Summer ’76 to early ’80
Photo #11 are Goldie and my bikes after chopping them. We had some good times on those bikes over the next couple of years. We rode together often and with the Free Riders on runs around the Northwest.
#12 is Goldie with Dirty Ernie’s girl, Gabby. The Free Riders had disbanded about this time and Gabby ditched Ernie for Goldie.
Goldie ended up in the Navyy about 1977. On one of his trips back to California he tried to ride his chopper but it broke down about Mt. Shasta (#13). I drove my brother-in-law’s pick-up down to Wolf Creek, Oregon and picked it up.
Jill and I married in ’76 and then we moved back to the Tri-Cities after I graduated from college in 1978. Dan and I hooked up a few times after that but I lost touch with him in the early ’80s. I don’t remember if he was still riding or not. I sold my bike in about ’82 since I was doing more family stuff and beginning a career. I was also tired of getting hurt.
All good things, it seems, come to an end. I’ll never forget the heady times Dan and I spent together.
I’m riding again. Where are you, Goldie?
Follow up
Working on this page got me to thinking about how I didn’t know much about bike maintenance when I purchased the Trumpet. Sure, I had owned a couple motorcycles before and could do a simple tune up but there was a lot I didn’t know. Travis, the brother-in-law mentioned in this article, taught me a ton. Even today when I work on the Hog I think about stuff he told or showed me. The hell of it is, the guy is several years younger. I think he’s a bit of a mechanical genious.
I hadn’t heard from Travis for several years since my first wife (his sister), Jill, passed away. I thought, “What the hell” and gave him a call. We had a nice chat and caught up a bit. I still need to thank him for his part in all that fun.