For What It’s Worth

I am sure you will find that there is not a motorcyclist anywhere that doesn’t value his time riding. We all do! With the coming of spring and warm sunny days, every ride is a pure delight. Whether it’s the speed, the riding skill, the beauty of the scenery whatever it is. Any of these or a combination of all of them goes to make time in the saddle a joy that only a rider can understand. And of course none of those joys would be possible were it not for that trusty steed under you. Most of us develop a genuine love affair with our bike. Though I may go on to someday buy another motorcycle, I will always hold a great fondness for my old classic Honda. I only paid $350 for it. But when I am walking back from the Post Office to my bike at the edge of the parking lot (where no one will hit it) I look at my pretty little cm400t with as much pride as if it were a $40,000 Harley.

The saying goes that a boat is just a hole in the water into which you pour money. While I don’t think motorcycle riding is quite that bad it definitely can drain away a few bucks. There is no question that owning and riding a motorcycle can end up costing you a lot of money. New bikes today go for anywhere from $9000 for a new Honda Shadow to $40,000 (as I already mentioned) for a new Harley. Motorcycle school, helmet, boots, gear, accessories for the bike, the list goes on and most of us who ride are perfectly willing to part with our cash on anything that the wallet will afford that adds to our beloved ride.

In monetary terms, I probably only have about $500 into my motorcycle. Just adding parts that improve performance or restore the original look of the bike those are things that I am glad to spend the money on. And there is a definite pride factor in the willingness. I remember the morning last fall that me and three of my riding friends met at the church building and rode down to the Crossroads Diner for breakfast. When we got back we lined up the bikes almost by accident (photo below) and got off to stand around and just talk for a while. As we were having our discussion I couldn’t keep my eyes off how great my Honda looked along side the other bikes. I had shined her up and got her looking fine for the ride. She wouldn’t hold a candle to BJ’s BMW but she’s my baby.

When I first started riding and I learned how much my friend paid for his bike I almost choked.  I thought, “How ridiculous to pay that kind of money when you can get a perfectly good ride in an old classic for a fraction of the dollars spent!” But after riding for a year I have changed my whole way of thinking. If my friend Ambrose or Dave (both of whom own big Honda Shadows) want to spend their hard earned dollars for a really nice ride that is their prerogative. Both of them are big men and need a ride to suit their stature. I, on the other hand am only 5’7” and 150 lbs and my Honda works well for my size. In the end the value we all put on our bikes can not be judged in the money we spent for it. For what it’s worth, it’s all about the pure joy we all feel just flying down the road and getting to hang out with others that share that joy and enthusiasm.

Keep your knees in the wind and your eyes down the road!  Anchor

The Legacy of Herb Fellows

I knew Herb Fellows for many years. I admired him as a man of principle and wisdom. He raised two fine daughters and accomplished some wonderful things in his lifetime. But it was not until I started riding last year that I remembered the stories I had heard long ago about the young man who married a pretty young lady named Jane Cote’ back in 1949. I had the very good fortune to marry their daughter about 22 years later. Herb would go on to be a policeman on the Hartford, Vermont PD and then become the first policeman/police chief in Norwich Vermont. But in his younger days, before becoming a family man, Herb was the proud motorcycle rider. This is his story.

It was just another school day as Herb headed home from Springfield High on his red motor scooter. It was about 5 miles out to Route 5 and another mile up to the farm where he lived at the time. As he was about to make the turn he noticed Bobby Lafontaine pulled over and working on a motorcycle. He was frustrated because it just wouldn’t run. Bobby came from a wealthy family in town and for the moment all that mattered to him was that his ride wasn’t running and Herb’s ride was so he suggested an even swap. Herb gladly took his offer and Bobby LaFountain rode away on the red motor scooter while Herb began the long push home of his newly acquired motorcycle. Even one mile of pushing up Route 5 was work but it was worth the every bit of the effort. He rolled the bike into the barn and got to work on it. Before the end of the week Herb was out riding his very own 1938, red, Indian Scout with the suicide shift and Indian head emblazoned on each side of the tank.

He very quickly fell into riding with the Hall brothers whose father owned the only motorcycle shop in Springfield. They specialized in Harley’s but no matter whether HD or Indian there was then, as there is today, a certain comradery among those who ride motorcycle. The Hall brothers had built jumps in the local gravel pit and Herb joined them on his Indian. There is no doubt that pit jumping had to be rugged on a bike but the Scout had a reputation for indestructibility. It was the mainstay of Indian all through the 20’s and 30’s. It held the proud slogan, “You can’t wear out an Indian Scout, it will wear you out first.” When Herb got his scout it was only 8 years old and it became his only mode of transportation summer and…winter! That’s something almost unheard of in these times! I live and ride in Vermont just as Herb did and the standard now is that the bike gets put up for the season by the end of October, and maybe on into November if you are a die hard, but once snow hits he season is over and nobody rides! I guess they were made of sterner stuff in the 1940’s. 

As I already mentioned Herb began riding while he was dating an attractive girl named Jane Cote’. She even had the honor of riding with him a few times. Unfortunately her father, a former French Canadian lumber jack saw her come riding home and made just one statement. “Girls don’t ride motorcycles!” Sadly, that eventually ended Herb’s riding days. For a while he would ride up to her house, walked with her down to the movie theatre then hire a cab for them to get back to her house where he got back on his motorcycle and rode home.

In the end, he sold his Indian and bought a 1932 Chevy Coupe with a rumble seat. I am sure he is not the first young man to sacrifice his ride for love and I admire him for doing it. My only regret is that he died before I heard the story and started riding myself. I would truly love to have shared that part of his life and listened to his stories and experiences first hand. This article is dedicated to his memory. I will remember you, Herb when I am out riding the back roads of Vermont just as you did. I only wish you could be with me on your ’38 Scout. I would be honored to ride with you. Rest in Peace.

Technical Note:

The ’38 that Herb rode had a 30.07 cubic inches (490 cc) engine with 35bhp and only weighed 358 lbs. By comparison my 1980 Honda has a 395 cc engine with 43 hp engine and weighs 405 lbs. The Scout was both rugged and fast for its day and consistently outperformed the comparable Harley.  The ’38 scout below has to be similar to Herb’s. 

Road Check

From the minute I put my motorcycle in the garage for the winter I began thinking about next summer. I know just from looking at other motorcycle sites that dreams of next season are almost universal among us. After reading about Route 89 being one of the première bike roads in New England I started planning a Ride to the Border for some time next summer. We would leave out of Quechee, Vermont in the morning and ride all the way to the Canadian border before turning back for a lunch stop along St. Albans Bay and then head home. I talked it up with my fellow riders at church and got an enthusiastic ‘thumbs up.’

But all the planning got me thinking ahead. Every time I drive locally I can’t help but see the road conditions that have developed during the winter. Cracks, pot holes, deteriorating pavement and snow plow damage are changes in the road surface that will effect how I ride next spring. The result has been a consciousness I call “road check.” This is more than just casual observation, it is getting to really know the road I will be traveling as a motorcyclist. Next spring I want to make a ride over to Woodstock to pick up my hunting and fishing license. It is only about 8 miles but before then I will be making a few trips over to be in an art show. Even though it only a short distance I plan to be road checking and make some mental notes. And it’s not just about road surfaces but any areas of travel that would present dangerous conditions.

I realize that what I am about to say will probably get some groans and derogatory remarks from the more experienced “just jump on the bike and ride” crowd but as a relatively new rider I am still bit of a safety nut. There are times when Route 4 is loaded with traffic (I can look down through the woods and see it) and I will actually postpone my ride until the traffic dies down some. My idea of road check is part of my over all desire to limit risk. Obviously I will not be driving my Jeep all the way to the Canadian border and back just to do road check. But on local roads that present potential dangers from intersections, surface conditions or sharp bends (a normal thing in Vermont) it’s worth the effort to do road check before I swing my leg over the saddle.

Next summer the Killington Classic will be cranking up at the end of August. I am hoping to make the ride over for what will be my very first motorcycle rally. The Killington Ski Resort is 18 miles away across the valley and up the side of a mountain. Those 18 miles are a continuous series of curves, bends and tiny towns with speed traps (Woodstock and Bridgewater if anyone plans to come up for the rally.) I have driven that stretch of road hundreds of times but… I have never driven it seeing with a motorcyclist’s eyes of road checking. For me the trip over and back is worth it even at today’s gas prices. Besides giving me a safety heads up, it is an absolutely beautiful trip and one that I will enjoy even more on my Honda when the time comes. Road checking may not be your thing. Perhaps you have reached the level of skill and confidence that it’s not even necessary but the way I see it, it never hurts to know the road you will be traveling. Until next time I wish you all a good winter. Best wishes, Anchor

A Mid-Summer Night’s Ride

Last summer I got to know and ride with a new motorcycle buddy named Craig. We got in several great evening rides together out through the Vermont countryside. His old Kawasaki 500 and my Honda 400 were pretty well matched in performance and we became instant friends. It had rained all afternoon and the system finally cleared out about 7 pm. As Craig and I motored out onto the Quechee Main Street the late afternoon sun broke through the clouds and brought a beautiful glow to the valley and the mist that hung over the hilltops. It was a gorgeous time for a ride! We rode down past the country club and along the Ottoquechee River and finally came to the steep hill that led down to the Taftsville Covered Bridge. I had let Craig take the lead all the way since this was a new ride for me. Just before the hill he did a little weave ahead of me to give me the heads up to slow down. Thank you Craig! After negotiating the steep hill we rode through the covered bridge, turned around and backtracked over the same road we had just been on. We may have been the last motorcyclists to ride the Taftsville Bridge for a very long time. A few weeks later the rushing waters from Hurricane Irene damaged the supports and they shut it down indefinitely to everyone but structural engineers.  We finished our ride and hung out for a while with his wife and kids for some fresh baked brownies and milk.

A week later we got in another ride. Again Craig was blazing a new “trail” I had not been on as we rode up onto Red Barn Road high up above Quechee Village. All the way I was wishing that he would slow down. As an artist and a photographer I get very tuned in to the landscape around me. As we zipped along the country road past the Red Barn that the road was supposedly named for, I thought, “Ok, this is our ride for the moment but I will be back!

About a week later I was on my own. I ran my Honda cm400t through the gears going up the Quechee West Hartford Road and slowed down just enough to make the turn up toward Red Barn. This time I was prepared.  I slowed down and enjoyed leaning into the bends through my classic Vermont countryside.  With the camera in the saddle bag I just had one challenge ahead. I had to pull off onto a rugged gravel farm road and park my bike on a hill! As a new rider, both the gravel and the hill seemed a bit perilous. But I managed to pull in, and do a tight turn around so I could lean my bike into the hill on a conveniently positioned flat rock in the road. With that done I was in my glory. This is what it was all about for me. I was getting to combine both my love for art and photography and my passion for motorcycling. And best of all it was just me and my “Little Girl” solo at our own pace. Biking with a riding buddy may be great but sometimes biking solo is the best of all possible worlds!

Randall Gardner  American Realist  (My art website)

With eager yearning for spring and another great riding season…Anchor

A Look Back

For most of us another season has come to an end. Only diehards like my friend on his BMW will ride on into those forbidding frigid mornings with his heated seat, heated hand grips and suited up to the max. In a way I admire his tenacity but for the rest of us the bike has been put up for the winter and its time to sit back and dream of the season to come. I feel fortunate that this has been my very first season and before looking ahead I can’t help but do a quick look back on the season just past.

In David Hough’s book Proficient Motorcycling he mentions that in England they make you have a big letter L on the back of your bike if you are just a ‘learner.’ He even goes so far as to suggest that until you have logged 3 years or 20,000 miles of street time you are still a novice. After looking at my odometer on the first season I didn’t even make a dent in those first 20,000! Don’t get me wrong, I have no illusions of being some great experienced motorcyclist after just one season. Never-the-less I can’t help but look back on this first riding season with a great deal of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. There are three areas that I grew in this season that are fundamental to each of us as riders. Maybe this is all just assumed by the more experienced riders out there but for me these are the BIG changes that took place in my first season. Here are the big three; Safety Awareness, Riding Skills and Confidence.

Safety

At motorcycle school they told us that if you are a cautious, safe car driver you will probably be a cautious, safe motorcycle rider and the result will be a lowered risk factor as you begin riding. Ironically I have found the inverse to be true. After a summer of riding I find that I am actually a safer, more careful car driver because of my experience on a motorcycle! Even driving my big old rugged Grand Cherokee I use the same search, evaluate, execute (SEE) cautious driving now that I did on my Honda all summer. And it’s not that I didn’t have some scary moments on my motorcycle! I was riding up the outside lane on a steep hill with a sharp, blind bend to the left. To my right was a guard rail and a steep drop off to Dewey’s Mill Pond about 25 feet below. Just as I entered the bend a large truck with a horse trailer was coming the opposite direction on the inside. Leaning into that bend I suddenly felt very vulnerable as we passed. It rattled me as I rode carefully and kept my lean but tracked further over in my lane. Though such experiences can be frightening I have found that they have helped my ‘learning curve,’ no pun intended!  An entire season’s worth of caution, head-checks, and the occasional successfully negotiated close encounter has made me a better, safer rider.

Riding Skills

There is no substitute for experience! When I think about how difficult I thought it was to run the gauntlet of offset cones or do a figure 8 in a box I am truly amazed at how simple those would be now.  The everyday experience of pulling into the post office parking lot and making the turns to get into a parking slot seem routine to me now but I am making tighter turns every day than any of the things we had to do at motorcycle school and they seem effortless. On that very First Ride I did with my buddy Dana I remember slowing down going into the mountain road curves and being more than a little nervous at leaning into them like Dana was. Now they seem routine and something to look forward to. Counter steering and leaning have become almost a spontaneous response to the bends in the road. There is no substitute for everyday experience to develop the skills of riding.

Confidence

At the beginning of the summer I rode on the open public roads on a motorcycle for the very first time in my life. I was completely on edge and nervous as a cat, particularly about any interaction with other traffic. Every time I rode out I lacked confidence and felt the discomfort of feeling like I had a target on me. The good news is that like all beginners I eventually grew in confidence and felt more comfortable and at one with both my bike and the road. But the whole confidence thing is ironic. On the one hand that lack of confidence made me far more vulnerable because my actions in a crisis situation might have been panic driven and dangerous. But the confidence that comes with experience helps to keep a cool head and a quicker, more accurate response under pressure. Obviously we all need to be careful not to become overconfident to the point where we get sloppy and reckless but feeling confident and comfortable as a motorcycle rider goes a long way toward making sure that you will be around to enjoy another season in the saddle. After just one season these are my observations as I look back at what I have learned but every year I want to be able to look back and feel that I have gained in Safety, Riding Skills and Confidence. Eventually I hope to get rid of that big imaginary L on the back of my motorcycle. Hang in there my fellow riders…another season is coming!     Anchor

Gearing Up!

We were told on the first day of Basic Rider Class that all the gear we were wearing was mandatory and if they caught any of us not properly geared up we could be kicked out of the class. Were they being fanatic about it? Well I took them seriously but when the sun was beating down and the sweat was running down, suddenly the helmet, sunglasses, long sleeved shirt, gloves, heavy jeans and over the ankle boots seemed a bit excessive when we were riding in a ‘controlled environment’ on an off-road course with supervision. But they were making a point and I don’t believe they were being fanatic about it at all. When you step over that saddle, you don’t have a protective enclosure (car) around you! It’s just you, the motorcycle and the road! If for some reason an accident should occur, the gear you or I wear is the only protection we have against injury.

I remember ‘Eddy’, a rather ‘over weight’ friend of mine in High School who used to ride a small Honda that was disproportionate to his size. He slid out on some loose gravel and they ended up digging dirt and asphalt out of his hands. I don’t know that gloves would have fully protected him but I think about Eddy when I faithfully pull my gloves on before stepping over to my motorcycle. Indeed, protecting yourself with riding gear would seem to be an obvious thing that any rider would want to do. But all you need to do is, “head out on the highway” (a little Steppenwolf reference there) on any given summer day and you will see everything from full ‘super hero’ Kevlar riding gear to shorts and a T-shirt and no helmet.

On a hot day in mid July with the temperature climbing I saw a guy decked out in full leathers, boots, helmet and sunglasses and his wife (supposedly) was right behind him dressed to match. I thought, now there is a couple who take their riding seriously! It wasn’t the fact that they were both riding nice touring bikes. I was impressed that both of them were fully geared up in spite of the summer heat.

A few weeks later I saw a poor guy pulled over by the police with no helmet, bare-chested in an unbuttoned shirt with no sleeves, jeans, sneakers, and long hair. He looked every bit the part. He sat quietly against the seat of his bike while the policeman checked his info in the squad car. A little way down the highway he cruised on by me with his shirttail and hair flying in the breeze behind him. I had to admit he was the very picture of the freedom of the open road!  He typified the quote I found from Easy Rider “What the heck’s is wrong with freedom, man? That’s what it’s all about!” And in a way that is where the attitude comes from…the ‘freedom’ of flying down the road, unencumbered by the trappings of all the gear and the freedom to ride how you want to ride. That is one reason why there are more bike rallies in states with no helmet law. And in a way I totally understand the sentiment. I feel that the seat belt law should not be a law. Me wearing (or not wearing) a seat belt is nobodies business! Whether I wear one or not is not endangering anyone or making me any less or more of a safe driver. My safety is my own business! But there is the irony.

That is precisely why I gear up every time I get on my motorcycle, because my safety is my own business. I understand the risks and dangers of riding. It was drilled into us at school and reminded to me by many of my loved ones. Riding a motorcycle is not like driving a car. There are dangers that we face that are unique to motorcycle riding and I know I don’t have to spell them out to those who will be reading this. But there was as statement that David Hough made in his book, Proficient Motorcycling that took me aback. He said, “We ride motorcycles partly because they are more dangerous than other vehicles.” I kind of rebelled at that when I first read it but as I got past that intersection this afternoon and accelerated quickly up through third and fourth and into fifth gear and then leaned into the bends along the river…I admitted it. That thrill of acceleration and the wind rushing past and leaning into a curve is all related to loving it because there is a ‘dangerous edge’ to it.

But at the a same time that I thrill with the speed and handling of my little Honda I also do everything I can to minimize the risks by slowing down and using caution on the wet leaves on the road up here. I head check and mirror check probably far more than most riders. (It’s my first season you understand.) But before I ever leave the yard the first thing I do is go through the ritual of gearing up. That is my number one way of minimizing the risks even before encountering that road damage or those nasty ridged cracks that run down the length of Route 4 or the heavy tourist traffic that is here for leaf peeping season right now.

For those that want to ride helmetless, shirtless or otherwise you have the right to do that, provided your state allows for it. I understand the sentiment but this is my very first season and I would like to be around to ride for a whole lot more seasons to come. The way I figure it I can enjoy the thrill of the ride and the open road just as much ‘geared up’ as my long haired, shirt-tail- flying friend that the police stopped. Granted, he looked cool! But as for me, I’d just rather be geared up and cool.

Until next time ride well, be safe and as one rider to another… Gear Up!   Anchor

Rider Down

There is probably no worse a feeling than to hear that a rider has gone down on his bike. When I was considering taking up motorcycle riding my wife reminded me of our neighbor many years ago who went down on her bike and even with a helmet on was never the same again. Thankfully the statistics in recent years are better because of automobile/rider awareness, better helmets and safety courses that help train new riders. I remember just recently on Father’s Day of all things, I was coming back from Father’s Day lunch with my family and when we got the bottom of the off-ramp, a big bike was down in the middle of the road, the police were there and we had just seen an ambulance headed toward the hospital. My family got very quiet. Needless to say none of us wants to even hear about accidents like that. Fortunately not all ‘rider down’ occurrences are as serious as the one I just mentioned.
A good friend of mine was coming home from a Men’s Retreat in Connecticut last year when he was actually clipped by a young man in a pick up truck who just kept going. It was pouring down rain and his big Honda Shadow went down pinning his rain pants between the highway bars and the street. A Good Samaritan right behind him, stopped, put on his flashers, got out of his car and helped Dave get out from under and then helped him get the bike back up. Aside from an irresponsible young man in a pickup it all worked out well. The bike was fine and Dave was able to continue his trip back home. He was sore for a few days but at least it was a rider down story with a happy ending.
What gets me are the stories where a biker walks away completely unscathed! I have two friends of mine who have both laid bikes down in an accident scenario and were not hurt at all. A young man who was following his wife as she drove in the car with their little daughter was forced to dump when she rounded a corner and had to stop suddenly. As he rounded the same corner it was either do a “controlled” low-side skid and lay-down or go into the back of the car. Obviously in the split second decision he made the wise choice that scratched up his BMW a little but spared the back of their car and several bones in his body if he had hit it!
Another older friend of mine has been riding most of his life and recently laid his Gold Wing down and totaled it and walked away unhurt! Right after it happened his boys (riders themselves) told him, “Dad you’ve got to get another bike!” Actually they encouraged him to either get a trike or a Can-Am! His wife preferred that he not get either one. He got a trike and now she rides with him safely belted into her passenger seat!
Last fall, I bought my Honda and I was determined to learn to ride it. I had virtually no experience and no one really taught me. It had rained a day or two earlier and the gravel was loose around the church building where I did my practice. As I turned off from the pavement onto the gravel I gave it too much throttle and paid for it dearly. I was wearing layers and a good leather jacket over the layers but the force of the bike coming down suddenly slammed my shoulder into the dirt with tremendous impact. Thankfully the borrowed helmet saved my head from the little whack as it took the brief pop on the dirt. My leg was pinned and I had to push the bike off by pushing down on the saddle with my free foot. I managed to pick the bike up and ride it back up the house and into the garage. The damage and a pain in my shoulder was really bad and I was almost tempted to sell the bike and quit riding. But all my cycle friends said, “That was a good experience for you! Now get right back on the bike and keep riding!” After $150 in parts and my own labor I had a new headlight cowling and headlight installed and the rest is history. You would never know now that “Little Girl” or I had ever been in an accident. After it was over I was bruised and in pain for a long time but I healed over the winter and I learned my lesson.
In every one of the cases where my friends and I had the “Rider Down” experience we got back on and kept riding and I dare say that our ‘down’ experience has made each of us better and certainly more cautious riders today. Obviously decisions like that are personal and everyone has to make their own call. The moral of the story is, ride so well and so carefully that you never have that down experience. SEE = Search, Evaluate, Execute. As you go down the road See all the possible dangers ahead of you. Evaluate your alternatives, and Execute your maneuvers with the bike to avoid the dangers. Safe riding everyone and may you never have one of those ‘down’ days! Anchor