Easy Ridin'

The edited version of this story first appeared in Simcoe Life Magazine

Summer 2007

Volume 3 Issue 2

She dragged him, a young boy, around 5 years old or so, stumbling alongside her ankles while he continued to stare.

“Never mind what’s over there,” she said as she too, continued to stare. Although my generous smile and hello was almost enough to convince her to stop for a moment, my splattered-bug-laden leather chaps and even dirtier Harley Davidson patch was enough to make her reconsider. I gave the little boy a sly wink, last minute – igniting a verbal protest aimed at his mom.

This left me pondering – and that my friend is a dangerous thing - more dangerous than being a biker…

They are everywhere, invading our highways, byways and Tim Hortons parking lots, complete with Madonna microphones and fringe: Easy Riders. Easy Riders? It appears that the Peter Fondas and Dennis Hoppers of the world have suddenly turned 70-plus. (Okay, not all are over 70 years old.)

Despite soaring insurance costs, the sport of motorcycling has dramatically increased in popularity during recent years. This may be partly due to the glamorization of the motorcycle lifestyle by such television programs as Discovery Channel’s American Chopper and Great Biker Build Off. Orange County Choppers, here we come. The excessive dollars invested in building the ultimate chopper are hardly a deterrent as we gather ‘round our television sets Thursdays, popcorn bowls and all, for O.C.C. Night. Where's Paulie? As we watch Paul Teutul Sr. battle it out with son Paulie amidst a sea of top-notch shop tools and chrome, we cannot help but, at the very least, be intrigued by the lifestyle.

Gary Nicholls, bike builder and owner of Radical Rods and Rides of Innisfil sheds light on the motorcycle revival.

“I have been building bikes[choppers] full time for eight years now. Most of my clients rode when they were younger but due to family commitments, fell away from motorcycling. They're married with children and grandchildren. A lot are early retirees or getting close – they're business owners, professionals and trades people who want to get that [feeling of]freedom back..” According to Nicholls, his clients are very informed – they've done their homework, bringing him pictures, colour charts and engine/transmission specs. They come to him knowing what they want and rightfully so. Hardly built on an O.C.C whim, an entry level pro-street chopper will lighten one's wallet by approximately $38 000 - freedom doesn't come without its price. Ahhh, freedom. Freedom? Financial freedom not - when it pertains to loan payments and tanks of touring-gas. Amazingly, this all gets whipped out the back of one's lid while weaving proudly through a Wasaga Beach traffic jam.

According to the Motorcycle & Moped Industry Council of Canada, the year 2005 saw 80.25% of motorcycle business in the form of sales of new motorcycles; the other 19.75% in sales of parts and accessories. What is even more surprising is that Ontario ranked second in Canada in retail motorcycle sales, by province. Apparently, a lot of dough gets dumped into the easy rider lifestyle.

With sales of motorcycles to women in Canada sitting close to 30% and growing, it's apparent women are also grabbing the Easy Rider handle by the buck horns - Ladies of Harley - Women On Wheels - female riders are now able to connect with other women through motorcycle groups dedicated to exclusive female membership.

I lift my head from my coffee and manuscript as the unmistakable rumble from an approaching Harley Davidson catches my ear. As if on auto pilot, I check to see if it's one of my cohorts. Does one need to ride a Harley to qualify for the lifestyle? Apparently it's not what you ride, but how you ride. As with the animal world, there is an unwritten hierarchy amongst bikers. First of all, riders fall into two groups: those that ride Harleys and those that ride Brand X. As a rider in one of those categories you're then judged in or out (as in accepted or not accepted into this sacred world of motorcycledom) according to where you ride and in what conditions you'll ride to get there. Chrome, leather and flash does not necessarily a good biker make. It is the number of dust and inclement- weather-laden kilometres accumulated under your butt that separates the fat from the broth, so to speak. Riding to the donut shop does not qualify (although it is a great place for writing Easy Ridin' manuscripts). Let's examine the broth. Although riding to Tim Hortons and back does not qualify one as a biker, exchanging riding stories there is acceptable. Friday nights at Penetanguishene Tim Hortons parking lot are the perfect time to flex one's biker muscles – er, butt. Nothing will earn you a title faster than a good, tough, riding story.

The boys are bringing their tools to remove my breather cover. One great backfire and my bike is labouring to start. Nothin' like a bit of grease and tools flying around to attract attention. A small gang of “bros” gather 'round, examining the worn leather seat on my ride and the mangled muffler clamps that gingerly hold my pipes together.
“How many K's you got on that thing?” they ask.
“Over a hundred thousand,” I respond.
“How many were on it when you got it?” (This is asked in a challenging manner.)
“Zero.”
Typical biker convo. Instantly my petite form is being surveyed, my bike is getting pulled apart as we speak, and I begin to answer the barrage of questions that follow. They listen intently to my story of the ride I took to Alaska, a few years back. Lots of dust and inclement- weather-laden kilometres on that ride. I'm a “bro” too now, as the boys realize I've actually ridden farther than they, conquered frost heaves, endless miles of pea gravel and washboard road conditions. Punctuate all of that with five weeks of torrential freezing rain-snow. Yep, I'm a bona fide, rough and tough biker chick. Having slept in a leaking tent and having peed beside an idling bike in Grizzly infested territory are bonus qualifications. There are no Tim Hortons on the Top Of The World Highway in Yukon/Alaska. No toilets either.

An exchange of riding stories gives the dudes working on my bike enough time to find that a rubber seal had blown off during the backfire, making my bike thereafter difficult to start. Our story-fest is interrupted when I am called over and shown what the problem was. There is an unspoken kinship amongst bikers. When you're down, there's usually someone there to pick you up. Literally.

Easy ridin' is not always easy, though. Dropping your bike goes with the territory. The toughest of tough may be reduced to a humble pile of Daytona Bike Week patches, in just one ill-placed-foot moment. If you're a real biker, no matter how embarrassed you may be at the time, there's comfort in knowing you're not the first to have dropped your bike. Just brush yourself off, check for busted parts and ride off like nothing ever happened. Then do what real bikers do – add the incident to your repertoire of stories, and you'll be sure to get a few chuckles and sympathetic, similar tales. I can still hear myself screaming at my daughter, “BAIL! BAIL! BAIL!”, and we still roar with laughter at the memory of the time I decided to drop my bike, avec passenger (same said daughter, to be exact). That ill-placed-foot moment just happened to occur in front of three lanes of stopped traffic, at a red light. Memories of Quebec...

Who,are the people riding two wheels? With names like Maggot, Dog Breath and Hundred Proof, it's easy to attach the negative stigma which has already long ago been attached to the act of riding a motorcycle. The boys (and some girls...hmm...) are labelled with childish nicknames as though they were still in a Kindergarden tree house club. Nicknames used to identify one biker from another are endearingly assigned, and generously used, in the motorcycle culture.

What, is the attraction? All things considered, for Victoria Harbour residents Wanda and Wally Hughes, proud parents of a 2006 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Classic, it is the wind in your face and the beauty of the passing landscape that keeps them rolling on two wheels. After 42 years of riding many a Brand X mixed in with the Harley Family, the Hughes continue to enjoy their passion for the motorcycle lifestyle as they approach retirement. And yes – leather and chrome helps. So what happens when Grandma wants to join in on the fun? Shoes to biker boots, at 70 years old, Barbara Whittingham of Coldwater decided after being a passenger for seven years behind her husband, it was time to go solo.

"I share John's enthusiasm for motorcycling. We heard of women who had lost their husbands and had to either give up the sport, or get their own license. I [started to] think if anything ever happened to John I would have to give up motorcycling because I hadn`t bothered to get my license. Putting a sidecar [third wheel]onto our 2001 Honda Gold Wing triggered the idea. I took the Georgian College Motorcycle Training Course and failed miserably. John had bought me a Honda 250 Rebel on which I would practise. I failed the second test also and finally passed the third. I was 69 years old the first time I ever held up a motorcycle."

Turning 71 in summer of 2007, Whittingham is hoping she'll get her final, 'M' class license . Active members of GWTA (Gold Wing Touring Association), Huronia Chapter, the Whittinghams attract attention wherever they go. Biting off a huge chunk when she jumped from her 250 Rebel onto her 2006 750cc Honda Aero, “It's now or never,” she says. Whittingham receives plenty of encouragement from onlookers, especially those within her age range. “Keep on ridin'!” she's told.

Well, it really does take all kinds to make the wheels turn 'round. Harleys or Hondas, two wheels or three, there is and always will be a special aura around people who ride and live the motorcycle lifestyle. There really is nothing like the smell of leather and the wind in your hair - especially when you ride helmetless up the mainstreet of small town Canada - and suddenly realize you're not in Arizona. Now that's easy ridin'.

Reader's Guide to Biker Terminology

avec – French word, meaning “with”
brand X – all makes of motorcycles other than Harley Davidson
bros – slang for “brothers”
buckhorn – a particular style of motorcycle handlebar
chaps – protective motorcycle apparel made from leather; resemble a pant except crotch and backside are absent
chopper – style of motorcycle where the front end is stretched longer than conventional; popular in the 60s and 70s
convo – conversation
easy rider – term sometimes use to describe motorcyclists; adopted from the 1969 movie Easy Rider, starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper
flash – excessive display of motorcycle enthusiasm, usually in the form of too many piercings, tattoos, flame paint jobs and flame patterned clothing, all in an effort to be perceived as “tough”; generally an exaggeration of biker attitude
lid – the term used by bikers to represent a helmet
O.C.C. - Orange County Choppers – New York based company owned by Paul Teutel Sr. and Paul Teutel Jr.; featured on Discovery Channel's American Chopper, the company specializes in building chopper-style motorcycles
ride – in a biker's world, slang for “bike”

Sources: Deeley Harley Davidsoncle & Moped Industry Council of Canada.