Surrounded by Indians!

Last week I truly felt that I was surrounded by Indians, or perhaps immersed in Indians would be a better description. I spent a day in Springfield, MA at the city museum complex, which includes a marvelous Indian Motocycle Company museum. I gave a talk there about my latest book - Grace and Grit - a book about 1910s women motorcyclists; two of whom used 1916 Indian PowerPluses as their bikes of choice.

1916 Indian PowerPlus motorcycle

While in Springfield I made pilgrimages to the two former factory sites. One is now an apartment complex, though the original multi-story brick building remains, and the other houses various small businesses on Hendee Street - named of course after the man who basically started it all.

The next day I drove to Newburgh, NY to the MotorcyclePedia Museum - a wonderful new facility that has at least one Indian bike on display for all but two of the years they were made, from 1901 - 1953. (a 1901 model is one of the years they're missing, not surprisingly)

I highly recommend going to this museum if you're anywhere near New York City - it's worth the ride or drive. Besides Indian Motorcycles and a great deal of Indian artifacts, they have other great displays, with antique motorcycles of numerous brands and years, including an impressive Harley-Davidson display. They have one section devoted entirely to the 1960s and 1970s style chopper culture, including artifacts from the many outlaw or Easy Rider style of movies that were produced in the late 60s and early 70s.
 They have also expanded into cars, and have a wall of death (motodrome) in which motorcycles race horizontally on the vertical sides of the enclosure.

I have long been impressed by the skill and pure toughness that was required to ride pre-1920 machines. They were cantankerous, hard to start, required much fiddling and adjusting, had no or very little suspension other than the springs under the bicycle-style seat, no protection whatsoever from weather or wind, and had tires and inner tubes that frequently went flat at the most inopportune times.
What I also find amazing is that for many years they had simple bicycle coaster brakes on the rear hub as the only means of stopping (other than dragging your boots on the ground to slow down). Indian didn't put front brakes on their machines until the 1927 model year! By then motorcycles were capable of impressive speeds, and while the rear brake had evolved to a better external expanding drum style they still provided relatively little in the way of stopping power. Front brakes supply somewhere near 75% of the braking power on a motorcycle (which is why they must be used very judiciously) so riding one with no brake on the front must have frequently resulted in situations in which the pucker factor was over the top!

1927 Indian front brake - first model to have one.

1902 Indian - a somewhat beefed up bicycle with a motor.

A motorcycle adapted for use on railroad tracks!

There are many outstanding museums across the country where a person can marvel at the fascinating two-wheeled world of a century ago. MotorcyclePedia has joined the list of some of the best. The National Museum in Iowa, Barber in Alabama, the H-D Museum in Milwaukee, Wheels Through Time in NC, and many others exist that are protecting this irreplaceable heritage and allowing new generations of enthusiasts a glimpse into what used to be. Time does fly and what seems the norm soon becomes the way it used to be. Having lived through the chopper craze of the 60s and 70s I never dreamed then that I would see those bikes and movie posters in a museum - I assumed in my youthful view of the world that the here and now would remain in place forever.

The dog ate my homework

It's been two months since my last post. I'm an adult and should not feel guilty about that - the same way I felt as a kid when I didn't get my homework done and the teacher told everyone to pass their reports forward - only I couldn't because it wasn't finished. The teachers used to say I had a  good head if I'd just apply it, but with so many distractions in life, whether you're 15 or 50 (or more), who can blame you if you don't get assignments finished on a timely basis?  Besides, I have a dog that truly is capable of eating my homework, so the excuse that my best friend as a fifth grader actually did use as his excuse for not being able to turn in his homework assignment is also a viable one for me.

It's been a busy couple of months in my personal version of Lake Wobegon. My latest book became a reality, but with a few birthing pains that complicated matters. I've been busy on the phone contacting motorcycle dealers, museums, libraries, and bookstores in many states, setting up selling & signing events along with talks and slide shows about the characters in the book.  There is a reason I didn't dream about being a salesman or marketer when I grew up - it's not my natural strong suite - and not the favorite part of my new 'job'. But the talking circuit has begun and so far, so good.
I had an enjoyable day in Madison, WI last Saturday, participating in Capital City Harley-Davidson's annual Women's Day event. Lots of time to relax on the round-trip drive and listen to my ipod fed through the fancy stereo system of my car (it's fancy only in my 1960s mindset. USB ports for ipod and other devices are pretty standard in cars today). I refuse to listen to talk radio when I drive - left or right on the political spectrum; it's divisive, hateful, narrow-minded, intolerant, un-American, and of no value beyond making multi-millionaires out of the entertainers who spout all the garbage. (that's just my humble opinion, of course)
The drive had other impacts - it once again reminded me of a personal rule of motorcycling that I have told many dozens of people over the years - that if you cannot give 100% of your concentration 100% of the time to your riding, then do yourself, your family and society in general a favor and stay off a motorcycle. 

Riding in the rain through I-80 and then I-90 near and through Chicago, I had four events happen that had I not been on high alert could have been very serious indeed.
The first was a tire / wheel laying in the center of the lane as I came over an overpass. Had I been daydreaming it likely would have done some major damage to the underside of my car. Had I been on a bike and hit it, it would have been fatal. One hundred percent focus, one hundred percent of the time.
The second was a large semi-truck that had missed its exit and was backing up on the X-Way in order to get back to the exit he wanted a couple hundred yard back. He decided to make his turn just as I was about to pass him. Fortunately I was on high alert and had an escape route already in mind when he did turn - had I been daydreaming it might have been ugly. The third incident involved somebody who for no apparent reason hit his brakes very hard three cars ahead of me, causing the two cars right ahead of me to slam on theirs. Because of a protective space, which I always maintain when on a bike, I had room to maneuver. Had I been tailgating or daydreaming - chain reaction multi-car accident.  The fourth was a deer on the way home in the dark near Hammond, IN. I constantly scan for them and saw this one before he started  onto the roadway.

All of these proactive defensive driving behaviors are the result of forty years of motorcycling. I have carried them over into my car driving and there are times when I've automatically done something, such as look both ways at a green light before starting ahead and seeing a truck running the red light, that no doubt have saved my life.  It pays to be paranoid when in a car or on a bike - people and conditions really are out to get you!
The beautiful early summer weather we enjoyed for a couple of weeks recently was great for outdoor activities, including of course motorcycling. I've got a few hundred miles on from local rides. I participated in the Grand Ledge, MI St. Patrick's Day parade with the local American Legion Riders and it was incredible - felt more like a July 4th parade rather than the typical St. Pat's Day where cold rain, snow or sleet is the norm. Motorcycles and parades go together like hot dogs at baseball games.
I've had the maps out over the last few weeks planning some summer rides. Nothing quite as ambitious as last summer's two rides of 5,000 miles each, but short or long, they're all fun and interesting experiences that stay with me forever.
I gave a talk last evening at a local library and after the show was invited to the home of a couple who has ridden together for decades. Two other couples were meeting at their house after the talk for dessert and I was happy to be part of the gathering. We shared stories of experiences and travels, the good and the not so good but memorable just the same, and had a wonderful time. I was reminded once again of how much I have gained as a result of forty years of adventure and experiences on two wheels - all of which would have been missing had I not taken this road in life.  I'm very grateful for all that I've been able to experience and enjoy.
So there - my homework is done. Now I have to sweat and worry until I find out what grade I get.

Stuck in the Middle With You

For some reason Gerry Rafferty's odd song Stuck in the Middle With You often plays in my head. For years I haven't been able to find the delete key or escape button that will make it go away.

Well I don't know why I came here tonight
I got the feeling that something ain't right
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

It comes to mind again because I feel like I'm stuck between the cold of last month and the cold of next month. Stuck in the middle, and it's a feeling that definitely ain't right - not when I'd much prefer to be outside soaking in the warm sun on a long and winding road.

I haven't been able to focus on spring and riding these past two months, but I definitely had motorcycling on my mind and at my fingertips.  I have just finished a book about some amazing motorcyclists from back in the day - back when girls were girls and men were men - and all that nonsense.  Except that the 'girls' in the book I've just finished would probably kick most guy's keisters all the way across the continent and back!
The book is about some amazing and very tough women who explored their world on ancient motorcycles way back in the 1910s - when you had to be tough and resourceful to be a rider. No pavement, no push button start, no computerized engine and fuel controls, no nothing, except a very rough ride down muddy trails.  But the women of whom I write had the right stuff - courage, brains, resourcefulness, spirit, and one more thing - man could they ride motorcycles!

The full name of the book is: Grace and Grit: Motorcycle Dispatches From Early Twentieth Century Women Adventurers (Grace & Grit for short)

You can check it out on its very own blog site:  http://graceandgritbymurphy.wordpress.com/

It will be on bookshelves across the nation in March. If you like American history, motorcycling, antique motorcycles, women motorcyclists, stories of daring, danger and conquest - you'll like this book.

I saw an ad for Samuel Adams Spring Beer on TV last evening. It brought a huge smile to my face because it must mean that spring is in the somewhat foreseeable future. Large commercial interests have full faith that spring will arrive eventually and are preparing for it. If it's good enough for Sam Adams it's good enough for me. I'm going to start thinking spring, planning rides, shopping for accessories and clothes at my local dealer, and take the cover off my bike and just sit on it for a few minutes. Hopefully my wife won't open the garage door at that moment and make me look foolish. I do that often enough as it is without even trying.
It's probably all that bad influence from the clowns to the left of me and jokers to the right.