There are a couple of reasons why I ride so much. First like I told my wife when she asked me why it ride. I said it is because I feel like I am 19 years old again when I'm on the bike. She smiled and said "I hope you feel like 19 when you come back into the house."

The other reason is being 75 and I wake up in the morning, I feel that I should celebrate by going on a ride.

The first image I have of motorcycles was at about 7 or 8 years old when in the summer several bikes would pull up to the house directly across the street with all but one two up. Then the teenage girl would run out and and jump on. She had long flowing black hair and a body that in a few years I would learn was "hot".

In small town's in the midwest motorcycle's were a rare sighting. When I just turned 15 I got a Whizzer motor bike with a 5 hp head. My world opened up. Then two years later I got a new Simplex bike. It was a small bike with a springer fork, duals, engine guard, foot rests and drum brakes front and rear. I thought I was on top of the world. The brakes barely slow the bike down and the springer would climb up and go rigid.

Sold it when I returned from the Army and started on Honda CB models of ever increasing sizes and numbers of cylinders.

Got married and started having kids (how does that happen?) so even though I had a bike and even two a road bike and an off road bike I always dreamed of going to Sturgis and do long touring to see the States. But of course family, job and life just held me back.

As I got older but before I retired I began to make a plan. I would build a big garage and the bikes that I put in it would never get sold. I was at an age when I would see bikes that I had in museums. I even think that the Simplex at the Anamosa Iowa Museum is the one I sold in 1962.

There was a HD dealer in Kewanee, Il. Reiman's HD. My plan was to finally get a HD and buy it from Roger. He was a three time Dayton 200 winner.

When I retired and moved from the S. Suburbs of Chicago to a small town near Kewanee, Il. I begin building the garage. It was too late to buy my first HD from Rodger as he was killed in a legends race at Dayton Bike Week in 1997. However since the dealership is still in family hands I bought my first HD there and 23 more since. I did bend my rule some. I do trade a few in but on the same model a few years latter when there's bigger motors or what ever do dad tells me I must have it.

Riding is just my passion as much as having a bike collection and doing my own work.

On a ride I see life going on. A red tail hawk just swooping down and catching a rodent. All sorts of wild life from turkey vultures, bald eagles, deer, raccoons, squirrels, opossum, turkey, fox, coyotes and much more.

I see a farmer just starting to prep his field, plant, cultivate then harvest his crops. Then add a irrigation system or tile has field. At one farm in the late fall I saw one farm with a contractor starting on the new field tile and another along side laying out the components to put up an irrigation system.

I have seen in the small towns a business start up then fail. Houses getting a new roof or siding or windows. Then an old one getting torn down. I have seen part of a downtown destroyed by a fire two teenagers started.

I have seen families move into a house or moving away.

Along the roads from time to time there are floods and of course I come across an accident.

What I am doing is seeing life going on. I find it fascinating. Recently I noticed a field with green leaves when all other fields were harvested. Looked it up on google and learned it was sugar beets. A new crop for this area.

So winter or summer rather than look at life passing by while I sit in the recliner, I feel like I am not just participating in life but leading the charge on my trusty HD.

So all of that lead me up to 42,380 miles over the past 365 days. I just realized that this is leap year and I have one more day to try to make 50K.

That is if I wake up.

 

Great write up. Thanks for sharing

 

When you get a chance, go to your local library and barrow the DVD movie, "Why We Ride."

You're welcome.

 

Please share some pictures of your garage and collection.

 

Awesome post!

 

Wow, great story, thanks!

 

Thank you for that write up.. You were able to say it all ..

 

Awesome write up. How about a few pics of those bikes in the garage? Old pan heads?

 

Well said and thanks for sharing.

From a fellow ex southsider/south suberbs resident. South Holland, Cal City and Lansing.

 

Happy Birthday. Is your wife a saint? I rode down to Reimans 2 years ago. I was curious about it, because of your mentions of it, and the publicity about letting deployed soldiers store their bike free. It's a nice ride from Kewaunee to Sauk City. On 78. Nice dealership.