The Motorcycle

Dan's favorite mode of transportation was NOT his truck. It was his motorcycle. He would ride it whenever he could. He and Pat would take vacations on it. A day ride would turn into a couple of days or a week depending on his work schedule. He even rode out to California from Montana on that thing one time. Almost roasted himself in Nevada and froze in the Sierras!

He loved the freedom and openness of the bike. Riding along Highway 1 at the edge of the ocean or taking the twists and turns of Highway 190 in the Sierras was a thrill. I remember him telling me that he could drive by Pierpont Falls on the way to Camp Nelson and truly see the falls. Something you couldn't do from inside a car.

When I visited Montana last year he took me everywhere on the bike.I could smell the water in the Bitterroot and the hay in the fields. It was a totally different experience.  He wanted to take me to Camp Nelson on it but Mel was a bit concerned for my safety. I was not. Dan was an exceptional driver and I felt safer on his bike then I did in most people's cars!

Dan and me on his Harley

I am posting this picture of Dan and me on the bike because it shows the size of the thing and it is a good picture of Dan without his helmet on!

Just a week or so before he died we took the bike up to the Harley shop to be worked on. It needed an oil change etc. and the Harley shop was in Atascadero. We walked into the shop and he immediately started pointing out bikes I could "handle". I was scared to death to drive one of them. He could never figure out how he was the only one in the family with the bike bug.

After he died, I contacted the Harley store to see if they could sell the bike. They didn't do consignment sales but they remembered Dan and his bike. We had been there once and they knew who he was. It made that kind of an impression on people.