Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

If you will kindly indulge me, allow me to say: IT’S THE END OF AN ERA, as I say goodbye to my riding days.

I began riding in 1973, while at Penn State University, with the purchase of a ’72 Yamaha Twin 100.

What a nice little bike.  It cost $400, which I financed through HFC – Household Finance Corporation.  (You old-timers may remember HFC.  They did a LOT of advertising.)

The Yamaha and I…along with the soon-to-be Mrs. Drake…moved to Evansville, Indiana, in 1974.  Alas, the bike was my only means of transportation there, and the cold and rain finally got to me.  I traded the Twin 100 for a used car.

But I knew that someday I’d get back on a bike.

The now-Drakette and I moved to Baton Rouge in November of 1976 and shortly thereafter started a family. For many years, life got in the way of my return to motorcycling.  But in a happy way.

Because I knew that someday I’d get back on a bike.

It was early in the 2000’s that I noticed that every time a motorcycle went by, my head would turn to follow it.   Interesting.

And then in 2003, someday finally came.

The Drakette and I were no empty-nesters, and so, armed with $5000, I headed out to Calmes Motorsports in Denham Springs and bought this lovely ’03 Suzuki Marauder 800.

We had a ball, the Marauder and I.  We were even featured on an episode of the LA Rider TV show.  That’s where my association with LA Rider and later with the Motorcycle Awareness Campaign began.  Bob Courtney was the head of both, and I owe him a lot, in more ways than one.

It was somewhere around 2010, I think, that I got my first taste of Harley Fever.  So I was thrilled to bring home this awesome, used Road King Classic.

It was a great bike…everything I wanted in a motorcycle.  And one thing I DIDN’T want: white walls.  Or as I like to call them: brown walls.  But I was content to scrub away, knowing I was on a fantastic piece of American machinery.

The Classic and I were getting along beautifully, when something came between us.  And I had to have it.  This 2005 Road King.  Shiny hard bags.  Hidden fork lock.  No heel shift lever.  BLACK WALL TIRES!!!

The bike of my dreams, and it was mine…all mine.  Good lord, we had some times together!  And fortunately, I have many, many pictures to help me remember them.

But now, at age 73, my riding days have come to an end.  Oh, it’s not my age; age is just a number.  (Granted, it’s a BIG number, but still just a number!)  It’s what comes with all those years.  I’m proud of myself for KNOWING that my ability to ride confidently had diminished significantly in the last year.  And so, I’m hanging up me helmets, and…

…the Road King is for sale.

I hope it goes to a good home.  It’s a beauty.

Oh, you’ll still see me from time to time on LA Rider.  Or at a MAC yard sign day in Baton Rouge or Monroe or Alec or St. Rose.  I just won’t be on the Harley.

May I say, it’s been both a pleasure and a privilege riding with all y’all over the years.  And as always, ride safe.

Scotty

PS: these are NOT tears in my eyes as I write this.  (Although, for some reason, it’s hard to see the keyboard clearly.)