Motorcycles today are very popular and we see many on the road. Motorcycles once were looked on as bad news for the average person. Hells Angles and other early clubs of bad boys riding their cycles raged havoc on American cities from coast to coast.
In 1957 while in high school I had a friend who was the only boy in school that had a motorcycle. Pat had a new 1957 Triumph motorcycle that was one bad fast ride. Pat was an early motorcycle innovator. He would drag race cars on his Triumph, he wore a leather jacket, no helmet and was popular with some of the girls. Girls liked boys who lived on the wild side. Now why didn't I think about this when I was a teen?
Pat probably invented the wheelie? He was doing these way back when.
Our high school was about a mile from where I lived and one day Pat pulled up beside me as I was walking home. " Nick get on back and I will give you a ride home." I climbed on and was about to take my first motorcycle ride, man was I thrilled!!!
. My heart rate quicken as the rpm's increased. Man this is fun. Over the viaduct we went and instead of going straight through the light Pat made a left turn. "Hey Pat this ain't the way to my house," as the motor begins to scream and Pat puts the Triumph into a higher gear. We are now speeding down a long straight road leading out of town. I begin to hold onto Pat with my arms tight around his waist and he laughs because Nick one scared wimp. I beg Pat to slow down, "Please slow this thing down." I knew we were going fast but I'm not looking to see how fast we are going. Finally about a mile down the road Pat comes to a stop. "Nick, I never did hit fifth gear and we were going 110 MPH. At the time I wasn't impressed with the speed but was sure I needed to check my pants. LOL!! I make it home and I don't remember if I thank him or not??
Pat would ask me several times if I wanted to ride and would laugh when I said NO WAY!!
Pat was an early daredevil if there ever was one. He would own and drive a stock car, worked at his families garage. Later in life Pat settled down and raised a family. He became a policemen in our town and was the first motorcycle cop around the area and later became a detective. A boy who gave the police fits in his youth now works in law enforcement. Imagine that???
In 1957 while in high school I had a friend who was the only boy in school that had a motorcycle. Pat had a new 1957 Triumph motorcycle that was one bad fast ride. Pat was an early motorcycle innovator. He would drag race cars on his Triumph, he wore a leather jacket, no helmet and was popular with some of the girls. Girls liked boys who lived on the wild side. Now why didn't I think about this when I was a teen?
Pat probably invented the wheelie? He was doing these way back when.Our high school was about a mile from where I lived and one day Pat pulled up beside me as I was walking home. " Nick get on back and I will give you a ride home." I climbed on and was about to take my first motorcycle ride, man was I thrilled!!!
. My heart rate quicken as the rpm's increased. Man this is fun. Over the viaduct we went and instead of going straight through the light Pat made a left turn. "Hey Pat this ain't the way to my house," as the motor begins to scream and Pat puts the Triumph into a higher gear. We are now speeding down a long straight road leading out of town. I begin to hold onto Pat with my arms tight around his waist and he laughs because Nick one scared wimp. I beg Pat to slow down, "Please slow this thing down." I knew we were going fast but I'm not looking to see how fast we are going. Finally about a mile down the road Pat comes to a stop. "Nick, I never did hit fifth gear and we were going 110 MPH. At the time I wasn't impressed with the speed but was sure I needed to check my pants. LOL!! I make it home and I don't remember if I thank him or not??Pat would ask me several times if I wanted to ride and would laugh when I said NO WAY!!
Pat was an early daredevil if there ever was one. He would own and drive a stock car, worked at his families garage. Later in life Pat settled down and raised a family. He became a policemen in our town and was the first motorcycle cop around the area and later became a detective. A boy who gave the police fits in his youth now works in law enforcement. Imagine that???
LOL.. Good story Nick...I'm glad Pat settled down by choice and not because of some terrible accident...
ReplyDeleteGreat story. It seems that the ones who were the 'hell raisers' grow up to either be one of the good guys protecting others or live their life out in the brig!!!! ~smilies~d~
ReplyDeleteI've never been on a motorbike and I don't intend to...too dangerous. How do you manage to hang on going at that speed! lol
ReplyDeleteStories like this make me want to get my old Triump out and fix her up. I acquired a 1970 Bonneville over the winter I would never ride with anybody on a bike no matter how safe they road. I am a chicken!
ReplyDeleteA fitting finale to a good story!! I knew those guys -- even went out with one for a while, even though I was the prissy miss in HS. LOL!! He wasn't really as tough as people thought. My mother even accepted him!!
ReplyDeleteI see groups riding down to Pt. Fermin Park all the time around here -- still love the sound and look of the bikes -- but I would never ride on one either. ERs call them "donorcycles." If you lay that bike down, the road rash is impressive and that's the least of the problems. Still, they make me smile when I see them...
LOL, great story Nick. Nice ending too he he!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great story Nick......loved it....
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