Traveling on Two(2) Wheels. Why? Are you crazy?
I have had a Motorcycle since I was 20, so that is over 50 years. Let there be no doubt in your mind my original attraction was rebelliousness, coupled with coolness. C’mon who wouldn’t want to be Steve McQueen or Marlon Brando on a bike in the 50’s and 60’s. As Bill Parsons sang, “impressin the girls.”
Truth be known I was never much for just a ride. It was always about me, mother nature, the unspoiled beauty, and the freedom.
I have never been one to think about dragging my crash bars along the road on a turn. I like taking long rides on motorcycles. It could be to backpack the White Mountains of New Hampshire, fish the small streams of Upper Maine, wander around my new favorite place “The North Carolina Smokies” or ride to Alaska.
My trips are always about seeing mountains, nature, experiencing life, visiting historical places, following pioneers, and the journey. Sure I have taken day rides through the Poconos or the Blue Ridge and loved it, but, and it is a big but, I like to plan for multiple days, week or months of journies and then take them.
Where did this come from? Good question. It started seriously with a small 125 Suzuki in Korat, Thailand in 1971. It was further fueled by my Warrant Officer friend who had a classic Honda 350. It was at this time my travel bug got implanted. The dreams started.
I had a hooch mate from California who was a traveler, and he was just plain cool in my eyes. He enthralled me for months with his travels to places I only dreamed about. The obsession started.
Due to this obsession, my next duty station had to be in Europe. I wanted to see it and live it. I had grown up with WWII parents and the beginning of TV, so Europe and England were part of your upbringing. My mindset was when I got to Germany; I was going to get a classic BMW motorcycle and travel. Why a BMW? German Engineering and a drive shaft. I wanted the reliability especially for remote travel and 170 KPH speeds on the Autobahns.
And it just went from there. I bought a brand new, 1972 R75/5 750 cc BMW. The bike model was the Olympian. It was introduced in honor of the German Summer Olympics. The Mark Spitz–Munich massacre Olympics.
Most of my trips on that bike(I still have it) were to the Alps while I was still in the military. Those trips were taken to fish and backpack. One trip was on a second TDY assignment to the German 1st Mountain division in the Alps. There I met an instructor who showed me what a BMW could do, with me on the back. Never, and I mean, never again. That guy could handle a bike.
To be continued…….