BORN TO RIDE
An old photo reveals the same road to love and marriage.
My wife, Dorothea, and I met 35 years ago, and our relationship blossomed partly because we shared an interest in motorcycle riding. Along with raising five children, we continued to enjoy riding, and we joined a national, family-oriented motorcycle club. We rode locally in Michigan as well as around the country.
Our bikes were large and quiet, with intercoms in the helmets and radios to communicate with our fellow riders. On long trips, we pulled a matching trailer to carry everything that the on-board storage wouldn’t allow.
During Michigan’s short riding season, we often joined our group on Sundays for dinner. In the off-season, we gathered weekly in the evenings to dine and talk about riding.
One night, our close friend Jim shared an old photo of a bike club. The riders, pictured at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, were dressed in uniforms of the late 1930s. The photo was inscribed “Red Wing Motorcycle Club 1940.”
I’d heard of the club, which is still active today.
We passed the photo around, and I looked closely at a tall figure in the middle. Something about him looked familiar—and I realized it was my dad! Dorothea took a look, and after examining the women’s faces said, “And isn’t that your mother?” There she was, fourth from the right, together with Dad in a picture we never knew existed.
Luckily I was able to ask my father, Lee, about the photo, and he told us a story that started in the same way as ours.
We learned that over 75 years ago he and my mother, Dolores, shared an interest in motorcycle riding. They were married in 1941, the year after the photo was taken. But World War II, and later, the demands of raising a large family, kept them from pursuing their hobby. Dad helped us label almost all the people in the photo. We shared copies with my five brothers and two sisters, and now that Dad is gone, we are grateful for the keepsake.
Dorothea and I still love motorcycles, but a motor home has taken priority for road trips these days. When we travel, our Honda scooter comes along on a carrier, and once we park the rig and unload the bike, we can still “get in the wind.”