I Told You He Was Good!

Dianna, Dan's first wife, has been taking a journey back in time and space. She has revisited some very interesting times with Dan. She has shared some with me. This story I knew about but from the viewpoint of learning to ride on the back of a bike. Dan used to tell me that I should be a piece of luggage back there. He said the best piece of luggage was Dianna because she saved them from becoming grease spots on the highway. Here is that story from Dianna's point of view.

"When Daniel and I finally got together the second time in 1976, after 6 years of no contact, he had a motorcycle.  It was an old Triumph with extended front forks and a trident sissy bar.  It was actually a piece of junk, but to him it was wonderful.  He had some friends who were real Harley Hard Boy bikers, and that period was the most fun I've ever had.  I think I was finally experiencing adolescence in my mid-30s.  We would take evening rides along the river road in Sacramento in the summertime to beat the heat.  His friends joked that someone needed to ride behind him with a big net to catch the parts that fell off!  

One summer early evening we were powering up an on-ramp to the freeway into traffic when the back tire blew out.  I never rode with my arms around him as you see some people do; at most I hooked my index fingers thru his belt loops and lightly leaned against the sissy bar.  Neither of us knew how he held that front end as the back swung 90 degrees to the right, then to the left.  He was able to bring the bike into the median and stop.  We got off, sat down in the median, and breathed as the traffic whizzed past us.  This was in the days of no helmets, and we never felt so lucky to be alive.  Parts may fall off your bike, but decent tires are pretty important.  A very intense learning experience!! 

The bike had no place in our move to Montana so was left behind.  I knew he would ride again some day, and Montana has some world-class bike roads.  I'm sure he rode all he could and is riding still."

 

Dan giving his bike a bath

I am sure that if he isn't fishing he is riding. And that bike is REALLY LOUD!!!