motorcycling | D. Brent Miller

March 8, 2023

Fifty-Seven Years of Motorcycling

And still counting!

It’s hard to imagine doing anything for a longer period of time, except for living of course. But yes, I have been riding motorized, two-wheeled vehicles for 57 years … and counting. There have been a couple of periods without motorcycles, but I still count from the beginning.

It all started with that broken Lambretta motor scooter that Dad brought home and fixed up. He would take us kids for rides. I’m not sure how Mom felt about that exactly. I only know that I was not allowed to buy a vehicle until I graduated from high school. I wrecked that Lambretta at age 16 when a driver turned left in front of me. Scooter was gone in a day.

Many years and motorcycles later, my thoughts turn to how much longer I will be able to ride. My riding buddies and friends have had this discussion. One has already sold his bike and quit. I, on the other hand, have sought out books and articles on the subject. Stories of older riders and riding into the senior years. Here are a couple of books.

What Remains, Memoir of an Old man on the Road, by John Otterbacher. (2021)

Otterbacher, at age 74, embarks on a motorcycle journey from his home in Michigan to the west coast. Riding back roads and through small towns, he is reliving past journeys. He has heart issues and carries nitroglycerin tablets, but persists on his journey until a disastrous accident in a construction zone. He nearly dies, but does recover and questions what he will do with the rest of his life, with what remains. In the Epilogue he writes, “What remains is what is always available, with a little more clarity and a little less pretense. … I am old, but don’t much feel that way, more a willful child with some aches and pains. … Retreat is out of the question.”

Do It While You Still Can, motorcycle escapades and tribulations, by Nick Adams, (2021)

Adams, age 71, has been a prolific writer of motorcycle travels. He lives in Canada, has owned numerous motorcycles, currently rides a 1974 Moto Guzzi Eldorado, 1960 Panther, and a 1986 Suzuki Cavalcade. Nearly all of his travels suggest that any motorcycle can be an adventure bike.

I think it was the Moto Guzzi that caught my eye and prompted me to start following him. I always thought he was an old man on a Moto Guzzi—something I admired. When I started looking for his actual age, I learned he is one year younger that me! He is just a youngster. LOL. What is old? I recently heard that we perceive old as being ten years older than we actually are.

On the end cover of Adams’ book, he writes, “ As baby-boomers like myself get older and the median age of motorcyclists climbs ever higher, it’s easy to find the couch more appealing than the bike seat. But don’t let those aching joints and wasted muscles hold you back. Life is short. The time is now. Do it while you still can.”

Sound advice from two authors: With whatever time you have left, do it while you still can.

I began to think about this several years ago. My riding habits were changing. Long-distance touring diminished. Fewer annual miles. Thinking about those tall and heavy adventure bikes that I had been riding. I wanted a bike that would allow me to ride into the future, riding as long as I physically can. After a long search, I bought a Moto Guzzi V7iii. Easy to throw a leg over and easy to ride. And, it just resonates with me. And, I have toured on this bike, riding to a Kentucky backroad campout.

Are you thinking about quitting? Family and friends encouraging you to quit? Then maybe the time has come. Or, if you’re still healthy and physically active and able, you can ride for a while longer. Some things are not easily given up.

I’d like to think I will be riding to the very end, and the most likely last two-wheeler for me will be a Vespa motor scooter. What goes around comes around.

See you on the highway … for a long time to come.

Brent

March 3, 2023March 3, 2023

The Travel Planning Begins

Where are you motorcycling to this year? Friends ask me this frequently. Destinations and travels I have mentioned are only dreams until the planning advances from thought to pen and paper to packing the bags.

See you on the highway.

Brent

February 8, 2023

I Need Some Helmet Time

Winter means less motorcycle riding, and that means stress or anxiety can build up a little bit. A good fix for that is some helmet time—good for the head and good for the soul. Unfortunately, that little rodent in Pennsylvania has told the world it will be six more weeks of winter, so actual helmet time might be a ways off. Yeah, right.

Let’s not overlook the fact that sometimes helmet time is not a good idea, especially when you’re on a roller coaster of emotions. Wait for the roller coaster to stop. Then ride.

Everyone who rides a motorcycle knows that riding is good for your mental health. Well, nearly everyone. Recently, there was a scientific study conducted by Harley Davidson that concluded riding decreases the stress factors, and there have been other studies. It’s not like I’m under a lot of stress. I think it’s just good preventative maintenance.

For me, it’s motorcycling, but there are other stress reducing activities. Golf. Fishing. Hiking. Bicycling. All good for mental health. It’s all personal choice and action to keep us out of the therapist’s office.

I never winterize or put a motorcycle away for the winter. There will be days that are good for a ride, like the other day. The temps got into the 50s. The sun was out. Roads were clear, and my Guzzi V7 sat waiting its turn for some exercise. I had not ridden the V7 for several weeks, but one push of the starter button, and it roared to life.

It is hard to describe this motorcycle, my 2020 Moto Guzzi V7iii Rough. No other motorcycle has ever moved my soul like this bike. I don’t know if it is the vibrations or the sound, but it just resonates with me. It is an old-school standard motorcycle with modern technology. Not a speed demon, but plenty of power and torque. The Perfect Motorcycle. Easy to throw a leg over and easy to ride. It is so flickable, handling the curves and twisties like it was made for that. It was! It was made in Italy for riding in the Alps.

I can be watching a You Tube video of a Guzzi V7, and I can feel the vibes just sitting in my office chair. I follow a few You Tubers, and sometimes, I just feel like I want to ride along.

With jacket and helmet on, gloves snugged tight, I straddled the V7, pulled in the clutch and shifted into 1st gear. Releasing the clutch, I pulled away from home, headed down county roads to places I have been before with dreams of going farther. Resonance.

I rode my planned route, but it was not enough. I rode some more. Helmet time does not come every day in the winter.

See you on the highway.

Brent

January 4, 2023

New Year, New Me?

I never make New Year resolutions. Really. New Year goals? Well not exactly. Is that a problem? Maybe, and here is what I am going to do about it.

It has been on my mind for some time. A couple of years maybe. Since I have semi-retired … let’s face the reality … fully retired, I have not done much writing or photography except for on Facebook and photography on Instagram. Why should I post my creative material on those social medias when I have my own? That question was driven home by an article posted on The Verge, and shared on FB by a good friend, Bring Back Personal Blogging.

This year, with the weather cooperating, I managed to get in my first ride of the year. January 1, 2023, I took the Moto Guzzi V85tt Adventure for a short ride. Proof is in the second photo, a photo I always wanted to capture.

I have ridden past this sign many, many times, but it always seems to be in the afternoon when the sun is on the other side of the sign and the light is wrong. On this day, it was perfect, and my ride is documented by the date and time of the sign. “Welcome to Morrow” Ohio, a small town near my home. I suppose I can mark this item off my list of motorcycle ride photos.

So, I’m going to do a little more motorcycling this year including some long-distance travels. I’ll be writing about those.

I’m going to be writing about other things too, ideas that harken back to my earlier web site, Sojourn Chronicles. More photography, and especially Black & White photography. I love B&W. Nearly all of my documentary work was shot on B&W film, as was much of my newspaper work. Oh, those were the days. Now, it’s all digital for there is no dark room space here at the galactic headquarters.

The plan is more frequent posts right here. And, I’d like to get that frequency to weekly. Stay tuned.

See you on the highway.

Brent

February 7, 2022

Learning about Our Highways

I have been somewhat of a history buff when it comes to motorcycling, travel and highways. I love to ride historic highways and trails, to see the history. So, it makes plenty of sense to me that I would love to read about the history of highways. I find it fascinating.

When I found a book recently published, I had to have it. America’s First Highways, by Stephen H. Provost, is a great read for understanding how our country arrived at our highway system.

I understood how many of our roads were originally Native American Trails, and one can see that from early 1700 and 1800 maps, but I discovered a few things about how our highways were developed.

In the late 1800s, as towns and cities began to grow, it was the bicycle industry that called for better roads, although mainly in urban settings. By 1900, there were “321 bicycle companies churning out an astonishing 1.2 million a year.”

City streets began to improve, but the roads between cities were still primarily dirt, and as automobile manufacturing began and started to grow, the need for better roads between towns grew with it. That gave rise to the automobile and highway associations, and efforts to improve the rural roads. Building better roads gave rise to the real idea of “If you build it, they will come.” Tourism and commerce demanded better roads with the rise of automobile manufacturing.

Early on, the Federal government had no part in the development of highways. It was all local and regional. But there was a need for major roads from border to border and coast to coast. Hence, the idea of national highways like the Lincoln Highway, Yellowstone Trail, Dixie Highway, Old Spanish Trail, and the Lee Highway, just to name a few, grew in popularity but not without easy consensus. Which towns would these highways go through? What would be the final route?

Finally, in 1917, the Federal government created the Bureau of Public Roads, but its efforts were minimal. It was not until 1926 when the Feds designed a numbered highway system to replace all the named highways. For interstate highways, there were to be 10 east-west routes ending in zero (10, 20, 30, 40, etc.) and 11 north-south highways ending in the number 1 (1, 11, etc. to 101). The numbering system brought an end to the named highways, but many of those names still exist, and a few are marked, like the Lincoln Highway and the National Road.

I have touched on a few key points of this book, but there is so much more detail. If you are interested, read the book.

That’s what is exciting about finding a book like this. The richness of these early highways, and the development of towns and the road are all waiting to be discovered.

See you on the highway.

Brent