordb3 |
What Ft bstrd said. Jody you are an inspiration to all. I hope you read this site and tell us first hand how you are doing with your bike. (Message edited by BCordb3 on April 17, 2007) | ||
| Ragnagwar |
Thank You Jody! And also to those that kept his dream alive! I salute you all!!!! | ||
| Nevrenuf |
great video, you will definitely be an inspiration to alot of people out there whether you know it or not. | ||
| Xbullet |
Awesome. a Canadian soldier in Iraq is fightin' for me as much as an American soldier is. Right On! | ||
| Rick_a |
That's cool. It'd be nice if the media picked up on this kind of positive support, instead of all the doom, gloom, body counts, and opposition. | ||
| Oddbawl |
Great story, but he was wounded by a land mine in Afghanistan, not Iraq. We don't have troops deployed in Iraq. | ||
| Blake |
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing that, Milo. I teared-up watching the video; more so the second time when I played it for Michele. I wish we could do similarly for all the returning vets, especially those who are seriously injured. It is heartening to learn that Canadian troops are helping in Iraq. I was ignorant of that. Milo, please pass on my and all of BadWeB's sincerest thanks and highest regards to everyone involved at Barrie Harley-Davidson, Motorcycle Mojo, and elsewhere for their wonderful gesture on Master Corporal Minic's behalf. And most of all, I'd sure like pass on my sincerest of thanks to Master Corporal Minic for his service and for his inspiring attitude. This wonderful gesture and Master Corporal Minic's story and others like it help bolster my realization of what in life is most important, people, neighbors, friends, family, living free and lifting each other up in challenging times. Thanks for the lift.  Blake PS: The editing of your initial post was to fix the broken youtube hyperlink. | ||
| Oddbawl |
"It is heartening to learn that Canadian troops are helping in Iraq." Again, that part of the story is wrong. There is no Canadian deployment in Iraq, Mcpl Mitic was wounded in Afghanistan. http://www.torontosun.com/News/OtherNews/2007/04/0 1/3887940-sun.html Incidentally, Barrie HD is one of the few Buell friendly HD dealers left around here. Most have lost interest and sometimes just plain hostile. Barrie HD are good guys, even better in my eyes now. | ||
| Milo_h |
Blake Thank You. Please accept my friends and my apology. There is a error in the original e-mail sent to me. All will be corrected. Later today I will be posting an article from the Toronto News Paper (Sun I think) that will clear up any confusion. I will also be posting the specs of the Buell, Bear with me. Peace Milo | ||
| Milo_h |
Update: Again, from my friends in Barrie. Bike specs at the bottom Link Barrie H-D down there too. From the Toronto Sun: -------------------------- When Master Cpl. Jody Mitic lost his feet after he stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan three months ago, one big question kept milling around in his military mind: "How am I ever going to ride again?" Last night that problem was solved when he was presented with a custom-made Harley Davidson motorcycle built especially for a tough guy who can rise above almost anything. It was the kind of surprise party that makes people weep and laugh at the same time. Burly tattooed bikers, hardened military soldiers, friends, family and Harley fans all cheered, then wept together as they watched the look of surprise on the soldier's face as the chopper was rolled in at the Harley dealership in Barrie. "Now it's my turn to cry," Mitic said. "After this happened, I kept thinking to myself, how will I ever be able to ride again ... well, this is it. Now I know .. I don't know what else to say." And with that, the speechless soldier hugged the two guys who built his bike: Steve Redford and Lorne Duncan. Mitic was tricked into making the trip to Barrie by his brother, Cory. It was three months in the planning for the Harley people after they learned of Mitic's tragic loss in his duty to his country. The last steps Mitic took with his own feet was on patrol in Afghanistan in the middle of the night last January. He was on patrol with three fellow snipers from the Petawawa-based 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment. There was a flash and a bang as he stepped on the land mine, and both his feet were gone. Organizer Cory Wickham said he was touched more than he realized with Mitic's story. "I'm a big fat biker guy with tattoos and I found myself crying," he said. Wickham felt a part of it because it was his custom-made Harley that was featured on the cover of Mo-Jo magazine that Mitic fell in love with when he was in Afghanistan. When Mitic saw the one-of-a-kind chopper, he contacted Harley to find out how he could get one. Weeks later, after losing his legs, he sent the same Harley people an email: "Well guys, things have changed," he wrote. "I lost my legs ... does anybody out there built a thumb-shift motorcycle? LOL." The guys at Barrie Harley weren't laughing, however. "Here is this guy who lost his legs for his country and over a week later he still has the inspiration to ride," said bike builder Redford. "That was it, this guy was going to get a new bike." The Harley staff raised enough to put together a $50,000 custom bike with a hand-shift and hand break that worked both the rear and front breaks so that Mitic wouldn't need his feet. -------------------------------- There's a web page on the Barrie HD site (http://www.barriehd.com) showing some of my photos from the presentation of the Buellseye bike to Jody. Jody was a sniper in the Canadian armed forces, and hence the name and some of the special features on the bike, like cross-hairs etched on the rear view mirror. Some of the bike specs, more to come. - Base bike was a donated '99 Buell S3T 1200 - The frame was from Redneck, their Mutant model frame. - Wheels were custom powder coated - A Pingel Electronic Shifter was integrated into the signal housing - Mirror was custom etched with sniper cross-hairs. - Seat was custom embroidered with the Regiment's Sniper motto "Without Warning" - Cutom paint everywhere - Special "Sniper" medallion on the front jug. Peace Milo | ||
| Nevrenuf |
good to see the original post in the paper but i for one couldn't watch the video again. i know someone who rides with his right leg missing from his knee down and he is able to do it without any thing special done to his bike. i can't imagine for one minute what it would be like with out both of them. i truly admire this guy for his ability to carry on. |
