Memories of Youth

From Richard Litchfield, GM Laidlaw’s Harley-Davidson

Recently a good friend of mine bought a bike from us. It wasn’t until I called him that night about how his ride went did I realize the similarities of me getting back on a bike.

I rode as a kid (mini bikes, a little Honda 50, then my friend’s Yamaha 125 dirt bike, and graduated to a Honda CB 450). I moved to California and had to sell everything (including my bike). Went to school, got married, and didn’t ride for 19 years. About 10 years ago, me and a bunch of friends talked about riding again like we did as kids, took the class, and I’m the only one who completed the course. And I’m the only one who actually got a bike and continues to ride. I didn’t realize how much I missed riding until I took it up again, and now that I finally have a real bike (a Harley of course), I ride as often as possible. Though mostly to and from work.

Back to my friend. He hadn’t ridden in 20 years and he talked on about this being his first Harley and how much fun he had as well as how nervous he was on the freeways. He talked about riding without gloves as a kid and how cold it used to get in the fall back in his hometown. It really took a long time talking to him before he actually made the purchase, and we mostly talked about the fun of riding and the memories we had as youngsters.

I bet there are a lot of friends we have that share these same experiences and don’t ride. Convince them to ride, share the fun.