A BLESSING...for those who RIDE HARD and LIVE FREE

May the sun rise in front of me, May the rain fall behind me, And the wind follow beside me, May the angels guard my travels, For they know the road ahead of me.

Keep me safe through Swirling turns and rolling hills, Let the eagle guide me To the mountaintops.

Let the moonlight guide me Through the night. Let the air of spring Breathe life into my soul, To journey to another adventure Out on the open road.

Anyone with a passion for motorcycles will tell you that no matter what the road throws at you, they’re always ready for the next adventure. Now, we’ve created a new jewelry exclusive for those with the ride hard, live free spirit—the “Biker’s Blessing” Dog Tag Pendant. Let it be your co-pilot through the curves and bumps ahead.

A Magnificent Achievement M In Craftsmanship And Design

Crafted of tough-as-a-biker stainless steel, our custom designed dog tag-style pendant features a sculpted bike and cross against a hand-enameled jet black background on the front. Etched on the back is the biker’s motto “RIDE HARD LIVE FREE” with a cross, while etched around the sides are words from the powerful “Biker’s Blessing” poem. Raised corner “rivets” and a bail in the shape of a motorcycle tire which holds a 24” stainless steel “bike chain” complete the look. Each pendant comes in a velvet jewelry pouch and gift box, along with a specially prepared “Biker’s Blessing” card.

AN EXCEPTIONAL VALUE... A YOUR SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Y

A remarkable value at $99.99*, you can pay for your pendant in 3 easy installments of $33.33 each. To reserve yours, complete with a Certi cate of Authenticity and our 120-day guarantee, send no money now; just mail the Priority Reservation today!

©2023 The Bradford Exchange 01-16036-001-BI2

More Mother Road

Everyone talks about Route 66 being the Mother Road, while others say it’s the Main Street of America. But there really was a Main Street of America before that…the Lincoln Highway. The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Formally dedicated Oct. 31, 1913, the Lincoln Highway runs coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. It predated Route 66 by more than a decade and was the first to be called the Main Street of

America. The main difference is that 66 was built by the U.S. Government. The Lincoln Highway was built by the people, towns, and businesses along the way, as Congress was not yet ready to commit funding to such projects. Some of the contributors were Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas A. Edison and Woodrow Wilson, all looking for a better way to travel in those new automobiles. I have only ridden part of New Jersey and Ohio, and all of Pennsylvania, and take it whenever I have time on a Westbound trip. Many of the attractions are gone, but some remain, including Independence Mall at Independence National Historical

Park, Dutch Wonderland, Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium, the Gettysburg Battlefield, Haine’s Shoe House, Bedford Giant Coffee Pot, Dunkle’s Gulf Service Station (art deco styling), Flight 93 Memorial National Park, and others.

Dennis Lepine AMA Life Member Trooper, Pa.

You folks keep churning out the good stuff! The Route 66/CB750 article took me back a couple years where I’d pulled off 66 between Ash Fork and Seligman on my current (and much upgraded) �71 CB750 for a cigar break.

great story, and one that brought back a world of memories for me, as I’m a child of old Route 66. Born in Santa Monica, raised in Victorville (K thru HS), and then hired on with the telephone company at 18 for a five-year stint in Barstow.

Started out on a Lambretta scooter (just like Malcolm) in Victorville, then graduated to a �59 Triumph TR6 in Barstow. We pretty much had to ride at night during the summers as it was so hot the oil pressure indicator would hardly register.

In about 1948 (I was about 6) we had a neighbor who was the only state (CHP) law-enforcement officer from the Cajon Pass to Baker on old 66. He had a big old black and white Harley to patrol with, summer and winter. His name was “Buzz” Banks; his daughter Janet and I went all through school together and are friends to this day. When Buzz had to work nights and sleep during the day, that Harley sat out in the driveway, unprotected and unattended. There wasn’t a kid in the neighborhood that would put a fingerprint on that beautiful machine because it was well known that “Buzz had a gun and he’d kill ya!” (Respect at an early age.) Buzz wrote a book (short stories) about his adventures called Policing The Old Mojave Desert. Great read! I’ll be thinking about you guys in Europe this August, wishing I was with you and looking forward to the story! Ride safely!

Dennis Bible

We’ll miss you, too, Dennis, and thanks for sharing! – Ed.

Next to me were a series of Burma Shave signs, while the empty Mother Road stretched before me over the rolling countryside. It wasn’t difficult to visualize the ghosts of all those Okies headed west towards the promised land. Keep up the good work.

Eric Snoeberger

Living in Manhattan in 1970, I wanted to buy a motorcycle. My then-girlfriend-now-wife offered to cash in her life insurance policy so I could buy a new Candy Gold CB750, which was our only transportation for five years. We had heard about the Ann Arbor Blues Festival and decided we’d attend. On our small map it didn’t look that far. Turned out it was 650 miles one way! An adventurous ride out (rode on the roadbed of what was to be I-80, passed a State Trooper in Ohio at about 90 mph...) and back was our reward. We got back to NYC short five cents to cross the George Washington Bridge (we got waved through). I wish Honda had said more about that crankcase drive-chain oiler, though; when we got home, the oil tank was almost empty!

Norman Gaines Vice President, AMA District 34 Hartsdale, N.Y.

I just read “The Mother Road Revisited” article. I liked it, sounds like fun. I just wanted to point out that when you’re in the 29 Palms area, you are waving at Marines, not soldiers. Soldiers are in the Army.

Scott Houston

MILLION-MILE MAN

I just finished reading about Donald Deuel in your March, 2023 issue reaching a million miles on his motorcycles, and it got me thinking… I’m 73 and have been riding since 1979, so I checked all the records I’ve saved. I’ve had four motorcycles: a 1979 Honda CX500 (287,872 miles); a 1990 Honda PC800 Pacific

Coast (198,981 miles); a 1999 Honda GL1500SE (296,653 miles); and now a 2010 GL1800 (136,000 miles so far), all of them bought new. My total milage is 919,506 miles and counting. Until I sat down and wrote this out I had no idea how far I’ve traveled on two wheels. And now that I’m retired I seem to have less stamina to ride like I used to, but I’m hoping to reach a million miles before I have to give up riding due to age or health. I’m sure there are many other motorcyclists who have very high mileage and just don’t know about, or care. After all, it’s the ride that counts.

Steve DeBaun Life Member

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I finally know why we need driverless cars. My former boss suffered a detached retina. He got a self-driving car so he can still drive. So, there you have it — self driving cars are for blind people. Don’t you feel better about that?

Nancy Hamilton