How many times we have heard statements like this? “I’ve always wanted a motorcycle but I can’t now, I’m too old.” Or from those who already have a motorcycle “I’d love to take a long trip, but my bike is only a Sportster (or a Shadow, an SV650, a Buell…insert the motorcycle of your choice.)
This story is about our customer, Dave, a retired pilot and flight instructor. At the age of 65 Dave decided he’d like to try motorcycling. He went out and bought a new 2004 Harley Sportster Custom. Dave’s not a “group” sort of person so he didn’t join any riding clubs. He just started exploring the countryside around his Bucks County, Pennsylvania home on his own. He found that motorcycling suited him very well. Several days each week, winter or summer, Dave would go out and play “get lost” on the hundreds of beautiful rural roads of Eastern Pennsylvania. He never ventured more than a hundred miles or so from home, but he spent the next few years putting more than ten thousand miles per year on his Sportster.
Meanwhile, Dave’s oldest son, Kyle, was living in Phoenix Arizona and working for the Conservation Department. Kyle loves the outdoors, and spent a lot of time exploring and camping out in the desert. In 2009, Kyle surprised his parents by buying a Kawasaki KLR650, a single-cylinder dual-sport motorcycle. Soon he was exploring the desert on his motorcycle just like Dave was exploring the back roads of Pennsylvania on his.
In late August 2010, father and son embarked on a great adventure. Dave, who was now 71 years old, wasn’t sure how he’d like riding all the way from Pennsylvania to Phoenix, so he shipped his Sportster out to Arizona by truck. He and Kyle loaded their “little” bikes up with camping gear, freeze dried meals and several gallons of water, then headed out on a sixteen day, 3300 mile loop through Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Colorado.
Kyle had studied maps and planned a rough route to follow. Aside from that, he and Dave had no set plans, no timetable to follow. They would camp for a few days, then do a motel night. They rode as much as they liked each day, stopping whenever the fancy took them for exploration and photos. Many times the pavement ran out, but with their nimble non-touring bikes they were able to ride many miles off the beaten path on dirt roads, and explored magnificent sights that most tourists never get to see. When Dave got back to the East coast, I asked him if he was sorry he didn’t have more of a dedicated touring bike. Dave replied that he was glad he didn’t have a big, heavy motorcycle, or he never would have ventured into such remote places or had so much fun chasing his son down all those remote dirt roads. Would he and his son do such a long trip again? In a heartbeat! But next time, Dave says, he’ll just ride there and back again; forget the truck!
Dave and Kyle each took more than a thousand photos on their trip, and they shared them with us. The beauty of the land they traveled took our breath away, and the quality of their photos is positively mind boggling.
Enjoy these photos of Dave and Kyle’s trip and remember, there’s no such thing as “can’t!”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY OF DAVES TRIP
