Two Wheels and Fresh Air: The Adventures of a Rider

The Love of Riding

Iwish there was a way to describe or convey the feelings of being on a motorcycle and traveling the country. It doesn’t matter what brand or type of bike you ride as long as you are out there. We have friends that ride Harleys, Hondas, Suzukis, and Can-Ams, so it doesn’t matter what you ride, just get out and enjoy it.

From the moment you buy your first bike, you will be hooked, and God knows how many bikes you will own or how much you will spend making the bike fit your unique personality. You will always find something new to add to your bike. Every time I know that I am going to get to ride, the anticipation of climbing in the saddle and feeling the power of the V-twin coming to life is always a thrill and every moment aboard my steel horse is a blessing.

My very first exposure to motorcycles was around 1965, and a guy named Bob in our neighborhood had a Honda Dream, which had a 305 CC engine and had unique angular lines and a square headlight. He would let my friends and I ride it around the neighborhood. This was also one of the first lessons of making mistakes. Luckily, I wasn’t the one who made the mistake. One of my best friends, Gregg, took the bike for a spin down the street, and when quite a bit of time passed, we were all wondering where he was. It was then we noticed a single light slowly coming down the road and was hanging at a weird angle. Once we got close enough, we could see Gregg pushing the bike, and we realized he had wrecked the bike when it got away from him. Unfortunately, Gregg was going to have to pay for the damage, and he didn’t really have any money for that. He did work out something to take care of it, but from that, I decided it was not a good idea to borrow someone’s bike.

When I first really got the bug to have a bike was when a coworker, Don, bought one, and I thought, Man, this is a really cool way to get around. Don had bought a CB 350, and as I started talking about getting a bike, he said he would show me how to ride and I would meet him at Cox High School so I could practice to get my motorcycle license. Probably the hardest thing to learn is the coordination with the hand clutch and shifting the gears with your foot. Of course, there is a lot more to riding safely on two wheels and there are classes to teach you the basics, and once you have this, the best experience is to get out and ride. Once I got comfortable, I went down and passed my test on the first try. My parents really didn’t want me to be on a bike, but as I was old enough and I had a job, I went ahead and got it on my own.

My very first bike I bought in 1972 was a Honda CB 350 from which I learned a valuable lesson, even though I would repeat the same mistake thirty-three years later.

Tip 1

Don’t buy the smallest or least expensive bike, you will be trading up in a very short time. So take the time to really see what fits and what you can really afford.

When I bought my 350, the salesman kept trying to talk me into buying one of the new 500s or 750s, which at this time was considered a large bike. I was convinced that the 350 was plenty big enough, but sure enough, I was trading the 350 in on a 500 within six months. When I bought the 500, I didn’t want my dad to know I had bought another bike so soon, and I bought one in the same metal flake gold paint job so maybe he wouldn’t notice, but before long, he realized that the bike had four exhaust pipes instead of two and called me out on it. I had the 500 for about two years but ended up having to sell it due to some financial problems. I had the bug and knew that I would ride again. I just didn’t realize it would be thirty-three years later.

I loved riding but, at this time, mainly used my bike to go to work and for short rides around town. I didn’t even consider taking any long trips at this time, but I knew I was hooked even though it would be thirty-three years before I started riding again after selling my 500.

Not long after I got my first bike, one of my good friends decided he wanted to ride also and I helped him learn even though after a few episodes, I felt that he probably didn’t need to be on two wheels. On one of the first rides I went on with Steve, I noticed in my rearview mirror as we were coming to a red light that as he was slowing down. He wasn’t putting his feet down, and as he got beside me, he fell right over, and of course, I had to just crack up. I bet this has actually happened to more riders than would ever admit it. My next episode with Steve was we were cutting through a parking lot and he was flying trying to beat me through. The bad thing was he wasn’t familiar with the lot and hit a curb and over he went. It wasn’t too long after this that he got rid of the bike.

My dream bike at this time was a black with gold pin-striped Norton Commando 750. British bikes like the Nortons, Triumph, and BSAs were very popular, and a 750 CC was a large displacement engine in the early seventies. Even though I never got a Norton, I would still love to find one to restore for riding around town. It’s a shame the British motorcycle industry fell apart due to the competition from the Japanese imports and the craftmanship was not up to par. The British made some classic bikes with some beautiful styling. The only one that has made a good comeback has been Triumph with some really amazing bikes especially the Rocket III, which is a crazy-fast bike with a unique look with its three exhaust pipes. Triumph still makes the all-time classic Bonneville, which has great eye appeal.

The girl I was dating at this time had a brother that also rode, and I did go on a few rides with him. He rode a Kawasaki 750 three-cylinder two-stroke, which are engines where the oil is injected into the cylinders to lubricate the engine. Lots of the Japanese imports at this time were two strokes, and Suzuki even had a rotary three-cylinder engine for a short time. His Kawasaki was insanely fast for its time and could probably hold its own even with the large displacement bikes available today.

My next bike in 2007 was going to be my Harley Sportster, which has been in continuous production since 1957 and has been one of Harley’s most popular motorcycles and continues to sell strong with many different styles and models available. So much of modern motorcycle styling came from the designs of the Sportster with its peanut-shaped gas tank, which has been copied by most major factories even till this day. They typically come in either an 883 CC or 1200 CC engine. Even if you are looking for an entry-level bike, I would recommend the 1200 due to the extra power it would give you especially if you plan on having a rider with you. I had been going by the Harley dealer for months, looking and sitting on bikes until I finally made the decision to buy a bike. My wife at the time didn’t really think I needed to get a bike, and I kept thinking of ways to convince her that I needed the bike. I even went so far as to think of a way to tell her I won the bike in a contest, but after plenty of thought, I was able to justify it by saying I would ride it to work and the savings in gas would pay for the payment on it and she said to go ahead and get it. The Sportster fit my body perfectly, but as I started taking longer trips, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was going to want a larger touring bike with more features. I kept the Sportster for three years and put over forty thousand miles on it, so I definitely got my money out of this amazing bike. I took it to Sturgis, Laconia, Myrtle Beach, and Albuquerque before I knew it was time to move up. There will be more about these trips coming up.

My next bike would be a 2011 Harley Street Glide that I bought after my trip to New Mexico. This was when I realized I needed to have a more comfortable bike with cruise control and other comforts. The Street Glide is one of the best touring bikes around and also one of the best-selling bikes Harley has ever had, but you may need to make some modifications depending on your height. I ended up lowering mine about three inches to better accommodate ease of handling at slow speeds and in tight spots. This bike took me on some amazing trips, which included my first coast-to-coast trip, back to Sturgis and also back to Myrtle Beach, which once again I will write about. Once again I decided I wanted a touring bike but without the weight and top heaviness of the Street Glide. So on my return from Sturgis in 2013 and another forty-two thousand miles on this bike. I purchased my Switchback, which Harley had recently come out with in 2011 geared toward a smaller touring-type bike. I had now since 2007 put over 140,000 miles on two wheels and was only beginning my two-wheeled adventures. I have now put over 62,000 miles to date on the switchback, and my love for motorcycles and all the joy it has brought me has only grown, and to top it off, I get to share it with my wife, Laura.

Poppas and GFY

One of the first people I met at Poppas was Retired Chief Carl Acel. Carl is one of those characters that everyone loves and is friends to everyone. We developed a friendship right away and continues to this day. One of his favorite sayings he used to say to the girls was that he was shy and bashful. Believe me, there is nothing shy about Carl. My friendship with Carl led to meeting most of my current group of friends that I currently ride with. We are quite the cast of characters, and everyone gets a nickname or road name as time goes on. Carl has picked up the nickname of GOBB, which means Grumpy Old Biker Bastard. As my stories develop, I will introduce them and the influences they have had on my two-wheeled adventures. Poppas sponsors lots of poker runs, which are very popular in the biking community to raise money for charities and people that need help. One of our friends Julie has a charity called Jewels Big Heart, and she does lots of good work for lots of people. The first one I ever participated in started at Poppas, and all our crew was there even though I hadn’t met them all yet. This was the Frogs for Freedom ride for the Navy SEAL Foundation. There were probably two hundred bikes on this particular run, and we had a great time traveling from stop to stop. It was on this charity ride that I met Carol, who was a member of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club, and we dated for a few months. I joined the Cruisers and enjoyed meeting the people in the club. Even though I haven’t been active in the club, I enjoy the fellowship of being with club members, but I am just not much of an organized club-type person. There is a huge difference between a riding club and a motorcycle club. There are lots of different motorcycle clubs that have lots of different affiliations. Some of the most famous are groups like the Hells Angels, Renegades, and the Grim Reapers. Most MCs have very strict guidelines and rules that you follow and also quite a process to go through to be accepted into the club. Lots of the clubs are affiliated with the military or first responders, and we have lots of friends in these military MCs. There are also lots of clubs that are what are called social riding clubs. Being here and talking to people about all the upcoming bike events gave me the idea for traveling to Myrtle Beach. One of the first things on my biking bucket list was to attend the bike rallies around the country. So the idea was planted and the planning began for Myrtle Beach 2008. Before the trip to Myrtle Beach, I went to the Virginia Beach Bike Classic, which gave me some idea of the festivities to expect in Myrtle Beach. Poppas will appear throughout the stories as so much of my planning and experiences revolve around this place. I will also tell you about local rides and places in between the adventures of the long-distance rides. All these go into telling about who I am and why I love riding so much. I will also put helpful tips for traveling that I have learned along the way in my five trips across country.

Myrtle Beach May 2008

Myrtle Beach is one of the largest bike rallies on the East Coast and is within a day’s ride from Virginia Beach. I was planning on staying there for four days to be able to take in as much of the experience as I could. I headed out on the morning of May 10. It was a nice sunny day but quite windy. As I have traveled over the years, I have found strong winds to be the thing related to weather that I dislike the most, but I guess everyone will have different conditions they dislike. I was planning on taking Route 17, which runs all the way to Florida. I always try to take the back roads instead of the interstates so I can pass through the towns and get a chance to meet local people and see the sights. It is about 350 miles to Myrtle Beach, and this was my first long-distance ride. Needless to say, I learned a lot about riding long distances on this first ride, and this is where the first tip for travel comes in.

Tip 2

Always save room for rain gear as the weather can change very quickly especially when traveling long distances. Also, buy good-quality rain gear. It will pay for itself.

I was finally on my way for my first bike rally, not having a clue what to expect. The ride down was great and lots of fun. I took Route 17, which runs down the coast of North Carolina to get to Myrtle Beach. I tried to stop plenty along the way to avoid fatigue and to stretch. You will find this to be key to long-distance riding and making it enjoyable. I made my first stop at a Harley dealer in North Carolina and bought one of my first pins and also purchased a couple of spider nets. These are a must for traveling to keep items secured. Once I got settled into the hotel, I headed out to join the party, and what a party it was. Seeing all the beautiful bikes riding around was amazing, and I soon realized that I would probably get a bigger bike somewhere down the road. There are so many bars and things to do that it was hard to know where to start. The names of the bars were as colorful as the people. There was the Rat Hole, which had all kinds of contest going on from topless karaoke to motorcycle rodeos. Suck Bang Blow at Murrells Inlet was a very popular place with live music, lots of vendors, and a great burnout pit where you could smell the smoke from the burning tires as you walked toward the bar. One of the great stories was at Suck Bang Blow at the burnout pit. All these guys had been wearing their tires out and the crowd was out of control when this guy on a moped pulled into the pit and everyone was cracking up. Well, this guy wound this scooter up and was smoking the tire until it blew and the crowd was cheering him on. When it was over, he jumped up and screamed it’s a rental scooter. How was that? The crowd really went nuts then. This is some of the crazy stuff that just seems to happen. This was the first time I had seen girls in full-body paint and that’s all, which was rather cool, and of course, I had to have my picture taken. Talking with one of the girls, she told me they spend a couple of hours getting their bodies painted each day they worked. This is how they make their money, five dollars per pic, and the guys were lined up. I took so many pictures while here, but I also learned a valuable lesson on digital pics—back them up on disc as soon as you can. As my computer crashed, I lost all my pictures from this adventure. The great thing about the rallies are the people you meet from all across the country. I even met some people that lived close to me, and we proceeded to party hard that night, doing body shots at one of the local establishments.

The next day, I rode up to North Myrtle Beach to check things out and ran into a great surprise. The streets were blocked off, and they had a beach festival going on with the Beach Boys playing later in the day. Luckily, I had packed some shorts and flip-flops in case I wanted to hit the beach for a while. It was a great day hanging out, listening to some great music and having some great shrimp and grits, which is one the great low-country dishes. As I have discovered many times since, these are the kind of surprises that make the trips so wonderful. I only spent four days at the rally and was going to spend the rest of my trip visiting relatives. I had a fantastic time and learned very much about trips and long-distance travel on two wheels, which will prepare me for my adventures to come.

Tip 3

Always check the weather channel or your smartphone for local weather and also for conditions at your final destination. You will find that waiting for a bit can save you a lot of grief or, at least, be prepared for what you may run into.

I was planning on heading to Rock Hill, South Carolina, early that morning but woke up to pouring rain. This is where checking the weather helped me out. The weather channel radar showed that the rain should move out by 10:00 a.m., so instead of riding in the downpour, I sat it out, and sure enough, by ten, the sun was out, and after drying the bike off, I was ready to roll. It set me back a couple of hours but was well worth it. Sometimes you have no choice other than to ride in the rain, but it’s always more comfortable and safer if you can wait. I traveled the back roads from Myrtle Beach to Rock Hill through Darlington and Florence, South Carolina. I spent the night in Rock Hill, which is where I was born way back in 1951, with my wild and crazy cousins, which is always an adventure unto itself. It was great to see them and tell them about my travels so far.

Thursday morning, I headed to Spartanburg, once again traveling the back roads of my youth, passing places that brought back a flood of memories, which were only enhanced by being on my Harley and sensing everything around me. I spent the last two days of my trip with my relatives and visiting the area. The morning I was going to head back to Virginia was pretty chilly, and unfortunately, I learned another lesson. Be prepared for any kind of weather. It wasn’t very long up the road that I had to stop for coffee and to warm up, but at least, this was a lesson learned.

Tip 4

Always be prepared for temperature changes. You can always shed clothing as the day warms up. At least have a jacket or sweatshirt in your bag.

I arrived back home after traveling over a thousand miles on my first long ride. It had been everything I had hoped and even more. I could now take what I learned on this trip and begin to prepare for my trip to Sturgis, South Dakota, the granddaddy of bike rallies in 2009.

Back to Poppas, Friends, and Local Rides

The rest of 2008 was spent doing local rides and getting to know more of my new friends at Poppas. It was about this time that I met Lynne, who goes by the name Pink and rides a pink Heritage Softail. Pink is one of our closest friends, and we always enjoy hanging out. Most of the girls that ride in our group ride their own bikes. It was on one of these local rides to Williamsburg in November that I first noticed one of the girls in our group that was riding a white trike. Her name was Laura and had the nickname Brakecheck. She got her road nickname from when she first started riding and one of our friends, Oscar, was riding behind her with his wife, Leadfoot, and at one of the stops, he asked his wife, Why do you keep slowing down? and she said, Why don’t you ask Brakecheck why she keeps hitting her brakes and smoking her tires? and the name stuck. Didn’t know at that time that she would later become my wife and riding partner. It was a brisk fall day, and we all had a wonderful time riding the Colonial Parkway. Winter was coming and slowed our riding, but not completely. I enjoy cold-weather riding as long as you are dressed for the conditions

Tip 5

In cold weather, dress in layers and protect exposed skin. The temperatures are much colder when riding.

Friday, January 2, 2009, was a night that changed my life forever. We were all hanging out at Poppas, enjoying the band. I had been talking to some of the gang, and one of our friends, Renee, came up and asked me what I thought about Laura. I said that I thought she was very attractive and planned on asking her out.

Renee said, Well, you need to go do it because she has been waiting for you to ask her.

I stopped her that night as she was leaving and said, Would you like to go out other than a ride sometime? Thank God, she said yes. Funny thing was, when she got home, she had to call Pink because she couldn’t remember my name. That was the start of our romance. Later on, she told me she was interested in me from that ride in November because she thought I looked hot in my leather chaps. She also said I broke two of her rules. She would never date anyone she met at Poppas and didn’t date bald guys. Those are both me.

There are usually plenty of bars that are biker-friendly and great places to meet people. Your local bike dealers are also great places to stay on top of events and rides going on in the area. My close circle of riding friends has about fourteen people, so it is usually easy to find someone to ride with. I enjoy our group rides but also going out by myself and not having to worry about other people and just clearing my mind.

Day Trips and Local Rides

Take the time to explore the sights and back roads in your local area. In our busy lives, sometimes all we see are the same old roads. I guarantee, if you sit down with a map and a computer, you will be amazed at all there is around you that you have never seen. There are times where a seventy-five­- to a hundred-mile trip is awesome, and even if they are roads you have driven, you will find something new to see and feel, seeing them on two wheels. Sometimes I feel as if the road is going by in slow motion, and I can see and feel everything around me. Pay attention as you ride and let your senses absorb everything. Don’t be in such a hurry to get from point A to point B that you miss everything in between.

If you are visiting an area, talk to locals at the dealers or at bars about things to do or see. Tourist brochures will send you to the most popular places, and you may miss some unique and amazing places that the locals know and will be able to tell you the great back roads to get there. I had some friends visit recently from Maryland, and we took them on a nice ride through Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. They were amazed at how much farmland and how many good curvy roads we have here. They just assumed we were a big city. That’s where local knowledge comes in to play.

Personally, I consider a good day trip to be no more than two hundred miles. At this mileage, you can take time to do some sightseeing, getting a little bar next in and a relaxing lunch all without beating yourself to death. Every area is different, so you have to plan accordingly. Riding in the mountains will usually take longer than riding in the prairies or coastal areas especially in a group. Remember, you can only go as fast as the slowest or least experienced person in the group.

We have some great day riding available in the Hampton Roads area, and for the most part, our weather is great for year-round riding. One of the rides is down to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, which is about ninety miles away. It is a pretty straight ride down there, but there are plenty of neat places to stop along the way. There is a Harley dealership on the way in case you need any services or just want a Harley souvenir. There are also plenty of bars and restaurants along the way.

One of our favorite spots is Barry’s at Walnut Island in Grandy. Barry is a biker and retired from the U.S. Navy that sponsors lots of bike events and poker runs for charity. The bar is a neat place for weekend getaways and Barry and Donna will always make you feel welcome. They also have about twelve cottages available plus campsites with full hookups. Usually, during the summer, you will find plenty of bike in the parking lot. One of the longer rides that takes you through the Outer Banks is a ride we call the Seven Bridges ride. It will take you through Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, and Nags Head. As you head through these towns, you can stop at the Wright Brothers Memorial where Wilbur and Orville took the first powered flight on December 17, 1903, or go to Jockeys Ridge, which is the largest natural sand dune on the East Coast, to try some hang gliding. When you get to the light to go to Hatteras, you would bear right to continue toward Manteo and Route 64. Manteo is a quaint village with lots of history and the place where the Lost Colony outdoor play takes place. It portrays the colony that disappeared and is still a mystery to this day of what happened to some of the first English settlers to arrive here. This is also where Andy Griffith got his acting start. There is also an old-style diner called Big Al’s that has a great Coca-Cola collection and yummy milkshakes. As you continue on 64, you will cross two more bridges heading toward Edenton and Hertford. Right outside Hertford is a community called Holiday Island, where you will find a neat bar called The Store, which is owned by our friends Pete and Linda. It’s a great stop for a cold beverage. Take the time to stop in Hertford at the pharmacy and get an ice cream at the old-time soda counter, which is like being in Mayberry. This is also the home of Jim Catfish Hunter, who was a Hall of Fame pitcher for the NY Yankees. Staying on route 17 north will bring you back to into Chesapeake, and you will have crossed seven different bridges. This ride will take you most of the day but is well worth the trip. As you cross back into Virginia, stop at the visitors’ center on Route 17 and see some of the history of the Dismal Swamp Canal, which was surveyed and dug by George Washington. First opened in 1805 and is the oldest continually operated man-made canal in the United States, it was closed in October 2016 due to silt buildup from Hurricane Matthew and should be reopened by October 2017 after being dredged.

Tip 6

Always have water or some type of drink with you. staying hydrated is important to staying alert, especially during hot summer days. The wind and sun will suck the moisture right out of you.

Another of our favorite rides is to the Surry-Smithfield area and the