Found the link on another site and I don't recall seeing it posted here so I thought I'd pass it along. Great "trip report" from the days when men were men even when they were 18 years old. 1936 trip recalled
Cool, my father had a '36 Indian. I've never seen any pictures of him with it. Glad your bud has the photos to help him remember, quite a trip for the times.
Great story and pics. Thanks. One of Rider mag's early issues had an article about two guys who crossed the country on bikes in the early part of the century. The bit that stuck with me was an account of them waterproofing their tent canvas by heating gasoline (!) and melting paraffin in it, then soaking the canvas in the solution to impregnate the fibers with the wax. Sorta like finding home uses for Napalm. I love these stories, like the thread someone put up a while back of his dad and friends off-roading Harleys (1950s?). Thanks again.
Those early riders were also the original Adventure Riders - street tires, rough roads, lousy maps, missing roads... Unless you were tooling around the city limits you had to have a good deal of that 'can-so spunk that we value so highly around here. So, here is to George, his peers, and those before him... thanks for starting the tradtion - we're happy to carry it forward. My Grandfather and Great Uncle exploring the mountians in WV, circa 1930
Great report. My dad did Gypsy Tours back in that era, and was at Hollister as an AMA rider when the "riot" happened. Unfortunately, I was a 'late arrival' and by the time I was old enough to ask questions, he was no longer willing to talk much about his experiences. This report is a vicarious substitute. BTW, anyone else notice that the gas price was $0.11/gallon and the minimum wage was $0.25/hour? Today, gas is $3.50/gallon (at least around here), and the minimum wage is $7.25/hour (or so) (and vehicles are more fuel efficient). The more things change, the more they remain the same.
I'd love to put this one on the front page but I'd need a bigger scan and less compression: Happy to make a really nice scan if you send it to me (that goes for all the ones you posted) but I imagine they're pretty priceless and entrusting them to FedEx or someone might be a stretch.
Baldy (and others), you'll need to write George directly. As noted in my first message, I was only passing along the link. I don't have the priviledge of knowing the gentleman personally. I always enjoy the older rider stories myself. My dad had an Indian AND a Harley franchise in the 40's after the war but they were gone before I arrived on the scene in '51. Dad refused to talk much about his riding days so when I read old stories like George's I tend to imagine my dad's rides might have been somewhat similar if less ambitious since he was a married guy with three kids. I asked my mom once "So, was dad really a hell raisin' motorsickle rider when he was young? >wink, wink, nudge, nudge<" Mom replied hesitantly "Well....yes..." Dad wouldn't comment and took his stories to the grave. Seems he didn't want to encourage me. LOL
