1978 Bike Trip

[threevalks]

                                    How the years have flown by.
            My 1st overnight motorcycle trip.Summer of 1978. We rode to the mountains of WV, three day trip. Spent 2 nights in motels. All 5 in one room. Rode in rain all of second day, bought trash bags to use for rain gear.
            From left to right, Bob Majersky, 500 Honda, army buddy, Pittsburgh Pa. I see him every few years. Glen Blaine,900 Honda, Jackson Ohio, haven't seen in over 10 years, Myself 600 Yamaha, Mark Rayburn, 900 Honda, Point Pleasant WV,haven't seen in 35 years. Bill Barger 650 Triumph, Point Pleasant, WV, see few times a year.
            Bob has quit riding, last time I saw Glen, he had two bike's, so I'd say he's still an active rider. Myself yep, Mark ????, Bill has been in wheel chair several years, spinal disease. Last bike he had was a 1946 Harley.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Cool post !

[Wizzard]

Nice,, I love posts like this 

[Jess from VA]

Cool.

Fuzzy hair and mustache... check.

Everyone in one room..... check. 

[Alpha Dog]

What a blast from the past.  Must have been a great time in life to have so many young buddies that loved to ride.  Consider yourself lucky.

Oh and if you have not seen Mark Rayburn in 35 years, he may have been taken by that Point Pleasant Mothman.

[RDAbull]

1970s, check
friends, check
bikes, check
weekend rides, check
750 Honda,  check
rain gear  --- what's that

camera  --  damn, can't anybody afford a camera.

Thanks for the reminders of good times gone by.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Nice,, I love posts like this 

Same here. I tried to take a pic of a pic with my iPad. Didn't work worth a damn. I'll try later with my wife's phone. My first overnight trip wasn't near as cool. Me and a friend on a Suzuki 90 and another friend on a Hodaka 100. We were 14 and rode to a campground 35 miles from home. Luckily no arrests. My first real trip was 6 months across the U.S. In '77 on a Yamaha 750.

[pais]

    Great post 3Valks! Pics are all we have to record the present before it becomes the past.
    Digital format makes them easy to find. Film style get packed away and search takes longer.
    Just ran into this when I wanted a pic of my Jeep to post. In this case I have an old photo floating around here somewhere of a memorable ride with a group of guys. Sometime around '87 a ride to Ohio Pyle, Pa to go white water rafting and camp. Pic was of all of us at end of rafting ride. What a trip and memories but, only couple photos

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Cool post my friend 

[Gavin_Sons]

Excellent post
That purple chopper gives me spinal disease just looking at it. 

[Misfit]

Best post of the week. Thanks. 

[The emperor has no clothes]

Best post of the week. Thanks. 

Of the year 

[cookiedough]

neat pic, the good old days for sure.  I wonder if that HONDA in the group is still running today somewhere?

try putting 5 people in one small hotel room nowadays, must sneak them in nowadays...
and back then the room probably was 10 bucks per night only?

I have a pic somewhere of my uncle and neighbor friend in the 80s showing up at my parents house as a kid having a mid 80s suzuki calvacade and an older 1970s BMW.  That beamer was butt ugly but until the neighbor passed on recently due to cancer,  it had well over 300K miles and been all over the states.  probably still running today somewhere???

[Valkorado]

Hippie freaks! 

Great post, thanks.

[Wizzard]

Nice,, I love posts like this  

Same here. I tried to take a pic of a pic with my iPad. Didn't work worth a damn. I'll try later with my wife's phone. My first overnight trip wasn't near as cool. Me and a friend on a Suzuki 90 and another friend on a Hodaka 100. We were 14 and rode to a campground 35 miles from home. Luckily no arrests. My first real trip was 6 months across the U.S. In '77 on a Yamaha 750.

Hodaka,, man I forgot all about them. My friend had one when I was in Jr. High. My first bike when I was 10 was a Bridgestone 50 step through frame. That thing would not die.

[Patrick]

Excellent post
That purple chopper gives me spinal disease just looking at it. 

I rode coast to coast and back in 1971 on something similar [ Triumph].  Wouldn't consider it today !

[threevalks]

       Thanks for all the replies. Jess, hell, my hair was the shortest of the bunch. Roger, heck no, we couldn't afford film, let alone a camera, borrowed Moms for the 1 pic.  Meathead, I scanned this pic,m try that. Joe, no comparison to all of your post. Gavin, although it had nothing to do with Bill's back, that chopper of his was a bitch to ride. No rear suspension, no front brake, springer front that seemed 3 foot long, bicycle seat, 2 gallon tank, shifted on the right. Other than that, it was a cherry.  Misfit, thanks again. (Ya got your coin on you, I do).
       All this has got me to thinking of trying to get us all together to remissness the old days and BS a little

[The emperor has no clothes]

       Thanks for all the replies. Jess, hell, my hair was the shortest of the bunch. Roger, heck no, we couldn't afford film, let alone a camera, borrowed Moms for the 1 pic.  Meathead, I scanned this pic,m try that. Joe, no comparison to all of your post. Gavin, although it had nothing to do with Bill's back, that chopper of his was a bitch to ride. No rear suspension, no front brake, springer front that seemed 3 foot long, bicycle seat, 2 gallon tank, shifted on the right. Other than that, it was a cherry.  Misfit, thanks again. (Ya got your coin on you, I do).
       All this has got me to thinking of trying to get us all together to remissness the old days and BS a little

Thanks, I'll try the scanning thing. It was an awesome post that definitely brought us all together. (If it didn't, there is nothing that will) 

[Misfit]

I carry one of each in my watch picket everyday. It's good to know that you carry yours. I hesitate to challenge those that I know carry one. 
You had better carry through with your thought of contacting the gang. If you don't do it now you never will and will come to regret it one day. It would be a blast for all involved. Good luck. 

[paulmull ( Wimp )]

I did a lot of riding like that.No windshield no saddlebags no leathers , just a old bag full of clothes stuffed in a garbage bag. A the most important thang lots of bungie cords.   Wimp

[woofred1832]

              Great read, story. My first interstate trip was in 1972. Me on my 450 Honda, and a friend on his 650 Triumph.  We left Chicago area, headed south made New Orleans in three days, cruised down to Corpus Christy, slept onthe beach. It took 3 days to ride up through Texas, only road early am, late afternoon, and a little at nite when it wasn't so hot. Spent 3 days in Denver,  headed west, Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and on to L.A. allthe way up the coast Hwy 1. Loved Carmel, and Patalooma. Spent the nite under a moble home due to some rain. In Boise, headed south into Utah, crossed southern Wyoming, up into Minnesota. Back into Wisconsin. Then home, we were out 9 weeks, through 19 states alittle over 9000 miles. Was the trip of a life time. Needless to say it gave me the bug, and I have been riding ever since.There was a 9 year gap when living in Colorado that I didn't ride much due to marriage, kids and work, but the last 6 years, no wife, kids grown I have been ridig 10, 000+ miles a year. 9 different bikes, 46 years, and ,as close as I can figure, about 200and50 thousand miles. Currently in my garage is my 2014 Valkyrie, and my day ride bike,a 1975 GL1000. About 20 thousand on the Valk, and only 19, 000 on the GL. I love them both and plan to ride till I can't throw my leg over the bike.when that day comes my son has already put a claim in for the Valkyrie, and said he will keep the GL as a show bike


hope to keep riding till I can't get my leg up over the seat. When that day comes me son has already put claim in for the Valkyrie and said he will keep the GL as a show bike. RIDE ON life is good.

[woofred1832]

                OOPPS sorry about that gap..... had to go back and put in the part about not riding for time in Colorado. I road for many years no wind shield also, just a rack and an old duffle bag, was not till I got my 1980 850 Suzuki till I was sold on shaft drive and comfort and bags to keep things dry. Rain suit is standard packing for those cross country trips now.COME ON SPRING........

[woofred1832]

             I have kept pictures of most of the bikes and a album of maps and routes of the trips. I even had a US patch made and drawn in ink of where and what states, that I have on one of my riding vests. I get comments on it all the time. Three riding clubs. In Colorado, Mountainers MC. Then Line Riders, during my gang years. Knights Out, when I moved back to Ill. Now vests with Valkyrie patches and more. The 2 old vests hang in my garage and I wear them once in a while just for fun.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I did a lot of riding like that.No windshield no saddlebags no leathers , just a old bag full of clothes stuffed in a garbage bag. A the most important thang lots of bungie cords.   Wimp

Dang, I feel pretty sophisticated now. 77 Yamaha 750, backpack strapped to the sissy bar. Cassette player, radio under the luggage rack. Leather jacket, no raingear though.

[woofred1832]

          After I started working at the Bolder Colorado Honda shop in 1972, I traded my 450 in on a CB750. Then a year later my brother in law came to spend the summer with me and his sister (my then wife), he wanted to ride so I looked up the guy that bought my old 450, and bought it back. At the end of the summer, me and the wife on my 750, and him on my old 450 took a ride to take him back to New Orleans. We tookit easy and it took 3 days to get back to New Orleans.  Spent afer days there the the wife and I headed back to Colorado.  Stopped to see her sister and husband in Albuquerque New Mexico.  All in all it was a great trip. The wife and I did alot of rides with the Mountaineares MC club. Had several good rides and holiday weekend camping trips. We had 14 families in the group and some of the trips were as many as 20 bikes, and a van that followed in case of trouble and with all the camping gear. On some of our early spring rides in the rockies I remember we stopped on one pass, took a picture of several bikes on the road and some of us standing on the snow banks along the road. People thought we were crazy riding motorcycles and stopping to have a snow ball fight...... Oh the memories of bike trips are great. Glad I kept some pictures in one of my bike albums... Here now in Northern Ill. I STILL RIDE EVEN IN 45 DEGREE WEATHER, as long as the sun is out and no salt on the roads....... waiting for spring, SOON?