In college I had another old Honda but then graduated to a 1973 CB 750. I was in hog heaven. It had a windshield, a backrest, and later I added highway pegs to the crash bars. After my sophomore year in college I rode it from North Dakota to Minneapolis, back across North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, and up to Mount Vernon, WA. I had next to no money, no fancy riding gear. I adjusted the chain each day. Had to replace a ton of broken spokes in Wyoming. It was an awesome ride.
I sold the Honda to buy a wedding ring and a guitar. Then came the years of raising children and real life. But eventually life changed, the bug bit, and I bought another bike. A silver 1983 Honda Goldwing Aspencade. It was an old bike by the time I bought it in 2001 but it still looked like the awesome bikes I saw as a kid at the Honda shop in my hometown. The kind of bike that I dreamed of one day owning. I rode all over. Out to Colorado, around Texas. I even took it out East as far as Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It ran like a top. I ended up selling it for $500 more than I paid.
It was time to move on to a different kind of experience.
One day I was playing golf at the course near my house and I noticed a bunch of motorcycles parked at an ice house that backed up to the golf course. The Caddy Shack. (An "ice house" in Texas is a bar that only sells beer.) When the round was over, I stopped in. I had never really paid much attention to Harley Davidson motorcycles. I always thought they were too expensive, too liable to break down, and the people that rode them tended to look down on everyone else. At least that is what I thought.
I walked in to the Caddy Shack and immediately met Owen and soon after that, Murph. We started talking motorcycles. I started learning about Harleys. It wasn't long before I was shopping for one. I was right - they were too expensive. And they didn't really fit me right. I was too big and needed more room. So I ended up buying a Suzuki Intruder. Think "imported Harley wannabe clone." I can't remember the model year and don't want to even try. It was a bad bad decision.
At first I was SO excited just to have another bike. I rode it straight from the guy's house who sold it to me to the Caddy Shack. Owen was there. He didn't even look around as I rode up. I got off the bike and took a seat next to him. The only words out of his mouth were, "You shoulda bought a Harley." He didn't even want to look at it. He was right. The worst motorcycle I ever owned. Anything above 30 mph started a subtle vibration that put your torso to sleep in no time. A tiny 3.2 gal. gas tank that required fuel stops every 90 miles. At the end, there was absolutely nothing about that motorcycle that I appreciated. I ended up selling it to a guy who ended up loving it. I guess there is someone somewhere for everyone. (No, I won't add a picture of the Suzuki.)
I sold it because I bought my first Harley Davidson. A 2005 Roadglide. It fit me like a glove. It was awesome. I mortgaged my life away and rode home on the most fantastic motorcycle I had ever touched. I got caught by the mystique, the soul, the lifeblood that is built into Harley Davidson motorcycles. There is nothing like it. Nothing.
That bike introduced me to the biker community. I learned how much fun it was to ride with a group of guys who knew what they were doing. It led to annual pilgrimages to Sturgis. My first tatoos. Lots of new friends. And even to new outlets for ministry - to weddings and funerals and gatherings for people who never would have felt comfortable with a traditional pastor or Christian congregation. And I discovered as well that the bike gave me a new identity. Suddenly, I was the pastor with the Harley.
I played basketball for years and never became the "basketball playing pastor." I did triathlons, finished an Ironman in 1998, but no one ever asked me about that. I rode my Honda and my Suzuki all over the place and never became identified with either. But a few months on a Harley and that became the first question that people asked me all the time..."Did you ride your Harley?"
A couple of years later, I absolutely fell in love with a new touring motorcycle made by Victory, the OTHER great American motorcycle company. My wife, who loves me dearly, wanted me to have that bike. So we bought one. Absolutely beautiful bike. Kelley loved it. It was smooth, comfortable, lots of extras that Harley has never gotten around to adding. It was faster than a Harley, just as smooth, better gas mileage, huge "Wow" factor. I got lots of attention at gas stations. I even rode it to Sturgis instead of the Roadglide.
One Thanksgiving my son, Michael, and I made a trip out to Tennessee to ride the Tail of the Dragon. Great trip - Michael was an excellent riding partner - and I'm glad we could do it. But Michael rode the Victory. As nice as it was...it wasn't a Harley.
And when the day came that we needed some money more than I needed two motorcycles, I sold it to another big guy from Minnesota. I hope he treasures it.
Five years and 65,000 miles later after the Roadglide came into my life, I signed up for a motorcycle race from Key West, FL, to Homer, AK. It was going to be an adventure that would take me over 15,000 miles. I worried that the Roadglide might not make it. I also wanted more storage, the new 103 cu.in. engine, and the other benefits of a new bike. So I traded the Roadglide in for a 2010 Ultra Classic Limited. I love the new bike, don't get me wrong, but there will be a sad place in my heart for the rest of my life that I let that Roadglide get away.
Now the Ultra and I are planning to ride around the United States. Literally, all the way around. As I anticipate that trip I have spent a lot of time reading ride stories and scouting around the Internet for advice. I've come to appreciate the guys who take the time to share their adventures with the rest of us. So I decided to start a blog of my own. Welcome to the ride.
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