Blue's Angels

I have wanted to own a motorcycle and travel long distances since I was 12 or 13 years old.  I was in awe of the few small scooters I could observe in the small towns in which I grew up.  The ultimate desire of a young boy at that time was a “Fully Loaded” Cushman Eagle.  But alas, I usually had at least one and sometimes two part time jobs to help with school expenses, so owning anything like that was completely out of the question.  I watched with envy and strong interest anytime I caught the sound and then the sight of a two wheeler anywhere in my small world!   I got busy saving what I could from my paper route, delivering flowers, cleaning dog pens at the Veterinarian Hospital, working in hay fields, helping harvest wheat, and later working in a filling station, which included washing and servicing hopelessly mud-caked big oil field trucks.  During those years, I put a lot of miles on my trusty Schwinn bike, which got a long rest when Rheumatic Fever interrupted my plans and progress for a couple of years.  My older brother and I decided we needed a car to get us to school and to our jobs in a more efficient and stylish manner.  We found a 1940 Dodge sedan in a back yard that was for sale.  It needed work, but we were optimistic, and blinded by the prospect of owning “our own car”!  I was 15 and Jim was 16.  We had lots of good times in that car, but that’s another story.  About a year later, I “fell in love at first sight”!  I saw the most beautiful sight I had ever seen - a pristine Harley Davidson rolling down Main Street with a For Sale sign in the windshield.  I ran after it, but alas, it was faster than I was.  I couldn’t sleep that night, and scoured the town for 2 days looking for that fine machine to no avail.  The next Saturday my heart skipped a beat as I again spotted that Harley on Main Street!  The Gods were with me this time and the stop light turned red as the rider approached!   I again ran up the street after him, hoping to beat the green light.  It was a tie, and I was out of breath, but gasped “How much are you asking?” as the light turned green.  He pulled around the corner and showed me all the details of the fine machine.  It was a 1947 Harley 74 FL, ex police bike with only 13, 459 miles.  He owned a little paint shop in town and had painted it a beautiful Sun Gold and Campus Cream!  He was willing to let it go for $350 cash.  I wanted it in the worst way, but there were two big obstacles to hurdle:  1. where could I come up with the “fortune” it took to buy it, and 2. how could I get my folks approval?  I told him I really wanted it but didn’t have the money, memorized his phone number and set out to solve my dilemma.  I had been “working on” my folks for over a year about wanting a motorcycle, so much to my surprise, they said OK, but I had to come up with all the money including operating costs and insurance!  AND be extremely careful and safe - NO HOTRODDING!  Wow a great day, but still a huge hurdle to conquer.  I was way short of cash and no easy or quick solutions.  I went by the Harley owners place every day but couldn’t spot it.  Finally a bright idea struck, my brother could buy out my half of the Dodge.  So he agreed and would pay exactly what we had in it ($212.50 for my half)!  But, he didn’t have any cash either and we were paying off the car repairs on time.  We went to the car repair shop and pleaded with them to let us pay off the repairs with monthly payments of $25 instead of the much larger payments we had originally promised.  Some how they were sympathetic with our plan, tightened their belts, and agreed.  One of the two owner/ mechanics had ridden an Indian 74 in his younger days.  Could that have helped our case?  I couldn’t sleep until I talked to the Harley owner to see if he could take a down payment and hold it for me!  He still had it, but said he needed the money and would have to sell it to the first person with the whole $350.00.  I was sad and downtrodden, because I just knew that the “love of my life” would sell long before I could come up with that huge sum!  Since it was summer, I got busy with more odd jobs including delivering telegrams on my trusty high mileage Schwinn to get the money I desperately needed as fast as possible!  My luck held and no one else came along to buy it before I got the money scraped up into a pile big enough to go buy it.  I rushed over to his house and found that he was gone for a few days!  How could I possibly wait until he returned, and did he indeed, still have that big beautiful ‘47 Harley 74?  I finally caught up with him and low and behold, he still had the Harley carefully covered in his garage.  I was “prouder than a Peacock” as I counted out the hard earned $350.00 cash!  It was a real WAD of small bills.  I had him show me all the details of the bike and tell me how to ride it, and then asked him to ride it to my folk’s house for me.  He was so happy to have his cash that he gladly rode it home for me.  I didn’t want to take any chances on a mishap with my new “Pride and Joy”!  Part of the next day was spent at the Court House getting the title recorded in my name and a new license plate and proper registration.  I didn’t have money for the insurance for a few weeks, so I just polished it and practiced “riding it” parked at the curb.  My biggest challenge was getting it started.  I weighed 125 pounds soaking wet, and had to jump up in the air and land on the kick starter with all my might to have enough force to overcome the compression of that awesome 74 cubic inch (1200 cc) engine.  At first when I sometimes forgot to retard the spark with the left hand grip, I would crash down on the kick start pedal, the engine would almost “backfire”, kick back and “shoot me” right back up in the air!  Wow, what a ride without even turning a wheel!  It was a good thing that I had a “death grip” on the handlebars, or I would have been sent into orbit for sure!  The big day arrived when I finally got the insurance paid.  I started up my beautiful ride, and put it in first gear and slowly engaged the foot clutch.  I almost killed the engine, but managed to get it rolling and wobbled down the street and back.  That machine was pretty intimidating for a little 125 pound weakling who had never even ridden a scooter or a Whizzer!   I quickly became quite adept at handling my “dream ride”, but I usually didn’t have enough money to fill the gas tank.  So, I would buy a gallon or two of gas at 27.9 cents a gallon and head out of town.  Well, it was a trick figuring out the reserve valve which was located in the left hand tank.  Between never having enough gas for the distance I tried to ride, and not fully mastering the intricacies of the gas reserve valve, I think I pushed that heavy machine back to a filling station almost as far as I rode it that summer!  Boy was I hot, thirsty and tired, a lot of days before I changed my ways and quit trying to ride so far on so little gas!

That was the summer of 1954 in a farming community in Northeastern Colorado, where a frail 16 year old boy enjoyed the freedom, independence, and inner strength that owning a beautiful 1947 Harley 74 gave him!

I sold “my first love” a couple of years later to buy a car (a 1950 Ford) and go to college.  When summer came a year later, I couldn’t stand it so I sold the car to my younger brother, Harry, and bought another Harley from a farmer North of Denver.  After a cold snowy winter with no car I sold that Harley and bought a 1946 Mercury Club Coupe.  And so it went for several years.  I would buy a rundown Harley and refurbish it then sell it later as a way to help get through college.  I continued this after we were married and had two daughters as a way to be able to afford a two wheeler with a low or no budget.  I owned at least 6 Harleys over the years, the most unique of which was a 1954 KH Sportster which I later traded for a 1941 Ford Pickup with a Cadillac engine.  I have since lost track of some of them, but I remember a Honda 305, a Triumph Thunderbird, a Triumph Bonneville, a Zundap 250 single, a Yamaha 125 enduro, a Yamaha XS 750 triple, a Yamaha XS 650 twin, a Yamaha 80 enduro, a Honda trail 90 and now my 1986 Kawasaki 1200, and my 1991 Kawasaki 1200.  I have been selling most of my old car projects and have acquired some antique motorcycles which are much easier to work on, store, and haul around.  They include: three NSUs, a 1905, a 1953, and a 1960; a 1969 Ducati racer; and a 1973 BMW R75/5.
 
Our girls learned to ride when they were 4 and 5 and are safe excellent riders that love to travel on 2 wheels.  We have traveled on many great, long, and scenic trips through the Western United States and Canada with our Toy Poodle on Gale’s lap behind me.  I realized my life long dream of long distance travel on a motorcycle through these trips after our family was raised and before we retired.  I always wanted to go as far as the short vacations would allow and enjoyed the ride so much that we traveled through a lot of 115 degree weather, driving rains, 50 to 80 mile an hour wind storms, and several snow storms to get back home in time to go to work on Monday morning.  These memories seem to push out most thoughts of the good parts of the trips.  On typical days we covered 500 to 600 miles and ended well after dark! These trips covered tens of thousands of miles over the period of 15 or 20 years.  Now I wonder why Gale doesn’t ride with me anymore.  She did get pretty good at sleeping as we road however!
 
Thanks to Blue’s Angles and Jack Hansen for getting me involved, I thoroughly enjoy the beautiful, frequent rides through Arizona, with the great group of riders that you all are.  I look forward to riding 3,000 to 5,000 miles with Blue and his Angles each winter, especially knowing that it is too cold and snowy to ride in Colorado where my Bike used to sit in the garage all winter.  There are many more stories of our individual escapades, but those will have to wait until another time.

 
I can no longer do long distance rides, thanks to a whiplash injury, I received, when an 18 wheeler rear ended me a few years back, but I travel with our Iron Butt riders, and Long Riders, in heart and spirit.  I am really proud of all our long distance riders and each and every one of you for riding with the Angles and being such a great group!  You all inspire me to keep riding, and I do so enjoy it!

As I look at our annual roster and see how many of our members have ridden road bikes longer than I have been married (and a couple almost as long as I have been alive) it is a little humbling to talk about my riding experience. Oh, it is true that as my children were young, we had trail bikes. There was a Honda 90 and also a 70 which served to get us up the back roads and over some trails. Then, when my eldest son purchased a Yamaha Big Wheel (250 CC I think) I had to have one just like and and we did put the miles on them, climbing hills and hunting a bit. But, my experience riding the highways has been limited. It is not that it had not crossed my mind. Many are the times Wanda and I were driving our car down the highways and would pass a touring bike that I would say "wouldn't that be fun to try?" And the answer would always be a subdued "yeah, sure" which if you are married you knows translates to "not as long as you are married to me and have kids to take care of"!!!!
 
Well, in 2003, I observed that there were a number of Honda's and some assorted other brands in the resort and I knew that their owners rode together a couple of times a week. Having little fear of another rejection (one grows numb to it after a period of time) I again mentioned that it might be fun to have a large bike to ride. This time, the response was a real surprise. In a nutshell the answer was "Well, the kids are grown, you are sort of retired and if you want one, go ahead and buy it.....".  I was stunned, but managed to ask if she would consider riding with me. Her reply.. "I will try it and if I like it, I will, if not, you can ride alone".
 
Not many days later, I was making an offer on a 1988 Goldwing 1500. The deal was struck and shortly after that I fulfilled a promise made to family that I would complete a motorcycle safety class. I also made arrangements to ride with my new pal, John (Blue) Kelty and his group of Blue's Angels. That first year, between the group rides and my solo trips to see friends and family, I managed to ride in excess of 40,000 miles.
 
I now own a 2003 Honda Goldwing that, in the past 13 months, I have ridden over 20,000 miles. I suppose that my total miles since 2003 is approaching 70,000. I take pride in my Iron Butt Association membership earned for riding over 1,000 miles in less than 24 hours and look forward to more of the endurance rides. I cherish my association with the Blue's Angels. These are good people who are willing to help whenever you have a need and will always share all that they have or know.
 
Oh yes... about my wife and her trial ride.... Just try taking a trip without her, or even a short weekend jaunt. That spells trouble. In short....... SHE LOVES IT!

 Until the summer of 2005 I had never as much as sat on a motorcycle.  I thought all "bikers"  where crazy and I had no desire to ride.  In January of that year I  watched many of you leave Golden Vista on your Goldwings and realized I was missing out on what really looked like fun.  On returning to Wisconsin I bought a 2003 Goldwing but had to have a friend drive it home as I had no idea how to ride it.  In June I enrolled in the FVTC motorcycle safety course and qualified on a 220cc bike.  Riding an 1800 proved to be an entirely different experience but riding with Blue and the Angels really brought me confidence.  Some of my new "biker" friends may be a little crazy but in a really good way.

I have always had varying degrees of interest in cycles since my first ride as a passenger on an Indian some 50 years ago.  I never drove a cycle until our son bought his first bike, a Yamaha dirt bike.  It was a little small but still a lot of fun.  He then progressed to a Honda “V” twin, then a V-45 Magna followed by a loaded 1500 Gold Wing.  I was able to ride all but the Wing. 
 
When my employer decided to sell the company plane, I decided to get into biking, had to satisfy that “spirit of adventure” I guess.  The first bike was a V-45 Magna which I rode for a couple of years until our neighbor and I swapped for his “cherry” 88 1500 Wing.  He still wanted something to ride but with less money invested.  As comfortable as the 1500 was, my co-rider never really felt comfortable on two wheels, maybe the drivers fault!!
 
We eventually took a couple of test rides on GW trikes and decided this was the best solution.  We purchased a new 1800 in 03 which I rode for a few months before having it converted by The Trike Shop.  Kind of a shame to trike it but it allows us to enjoy our rides together.  I don’t think we will ever go back to two wheels again.  The odometer now shows almost 60,000 miles so it must be working out ok. 
 
Our highlight while in AZ is being able to ride with “Blues Angel’s” every Wed. and Sat.  They are just a great group of people who enjoy riding and having fun together.  

Bitten by bike bug in 1950. Rode friends Harley  & Indian. Very different from today's rides. Rode Harley Trike delivering cars for service. Many dirt bikes, raced some, including 250 yammy MX, 250 yammy IT. 160 Honda scrambler first road machine, and then nowhere to go but up. 250, 350, 450, 650, to a 850 MotoGuzzi Dresser. 1100 shadow. All the road bikes did duty as work comuters to construction job sites. greater Seatlle area year round.A few incidents along the way, And Navy,a marriage, 4 kids,(all had dirt bikes growing up, 2 still riding today), dogs, horses, boats. but thats another story. AZ and GV brought  many friends, a 1200 Yamaha (Fred Pye's bike), 96 1500 Goldwing, which was traded to Louie for our current ride, a 98 Suzuki Intruder 1500. Need to get back and in the saddle again with Blues Angels. Great rides to all.

Lived in Las Vegas for 42 years, retired from the Nevada Test Site and moved to Mesa in 1992 because of the great square dancing. Been married for 25 years to Ramona. Have had some kind of cycle since age 18.

First bought a new Kawasaki Trail Boss in 1972, added a used Honda step-through for the kids, and the wife bought a new 81 Honda 100. Then I upgraded to a 175 Kawasaki.  Our family enjoyed riding together for several years. 
 
In 1974 I bought a new Honda 550.  Rode that until 1990, and didn't ride a big bike again until I came to Arizona and wanted to join the big guys.  So I now have a 1200 Gold Wing and thoroughly enjoy the rides with Blues Angels.

I started riding a dirt bike back in the seventies only because I had won it in a contest. Eventually I gave the bike to my grandson and my riding was done until I purchased a 1982 Honda Goldwing from Louie Smith. I rode that bike for a couple of years until I purchased the 1994 Honda Goldwing I ride today.

We started in the mid-60's with a Yamaha step-through. In 1967 we bought our sons a 50cc yellow dirt bike. In 1972 we bought our youngest a 100cc Yamaha and oldest a 125cc Yamaha. Poor old Dad had to get along with a used 125 Yamaha.We rode dirt and climbed hills that a person could not walk up. Six couples rented 80 acres for camping and riding, all timber and hills, great fun. After the boys got out of school, and went their oun ways, we got out of cycles for a few years.
 
 In 2000 we bought a lot in Golden Vista and who did we meet, living right behind us? You guessed it - John and Char. Need I say more? In 2001 we bought our first 1500 Gold Wing and joined Blues Angles. In 2002 I traded for a 1800 yellow Gold Wing. I soon sold that 1800 and bought another 1800 and had it triked. I did not like the trike so true to my nature, I sold it and bought my present bike another yellow 2001 1800. Ruth only rides when I put on the trike wheels.
 
Due to Valley Fever this year she may not be riding because of the dust in the air.

   I started riding in 1981. I bought a 1978 Kawasaki 440 L.T.D. . It was a great starter bike. Since then I have had 5 other bikes. #2 - 1982 Yamaha 750.  #3 - 1986 Yamaha Venture Royal 1200  # 4 - 1986 Kawasaki Voyager 1200  #5 - 1989 Kawasaki Voyager 1200.
   I have had a few problems riding the past couple of years because of a bad right shoulder. It seems better and hopefully with this new lighter scooter I can ride again.
   Thanks to all  JACK HANSEN

My first bike was a 350c.c. Arial which I rode from 1955-1957.  Shortly after arriving at Golden Vista I purchased an 800 c.c.Honda Pacific Coast bike and that was my ride from 2003-2005. My sights were on a larger cycle, but I wanted to get some riding experience before attempting the larger machine.  In 2005 I made the jump and acquired my current cycle from Shutterbug. It is a 1988 1500c.c. Honda Goldwing.  My wife does not ride with me (but always wishes me a good ride & a safe return) It is a joy to ride with the Angels and I prefer the secondary highways as opposed to the busier Interstates.

Ed Hensley (Big Red) Here...
I am getting to be an old Timer - I started riding  in 1947 with the Love of my life, A Cushman Motor Scooter with a 10 H.P. Briggs & Stratton Engine.  As is my nature, I hopped it up until it would hit the blinding speed of 65 miles per hour.  When my 3 boys were small and thru their teens we all rode trail bikes, (including Bonnie... hers was a Honda 90 step thru).  I have owned many bikes including a 185 & 650 Suzuki, 1000 BMW, 700, 1200 and 1500 Honda, each time getting a little bigger bike.  I now ride my 2003 1800 Red Goldwing with Bonnie, my lovely wife.  We have been riding with Blues Angels since 2000, the Greatest Group that ever was to ride with....

Started riding in 1953 on a friend's bike and purchased my first ride in '54..... a 1947 Indian Chief (wish I still had it!).  Had to sell it after 5 years and didn't own another until the mid-60s--a Honda Dream 305.  Later I owned a Kawasaki GPZ550 and finally I have a V65 Honda Magna.  I also have the 750 Vulcan I bought from Frank Reed.  I would like to move up to something bigger when we get back to Arizona.

Born in Nashua, New Hampshire and hit the big 77 in August of 2006. As a young man I loved to play football but hated school. It took me 5 years to graduate from high school and when I finally made it, I then spent three semesters at U.V.M. until excessive “booze” got me kicked out.
 
In September of 1950, at the start of the Korean War, I joined the army and was then married at Fort Benning, GA. Wound up in Germany as a Platoon Sgt. and was assigned to a tank company.  My oldest son was born in Frankfort, Germany. After a 3 ½ year hitch I was discharged as a Sgt. 1st Class. That was in late 1953.
 
Over the next 4 years my wife and I had 3 daughters. I bought a garage business (automotive repair & gas station) and at the same time ran two semi trucks around the clock in New Jersey. Following that, I became a partner in a retail tire business where I spent the next 17 years. During this time, my first wife divorced me so I went back to trucking, hauling produce from Florida to Boston. While trucking, I met a girl, got married again and had two more children, this time boys. I sold my share in the tire business and moved to Arizona in 1975. Here I got a job managing an Automotive Distributing Company in Tempe and was there for the next 23 years. Never made big money in AZ, but always had a lot of fun. My second wife decided I worked too hard and drank too much. Thus, divorce number two.
 
Two years later I met the light of my life  and she has become an essential part of my existence. Char is the most wonderful person I’ve ever been associated with. I often ask myself if I am worthy of her. We have been together 18 years and are still going strong. She, like Wanda Alsup and many of the other female Angels loves to ride and we have shared uncountable miles on my “Blue” Goldwing.
 
I have been riding for 36 years and have owned two Honda’s and one Suzuki. On these three machines I have traveled a total of 210,000 miles. I had one bad accident in 1991, resulting in $3500 damage to “Goldie” (my previous bike) and $4,500 in damages to me. (one broken shoulder, 5 broken ribs and one broken foot)
 
I dislike people who talk too much and who know everything about everything. I dislike people who sit on their ass and don’t do anything, then get sick and die. I do like people. I like to drink. I like to smoke. I like a good rib eye steak, medium rare. I like to play golf. I like to fish. I like being a full time RV’er, living at Golden Vista RV Resort all winter and Forest Lakes all summer. Most of all, I like riding “Blue” with all of my friends.
 
When considering accomplishments in life and joys of living, I am most proud of my six wonderful children and ten fantastic grandchildren. I am proud of my time and accomplishment with the tire outlet in New Jersey. They now have 109 stores in 3 states. And, of course, at the top of this list is Char, who has kept me straight for the past eighteen years.

                                         Ride Safe Everyone……. Blue

We started riding about 30 years ago (the whole family that is). The kids were just reaching their teens then. I modified a trailer frame to accommodate five dirt bikes and we would trailer the bikes upstate, rent a cabin in an area that was used specifically for dirt biking and featured a lot of backwoods trails. We woulld usually stay a week or so each summer. We did that for a few years plus we had acerage here in southern Michigan where we would ride in the winter. Dirt bikes with big knobbies were a lot of fun in fresh, knee deep snow.  Time passed, the kids kind of lost interest and when they were starting to get out on their own and not around home so much I bought a Honda 750 cc street machine. My wife and I started to ride with a group of peers. We found that we really enjoyed it so after awhile I got a new 83 Gold Wing. Well, four Gold  Wings later we were on tour, coming out of Kentucky and we had a very close call which terrified my wife. When we arrived home she told me she would not be riding anymore. I was having some health problems at the time, so we gave it up for a few years. Then I acquired Honda 1100 Shadow. Numerous motorcycles later (buying & selling & loosing my tail most of the time) we ended up at Golden Vista. I have a Vulcan 750 in Michigan, which is not used very much, and a Honda 750 Magna that's in AZ.  I'm looking forward to getting back in the Arizona saddle.        
                                           Jack (Coke) Kemmer      

My early life involved being a over the road truck driver which I did until 1968 when I became a dairy farmer in Minnesota. I did that until 2001 and now am employed in the landscaping division at Desert Sun Condo's. My time riding bikes of this size goes back only to March of 1994. That is when I purchased this trike. I enjoy riding and giving rides to all who are interested. I find that people who are afraid to get on a motorcycle do not have the same fear when they are on the trike.

I started to ride back in the late 50's. Of course that was prior to my falling in love and getting married and raising a family. I had purchased a 1955 triumph with 500cc's, off road tires and the only time that it was on the road was to get to the trails. With a wife and family the motorcycle had to go. There was not enough time to ride or enough space to store it. When the family was raised and on their own I had time to get back to riding. So, my next rides were a 350 Honda with road tires and a 250 Yamaha for off road. I also acquired a 125 Benelli (Harley wanabe) for anyone who wanted to go along.
 
Due to changing wants and needs those bikes also went to the auction block and I didn't get back into riding until I met "BLUE". I was invited to join the Angles so at that time I purchased a 1987 Goldwing. After riding in comfort for a couple of years I found a White 1996 Goldwing that I fell in love with.
 
The First and Last were the "Best of the Bunch".

I bought my first bike in the summer of 1948 -- a 350 CC (21 inch British Royal Enfield (W.D. Model).  W.D. for war department, a British army surplus bike.  I got hooked on the Brit bikes and my second bike was a 500 CC A.J.S. I joined a local motorcycle club, Mt. Scott Motorcycle Club of Portland, Oregon.  The club was quite active in amateur competition events, hare and hound chases, hill climbs, endurance runs and British trials.  I made friends with the local BSA dealer, so had four or five different BSA's.
 
The year 1951 found me in the U. S.  Army and I was stationed at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. I took my  500 CC BSA along and had many great rides in the desert.  Two of my buddies and I made a weekend trip from New Mexico to Payson, Arizona, to visit his mother, but that's another story. I'll say this though, Highway 188 between Globe and 89 was gravel with the road on top of Roosevelt dam. We stopped on top of the dam about 2:00 AM, exhausted and fell asleep on the sidewalk.  Not a car came by.  We woke up at daylight and on to Payson.
 
In 1963, I got the bug to go racing.  I purchased my AMA competition license and campaigned 500 and 650 CC Triumphs.  That same year I was the 10th novice rider in the U.S. -- points earned in T.T. and flattrack.   In 1964 at the age of 33, I decided to leave it to the young chargers (18 to 24-year olds) and hung it up. Over the next few years, I rode a variety of bikes with my young boys-- Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, CZ's and Harley Davidson. So, you see, I'm not partial. In about 1980, I became involved with the Antique Motorcycle Club of America and started collecting old British bikes.   At present, I have a '68 BSA 441 Victor, '56 BSA Road Rocket, '67 Triumph TR6 and a 1958 Ariel trials bike.  I ride these at the club rides, both local and national. 
 
I was introduced to John (Blue) Kelty here at GV and was invited to ride with the gang -- a great bunch of people.  At the present time, I am the "oddball" with the 200l Triumph. 
In my years of riding, ninety-nine percent of the riders I've met are great people.   I have been privileged to ride in Europe, in many of the states and extensively in the Pacific Northwest,  and the Southwest. It's been and continues to be a great ride!!                    Jim (Limey) Lancaster

I was born in Detroit Mi. many years ago. I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters, and I was the first. I was in the Navy for 4 years [1959 to 1962] I met my lovely bride when I got out of the Navy and was married in 1963. I have one daughter and 2 fabulous grand daughters 13 and 8 yrs old. I worked as a tool-maker and retired from Detroit Diesel in 2001. We live in Mi during the summer mos and in Gods country during the winter. I bought my first bike in 1967 a 305 Honda Super Hawk. In 68 I got a Royal Enfield which I had for a number of years, after the family got a little older and more demanding I quit riding. I bought myself a retirement present in 01 a Kawasaki Drifter 1500cc and re- learned what I missed all those years, the joy of the open road. In 03 I traded the Kow in on a Honda 1800 VTX and figured I was set for life. Well I made the mistake of riding a Goldwing last year and you guessed it I bought one. I have a 1998 suzuki 1500 intruder in Az. that is a good bike but it's not a Wing. I really enjoy riding with Blues Angels and have made some good friends and I look forward to many more years of the comaradary and many more miles.

Through the years I have owned several 2 wheel motorized vehicles.  Starting with a Cushman when I was only 13, then moving on to a German Tessy Super.  This is probably where my love of motorcycles came from, as I was at the bike shop one day and a friend took me for a ride on his Harley,(it looked like an old police bike) and I fell in love.  I immediately set out to have a motorcycle and finally convinced my parents motorcycles were safer than scooters because of the bigger wheels, I then traded my scooter for an Indian 150 Pinto.  While I was in the service stationed in Hawaii I had a Honda 350, after I got out I had a Yamaha 360 Enduro, a 1954 Harley pan head, a 1976 anniversary edition Harley FLH, and now after being away from riding for several years I'm Back and bought Jack Hansen's 1989 Kawasaki Voyager. It's good to be back and to finally find a group of people that like to ride the way I do!  I've enjoyed the rides I have been on and I am looking forward to many more.  Since I have been back my wife Dell has been riding with me and I think she is starting to enjoy it too.  However I'll let her tell you about that.....

I was born at Warren Ohio and I've lived in the area till I made Golden Vista in Apache Junction, AZ my permanent home in 2004. We decided that Ohio weather in the summer wasn't the best and we would just visit the kids and what is left of our friends.
I was drafted 1944 ending up in the 7th infantry division on Leyte and the invasion of Okinawa. I was pulled off the lines at night sent back to Letterman Gen Hospital San Francisco and then to Cril Hospital at Cleveland. I was home on weekend pass on V J Day.
After the service, I went to work for Cousin in a gas station when this little guy came in on this 1944 small 45 Harley all decked out with lots of goodies.  It had belonged to the Harley dealer. I thought about buying it for all of 5 minutes then signed the papers. I'd never been on one before but I rode it the 9 miles home and I never dropped it once.  (How about that?)  I found out it was too small real quick like and it would go into a high speed shimmy that almost flipped me. I bought a 1846 74 O H Harley from a friend. He had purchased a new Hydro glide Harley. I sold that one in 1952 and didn't ride again till 1998 when I bought a 1982 Goldwing to learn on. Then came a 1989 Gold Wing which I didn't care for so I found my current 1995 Gold Wing on E-Bay, went to Tulsa, OK to pick it up and  rode it home
You know, when you've been off a bike for that many years it’s like learning all over but when your pushing 70 you just don't learn as fast. Those bikes have all put me on the ground a few times but I didn't give up.  Lou Smith was the one who suggested I buy a bike when I was bitching about my wife, Cel, taking off with the car all day so I couldn't go for coffee.
I've met a bunch of good old people with young ideas that don't want to give up on their life style and I enjoy our rides to feed our faces. Best of all, they put up with my bike troubles. I've come close to purchasing a new 2000 a couple of times. Take care all….  Ray Moore                                 .

 Ever since high school days I’ve wanted to ride a motorcycle.  When I was in college, my dad made it clear that I was not to consider it, and the prospects were no better after marriage.
 I was 37 when the urge to ride overcame reason.  I rashly bought a used Kawasaki 120, riding triumphantly if somewhat unsteadily into our farmyard.  Our 2 kids rushed to Mom, saying “Daddy’s got a motorcycle!”  Jean said, “No, he wouldn’t do that.”  When she saw me come in with a smile and a helmet, she said “Oh no, but we can sell it.”  Since then there have been about 19 of them and hundreds of thousands of miles.
 In a short time I became a dedicated highway rider, using the bike in my business and for pleasure.  Those were the days when a Yamaha 500 Twin was a Big Bike; I still carry its picture.  That was followed by several Honda 750’s, including 2 Automatics that could ride across a plowed field when asked.  My picture appeared in the national Farm Service Administration publication astride one in Washington, D.C. as the only political appointee in USDA who ever rode to D.C. on a motorcycle.  By that time I’d already gained identity as the Motorcycle Man when I showed up on a cycle at meetings across Minnesota.
 My first Gold Wing was a ’84 that I rode more than 100,000 miles.  My wife Jean joined me for a wonderful 1989 riding and camping trip on the TransCanada to Vancouver Island, returning thru WA and ID.  There was also a second GW which I used for farm management work across Minnesota, covering up to 18,000 miles a year on highways, gravel and fields.
 Now I’m riding a Kawasaki Voyager, and plan to ride it to AZ in November to rejoin Blue’s Angels.

Started out with an Indian m/c, rode it a couple of years in Iowa.
In 1957 bought a 1955 Triumph, rode it to work in the LA area. Had to sell it in about 6 months, as I couldn't afford the speeding tickets, two in one week.
Bought a new 1972 750 Honda. Edna started riding with me. In 1973 four buddies and I left Northern Ca. and rode down Baha and ferried over to the main land. We then rode to the end of the roads. We then came back up though Mexico City and home. Was gone three weeks.
We took lots of trips and overnighters while still working.
Have had a Vespa motor scooter for Edna to ride, she didn't like it, so bought a 450 Honda for her. She rode it more on back roads, but didn't like the freeway.
In 1975 bought Goldwing and rode more.
Took my son when he was 12 from Ca. to Iowa and back for a family reunion in 1975.
I then bought German Url side car. (looked like a WW1 sidecar) so I could take both Edna and son at the same time. Edna rode in the sidecar (to hold it down) and it was white knuckle time, on the Mt. roads. We had a lot of fun and laughs with the sidecar.
In 1985 bought an other new Honda Aspercade and rode more. Our longest trip was from Sacramento to east Tenn, took in an other family reunion in Iowa on the way. We was gone 5 weeks and 7000 miles Lots of stories about that trip!
Started a M/C club in the 80's and was president and planned a lot of rides and Poker Runs. There was around 30 bikes in the club.
Took grandson on the family union trip when he was 13.
Had the '85 until '93, when we sold everything and went full-time RVing It was a sad day when the bike left my driveway.
We bought our lot in GV in 1995, and have been here every winter since. Met Lou Smith and the bike FEVER was on again. Bought a '81 Honda and rode with the group. Sold it to Frenchie and bought a '85 Honda, then a '92 Honda, which I still have. Always wanted a BMW, and this Spring I had lots of time to go on E-BAY and I found one and got the bid and went to Southern Ca. and picked it up and I rode it back to GV, it is an '85 fixer upper, which E-Bay is helping me out.
I'm working out of town, so when I do get home, I'm too tired to ride on Sat. Winter is coming and I'll be riding again. Tom

My love for biking began in high school riding rental motorscooters. Couldn't afford a bike but did ride a friends '48 Indian -- loved it.  Rode another buddy's motorcycle in Germany during my Air Force years in the mid 1950's and survived the Bavarian roads in occupational Germany.  After the service, I spent 4 years in college where I couldn't afford anything.
 
In 1967 I purchased a Suzuki 500 and rode to work and jobsites.  I think each of my 5 oldest children burned their legs on the exhaust.  After that was a 750 Honda and my love of bikes was cemented.  Then came college for all 6 children and the bikes, boats and all toys were sold.  In the mid 1980's one of my employees came to work with his 1985 Aspencade and I was impressed.   In 1990 I purchased a 1988 1500 and was hooked again.  In 1996, I traded for a 1995 two tone red 1500 and did ride with the Valle del Oro group out of Mesa, Arizona..  I believe it was in 2004 that  I made contact with Vern Crestensen and he invited me to ride with Blue's Angels. By then I was leaving my red 1995 in Minnesota and purchased the 1991 two tone gold 1500.  I think the bikes and I have found a home!