My first ride out west

[Bronxboy]

My first ride out west, and my first taste of the open road. I had a small group of riders back in the late 70's there were 4 of us total.

We all rode the same Kawasaki Z-1 900's with Kerker headers and No Baffle's   One day sitting around we started talking about an Adventure. We tossed around going to FL again, but that seemed old hat, and we were looking for some real excitement.

So we decided on Colorado and surrounding States out west. Imagine the thought's of adventure when u are 19 yrs old No commitments of any kind, No sense, and full of Testosterone !!!  

I can't imagine the kids of today even thinking about something like this, even the thought of them leaving their parents basement at 30 yrs old seems very scary I'm sure  

With only Back Packs and as much crap as we could bungee on the back of the fender, we were off. Although this seems like 100 yrs ago, this particular trip feels more like yesterday to me. I think having that kind of experience at that age with friends I grew up with, made it all the better.  

With a few map's, No Cell phones or GPS, we made our way west. We had No Clue what roads were going to be scenic and enjoyable, we just picked roads and hauled ass !! We seemed to stop a lot for fuel as I remember. We were in the throttles the entire trip, but fuel was around .55 a gallon so WGAS !!

Long story short, we made it out to Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Back To LI NY  with nary a hitch. Awesome laughs and lifetime Memories with close friends. We hit every type of weather, slept under the stars, and even managed to survive a few close calls. These bikes for their day were lightning fast as I remember, and we used every bit of it there and back.

This all came to me when I stumbled across an old picture of my first ride, wish she was sitting in my garage next to my Valk  

That's my 69 Riviera and my buddies Drop Top Firebird.

[flsix]

Very cool story and memories Nick.
I think you are right about trying to get kids out of the house these days.
My son and his best friend took off from Fl to Upstate NY when they got out of high school. Tent camped all the way and had a great time. They still talk about it whenever we all get together.

[Flrider]

Great story Nick.

Sounds like you guys did it the right way or at least the fun way