....in 1963...I was 8 years old....one day my ol man came home with a BSA 250....we rode all over the back roads of New Jersey on that bike...there were no helmet laws back then...so he bought me a black cap with a white brim...just like the old motorcycle cops used to wear....it had a wheel with a pair of wings sewn in the middle of it....he sold that old BSA and bought his first Harley 2 years later.....we were both on our way to a love affair with the wind...
. . ..couple years later we moved....and we started frequenting Mills Harley Davidson...ol man Mills was a pisser....I was only 13....and he impressed me as an angry ...mean old man....but my ol man would take me back in the shop and the mechanic Mike would buy me Cocoa Colas....and tease me about being so young....my ol man traded that old Harley of his on this fine new one....he used to pick me up after school on it...all the kids would crowd around as I put my helmet on..Id climb on and we,d take off, with all the kids waving....I thought I was a little bad ass....unfortunately my father worked construction and soon found himself out of work....he couldnt keep the payments up...and had to give this sweet bike back....I remember I went to my room and cried that day...
....his next bike was a 1973 Moto Guzzi Police Special...it was black with chrome on both sides of the tank....only problem was it was kick start only...my ol man was only about 5' 7" .....and I can still hear him in the garage...kicking...kicking...kicking...until that thing would build up so much back pressure...it would kick back.....he damn near gave it away and went out and bought his first Honda Gold Wing...there were no bags or fairing on them back then..and he went out and bought a Windjammer Fairing with matching bags....it would be the beginning of a long line of Wings for him from then on....
....I was 22 when I bought my first bike....a 1977 Honda 750 F .....it was a sweet machine....and I was finally enjoying the wind on my own steed...
. ....some guys I used to hang out with in high school had moved to Houston Texas....and after a few months of riding I figured I was ready for my first big road trip...my ol man gave me this small touring bag to put on the back, and I loaded that bike up ....and hit the road for Houston...I neglected to check the weather..(rookie mistake)...and it rained 3 days out of 5....this shot was on the beach in Biloxi Mississippi.. .
....before I left town I asked some tourist to take this picture...I was on the road..alone....22 years old and having a blast.....all I kept thinking about was a book I read about a guy on the road....free......And Then Came Bronson...
....Houston was a blast....the folks I were living with had a difference of opinion...and most moved out....my buddy caught his girlfriend cheating on him...and she hit the road....that left me and him in a 3 bedroom brick rancher....we worked all week in the construction trades and parited our asses off all weekend in the bars...or blasting down to Galveston on my bike at 90 mph and no helmets....oh to be young again..
....well...nothin last forever...and before long I found myself back in good ol jersey....I was gonna keep going to California and still kick myself in the ass for not doing it.....I totaled my first bike and went out and bought me this sweet little brand spanking new 1980 Honda 750 Custom...first thing I did was slap a Kirker Header on it....it was the first bike I bolted after market chrome on...
.....I barely had that bike a year when some Iranian kid with a driver permit learning to drive ...hung a left right infront of me and took me out....flew over his Pinto Station wagon like I was shot out of a cannon ..and damn near died....the bike was totaled...my shoulder was shattered....and I swore I could hear God talking to me...and he was saying....stay off the bikes Dave......and so I did for 8 years...
.....well....my ol man was getting on in years....he was 73 and meaner then a junk yard dog....he long ago destroyed our realtionship...and was estranged from my entire family....one day he came up to my mother with tears in his eyes and said...Im selling my bike...I cant ride anymore....it seems he was having some "episodes"...and had begun blowing right through red lights....my mom told him to keep it...park it in the garage....and take it out on sunny days and wash it.....he did park it in the garage...but never went near it again....he spent the last few years of his life sitting in a lawn chair in the driveway....glaring out at the world that was now passing him by....6 months later he was gone......my mom asked me what she should do with his *pristine* Wing...I told her to sell it......she gave it to me instead....so here I was 8 years later....my shoulder healed for the most part...but still tender as hell.....and I was riding this behemoth of a bike....
...well....I rode that Land Yacht for 4 years....but I never did like it much....it just wasnt my style....and sometimes I was embarrassed to be seen on it by other....real bikers.....one cold spring I saw my first Valk....and before I knew it I was trading that big ol plastic laden boat for my sleek ...fast black Interstate....she was a 2001....the salesman had tried his best to talk me into a 1999 ...new in the crate...for a few grand less...but I wanted a brand new...current year...Im glad I did too....little did I know....that would be the last year they made the States.....but I got mine....I slapped 2 grand in XTras on her before I ever took delivery...including a set of Two Brothers 6 into 6 pipes....she was indeed a screamer....and I raced everthing I could find....and beat most of em...
......yeah...this is the guy that turned me onto the wind....my father...unfortunately...we only shared it once... side by side.....we didnt speak for 10 years before he died....I guess its just as well, as I never could understand why he did ...the things he did..
. . ...and so here it is....all these years later.....Ive traveled so many roads on my machines....enjoyed so much freedom in the wind. .....only difference is....there,s a woman who shares it with me now, and her name is...Faith....we explore the wind together.....its almost spring up here in the Hinter Land....yeh there,s still snow on the ground...and it still gets below freezing almost every night...but soon....very soon.. we,ll be exploring those back roads in the woods that surround our tiny town....woods that seem to go on forever....and except for the occassional deer or racoon the road is ours...and ours alone. ....the sweet smells of dew on a new spring dawning ...just waiting to fill our nostrils....
.....yeh...Im hooked on the wind.....and there are many ...many miles to go yet....before I lay my riding gloves down and say.....enough
