Motorcycles Outings©

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camping and motorcycles, fishing and motorcycles, hunting and motorcycles

Charlie Mihalik of the Yorkville Motorcycle Co., Ace dealer, New York and friends P. J. Bailey of the Ace Factory and Walter D. Batterson, Harley-Davidson dealer of Corning, N.Y. used their machines to get them to and from their fishing and hunting excursions.  They were reported as having, “returned from a week’s outing and hunting trip in the woods”, their conveyances consisting of three sidecar outfits, guns, ammo, camping equipment, clothing, and camera supplies.  Batterson and Fish were successful hunting partridges while Charlie set out for pelts coming back with three he planed to have made into a luxurious set of fur gauntlets for his winter riding.  “All three pelts came off the kind of little black Kitties that have white stripes down their faces, and when Charlie brought them in the rest of the bunch knew of his success long before they saw him”.  – “Motorcycle Illustrated”.  Nov. 30, 1922.

The following month Mahalik, Batterson, Ed Fish, and Bailey set off for their hunting lodge in their motorcycle side car rigs.  The side cars were packed with duffle-bags in which were packed hunting equipment, extra clothing, guns, boots, ammo, camera supplies and other gear.  The day before they set out, Fish and Batterson rode to Long Island for some duck hunting and on the way were struck by an automobile.  “The violence of the impact caused the motorcycle and sidecar to turn two complete somersaults, throwing both Batterson and Fish many feet from the machine and causing many painful bruises…”.  The car in question did not stop to see if the men were injured or offer any assistance.

They drove the motorcycle back to Yorkville and had the spokes of the sidecar wheel (the point of contact with the automobile) repaired and some dents straightened out and set off in search of deer.  The men were the guests of Sheriff Schoonover and for a week packed into every day “exercise and satisfaction”.  Mahalik bagged himself a deer after which he walked back to the lodge to get his motorcycle.  The deer was put into the sidecar and driven back to their lodgings, hung, skinned, and dressed.  “Motorcycle Illustrated”.  Dec. 1922.

The October 19, 1922 issue of the same magazine contained a photo of William S. Harley and William Davidson, you guessed it, as they returned from a fishing excursion.  “The two Bills left the factory after working hours and rode out twenty-five miles to a lake that has the reputation of being well fished out.  With a full moon in their favor, they got in about five hours of fishing and when they called it quits, had 39 pounds of pike and bass to their credit.  The big pike that shows so prominently in the pucture weighed 8 ¼ pounds”.

One can find numerous stories of camping excursions with motorcycles in the old magazines.  One in particular seems to have been a great trip for all.  A group of people, men and women, left with several riders and a sidecar outfit carrying pup tents, blankets, rubber blankets, mess kit and cups.  The author extolled the pleasures of supper by the campfire followed by breakfast of piles of bacon and hot coffee.  The accompanying photo showed a dozen or more people in their tents.

“Recreation”, May 1916, carried an article by W. H. Wallace of his camping excursions from his bike and a detailed list of what he carried with him.  His food, toilet articles, and camping equipment (tent, poncho, blankets, water bucket, wash basin, candle lantern, camp stove, rubber match box, fry pan, cooking pot, tin cup, tin plate, bread pan, knife and fork, tablespoon, dessert spoon, camp axe, trenching tool, canteen, sweater, change of underwear, cheesecloth, and a ball of cord) fit into cardboard carrying cases.  The pot, skillet, mess kit, etc. nested so tightly together that it took little space to pack and did not rattle while riding.

Outdoor excursions were so popular that in November that year the magazine advised dealers on how to successfully stage a seasonal window display.  The photo had a mock-up cabin in the background with a deer head and antlers hanging from the front, lots of tree branches to simulate the look of being in the woods, two hungers with rifles, and a motorcycle parked underneath some of the branches.  It was an ingenious sales tactic.

Scenic rides have been part of riding since the first bike fired up, some were just a little more out of the ordinary than others.  The Nov. 30, 1922 issue carried a photo and a caption on a trip made by a young woman.  “Mrs. Maud M. Randall, of Atlanta, Ga., recently drove her motorcycle and sidecar outfit from Atlanta to Providence, R. I., where she is a guest of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Albert A. Watson.  Mrs. Randall is an all-around sportswoman, an equestrienne of note, and the owner of several prize-winning dogs.  Two of them, valued at $1,000 each are taking a ride in the sidecar”. The magazine neither indicated she made the trip alone or accompanied by her husband.

© Vickie (Rumble) Brady, vrumblesramblingbikerblog.wordpress.com

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The Bicycle as a Dress Reformer ©

Often we don’t realize the depth of difference between our lives and those of our grandmothers and even more of us often don’t realize what situations brought about the changes that we take for granted today.  Dress is a prime example.

Dress reform began in earnest in the 1850’s with Amelia Bloomer’s efforts to abandon tight lacing or to abandon corsets altogether, and to encourage women to wear trousers underneath a knee-length version of the ankle-to-floor length dresses common at the time.  If you ever heard your grandmother refer to panties as bloomers her choice of wording was linked to Amelia Bloomer’s dress reform movement.

A few forward thinking women eagerly followed her example, and a few farm women realized the practicality of it while doing outdoor chores in nasty weather, but the number of trouser-wearing women remained miniscule for several decades.  The following article is insightful in that it credits riding in large part for the public’s acceptance of dress reform.

“It really begins to be debatable whether anything has happened to the human race since the first locomotive drew the first train of cars that will affect it so materially as the bicycle.  Consider its effect on women.  Within two years it has given to all American womankind the liberty of dress for which the reformers have been sighing for generations.  The dress reform movement never seemed to affect any considerable number of women, or to modify women’s clothes to any noticeable degree.  The bicycle has not put many women into trousers–nothing will do that in this country–but it has given all women practical liberty to wear trousers if they want to, and indeed, to get themselves into any sort of decent raiment which they find convenient for whatever enterprise they have in hand.”  – Source:  Brooklyn Eagle.  Quoted from Scribner’s.  June 17, 1896.

© Material from this website is the property of the author and may not be reproduced without permission.  Thank you.

CONVERSIONS OF EARLY BICYCLES AND MOTORCYCLES

This week I have a few historical tidbits to share.  There are a couple that explain early conversions and one on early female motorcyclists’ attire. 

Photo by Kim Richards, Alabama Motor Maids meet and greet and seafood lunch  in Hartselle, AL 6-9-12.  Martin and I had loads of fun!

The following is typical of the early attempts to entice women to ride.  All the moving parts on the bike were enclosed in a metal housing to make it safer for women to ride in the days prior to dress reform. Thank goodness I’m not expected to ride today wearing a long skirt. 

Although motorcycling is almost exclusively a sport or means of transportation for men in America, and young men at that, the makers of motorcycles for women are finding a ready sale in England.  The method of inclosing all movable parts on a woman’s motorcycle, so that there is no danger of the skirts being caught or spattered with oil, is shown in the accompanying illustration of a popular model.

This machine is of the light-weight type, and is driven by a 1 1/4 –hp motor, which is sufficient for ordinary requirements.  The heavier machines are, of course, difficult for a woman to handle.

The next tidbit is from an advertisement in the same issue.  It shows how regular bicycles were converted to motorcycles once the technology to motorize the vehicle was available.  Someone who had a bicycle, but wanted a motorcycle could modify it to suit their needs cheaper than outright purchasing a motorcycle.  Initially there wasn’t much difference in the look of the machine after the conversion because motorcycles purchased from dealers still looked very much like a modified bicycle frame.  Such kits are still available today and vendors claim the conversion can be made in an afternoon. 

MAKE A MOTORCYCLE OF YOUR BIKE at small cost, by using our Attachable Outfit.  It fits any bicycle.  Send for catalog.  Send 15 cents for “The Motorcycle Manual.”  It treats of motorcycles; how to get more power, etc.  SHAW MFG. CO., Dept. B. Galesburg, Kan.

Another early modification was adding a windscreen to a motorcycle.  While several sites indicate these came into existence between 1928 and 1940, Popular Mechanics published a piece much earlier, in 1911.  The illustration looks like a two-part window, with the top, smaller, section opening out similar to the opening of an antique interior transom window. 

Nearly all the important accessories of the automobile are being adapted on a smaller scale for use on the motorcycle, one of the latest being a windscreen.  It is suitable for fitting to the handle bars, is made in two pieces, and is adjustable.  A windscreen has not been a common sight on motor-cycles in the past, but as some means of protection for the face and upper part of the body is as necessary on such machines as on automobiles, the coming year will probably find many of them in use.

Source:  Popular Mechanics Feb. 1911. 

 

EVOLUTION OF THE MOTORCYCLE ©

The B. F. Goodrich Company published a book containing the history of the motorcycle and the motorcycle tire in 1918 which may make for a good read. That book is the source for this article, and it is listed below. 

German inventor, Daimler, was credited with designing and building the first motorcycle in 1886.  “Unlike his predecessors who had been working along the lines already laid down by steam engineers, Daimler’s invention was based on an internal combustion engine, a principle at that time almost entirely new.” 

The notion of a horseless carriage was eclipsed the desire for a two wheeled machine and Daimler’s patents and invention were purchased and applied to a four-wheel power vehicle.  “Thus the motorcycle was lost in the shuffle of automobile experimenting and we do not again hear of a two wheeled power vehicle until the French machines were introduced to us in 1898”.

The first American motorcycle was made by the Thomas Motor Co. of Buffalo, NY in 1900.  They attached a single cylinder gasoline engine to an ordinary bicycle and tweaked it until it reached, “a fair rate of speed”. 

Next, the Hendee Mfg. Co. of Springfield, Mass., introduced a machine in 1901 with an engine suspended in the lower part of a specially designed heavy frame.  Several others followed their lead in building similar machines, but the authors thought the Hendee machine was the, “real beginning of motorcycle development”.  [Hendee built and sold Indian motorcycles]

Improvements followed between 1902 and 1904 such as stronger frames, grip controls, and more comfortable saddles [seats].  The first twin cylinder engine was introduced in 1905 and the magneto ignition in 1908.  Improvements developed slowly and the author thought the reason was due to the lack of capital and credit by the manufacturers. 

In 1909, Hendee released a model with a direct transmission, band brakes, and a “new” heavy frame construction.  Prior to that time, “the motorcycle, like the bicycle, was constructed with its wheels bolted rigidly to the forks, and the rider, therefore, was dependent upon the cushioning properties of the tire, supplemented in a few cases by spring saddles for comfort in riding.”

Springs were invented and improved upon between 1901 and 1915 that continued to improve the comfort of the rider and increased the popularity of the motorcycle.  Kick starters, electric lights, and, “most of the attachments found on the automobile”, were adopted enabling riders to travel rapidly over country roads safely, conveniently, and comfortably.

“During this period of development”, sidecars were offered which accommodated a passenger, or enabled a rider to carry bundles and packages paving the way for the motorcycle’s use as a delivery vehicle. 

Quite naturally, considering the book was published at the request of the B. F. Goodrich Co., the author claimed the single most valuable feature in the evolution of the motorcycle was the pneumatic tire. 

In the early days motorcycles were equipped with common bicycle tires, but as the machines became heavier and faster they required a stronger tire that would carry the weight of the machine, the rider, and often a passenger.  Thus was born the B. F. Goodrich 2” in 1903, the 2 1/4” in 1904, and a two-ply tire of heavier fabric, heavier tread, and sidewalls in 1909.  By 1912, tires were available in 3”, “made identically like an automobile tire, except in shape and bead construction”. 

Rims were produced in a standard width for motorcycles in 1905, after the manufacturers met and agreed, “for safety’s sake”.  That’s a story in itself, though, and too lengthy to burden the reader with here. 

SOURCE:  Best in the Long Run What?  Goodrich Pneumatic Tires.  The Sales Training Dept. of the B. F. Goodrich Rubber Co.  1918.  Akron, Ohio.   

© Vrumblesramblingbikerblog.wordpress.com

The Nuts and Bolts of Motorcycle Safety & Awareness©

As riders, we often expect that others feel as passionately about riding and about riding safely as we do, however, that isn’t always the case.  There are measures riders could take to make their ride safer and there are measures government agencies could put into play to make the streets safer for motorcyclists.  So then, why doesn’t this happen?

For the most part, the people who work for state or federal agencies charged with creating and implementing public safety campaigns, that collect, use, and distribute statistics on accidents and fatalities involving motorcycles, and legislators who attempt to regulate riding through laws do not ride.  It is impossible for someone who does not get on a motorcycle and ride it regularly under various conditions – including but not limited to distance traveled, city vs. rural roads, variation in the time of day ridden, and a daily commute vs. recreational (long distance) riding – to have any clue how important motorcycle safety and awareness is.

In short, until you get on a bike and ride it you cannot adequately represent riders or institute measures for their protection. 

Statistics on motorcycle accidents and fatalities are lumped into long reports with every type of vehicle that is permitted to travel on the public roadways – including dump trucks, tractors, etc.  To collect data on motorcycles from those reports requires sitting down and wading through huge amounts of data to extract a very small amount of data. 

State government has received a mandate to educate the public on the presence of motorcycles because motorcycle-related fatalities continue to rise while automobile deaths decline.  Government employees charged with making the motoring public aware of motorcycles readily admit that motorcycles and motorcycle safety is but a very small part of their jobs.  I’m sure they’re model employees, but with a broad range of traffic issues to work with and no personal interest in riding can I expect them to have the same passion for safety and awareness I do? 

How effective a state’s “Share the Road” or “Watch for Motorcycles” campaign is depends on how effectively it is designed and implemented.  If a campaign is targeted to reach motorists throughout the month of May to coincide with Motorcycle Safety and Awareness month, but it doesn’t air until mid-month, has it been aggressively pursued in order to be as effective as possible, or has it met requirements for funding with the least acceptable effort? 

What does all this suggest?  It tells me that the person ultimately responsible for making my ride safer is me.

If we can’t expect the agencies to protect us, where do we stand as riders? 

We can write articles and plan events to educate on sharing the road with motorcycles, but unless law-makers enforce traffic laws and ticket those who violate a rider’s right of way, who drink and get behind the wheel of an automobile, who text and drive, chat on the phone, eat their lunch, or a hundred other things that take their attention away from their driving, all the publicity in the world is not going to reduce the number of motorcycle accidents and fatalities.

We can promote the use of proper safety gear but every day I see riders in shorts, flip flops, deck shoes, etc., unconcerned with the dangers they are exposing themselves and their passengers to. 

We can lecture on the dangers of riding under the influence of drugs or alcohol, yet the percentage of motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes who have a blood alcohol level of 0.8 or higher hovers at about 29%.  I’ve been unable to show any improvement in the percentage over the last three years.  Even some groups concerned with safety hold meetings in bars.    

Rider training is important for new and returning riders, but how many riders support the implementation of laws requiring mandatory rider training?  Shouldn’t we look at the matter objectively and how it affects all riders?  Who stands to benefit the most if such a law is passed?  Is a rider coach working for an independent organization while lobbying, individually or through a group, for mandatory rider training a conflict of interest?  Will implementing mandatory rider training laws be any better received by the riding masses than the current helmet laws?

We’ve seen that as riders we must take an active role in our safety, yet when an opportunity is presented to turn out en masse to show support of motorcycle safety and awareness, we choose not to participate for one reason or another.  Are we helping or hurting ourselves in refusing to participate because we disagree with a single issue instead of looking at the big picture and turning out in numbers great enough to reach from the beginning to the end of the proposed route and shouting that we’re tired of being taken for granted?   

I couldn’t find a single rider willing to take part in a tri-state safety event because participating meant having to wear a helmet.  Heaven forbid.  Let’s sit home and complain because nothing gets accomplished.  I’m sure that’ll get more attention than a line of bikes stretching for miles along the freeway and riders having an opportunity to speak with reporters about what it’s like to ride with all the dangers and challenges we encounter on the highways. 

Ride safe and enjoy the road.  Vrumblesramblingbikerblog.  Material from this blog is copyrighted and may not be republished without consent from the author.

Lady Passengers After the Turn of the Century

One of the sights of Broadway on Sunday mornings at this time of the year is the regular parade of motorcycles that speeds down it along about 11 o’clock.  There are anywhere from ten to thirty of these machines strung along in a ragged procession, and the distinguishing thing about the parade is the number of women who take part in the sport, not as workers but as passengers.  Evidently motorcyclists believe in having their wives or sweethearts share the game with them, and some of the machines are constructed with that point in view.  One particularly smart one is of a tricycle pattern with a special seat for the woman passenger made of brown wickerwork and as smart in appearance as the girl who rides in it.  Another of these tricycles has a passenger seat much like an English perambulator while the sportiest one of all has nothing more than an extra bicycle saddle perched over the rear wheel, on which a woman in a brown divided skirt and dusty leggings sits.  So far as appearances go women will most likely take to motorcycling when they can ride in the comfortable looking tricycle style.  Motorcycle Illustrated.  Vol. 3.  Aug. 1908.

MINIMUM AGE FOR MOTORCYCLE PASSENGERS©

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minimum age for motorcycle passenger

I was recently contacted by a mother asking what the minimum legal age is for a passenger on a motorcycle.  She was concerned because her child’s father was carrying her three year old as a passenger and she felt it was unsafe and dangerous.  She did not give any specifics as to their marital status, custody of the child, state of residence, etc. so in order to address her concerns, and those of anyone else who may be interested, I will address her question on a state by state basis.

Laws vary by state and I found it difficult to reach anyone who could provide an answer to this question in Alabama.  I did find out that the person who can provide this type of information in Alabama is the Chief Examiner for Drivers Licensure, currently Capt. Rush.  His office number is 334-353-1974. 

In some states, information can be obtained from the DMV, however, please note that there is a completely UNOFFICIAL website on the internet that is titled “DMV.org”.  One would assume from the name, it is the official site of the Department of Motor Vehicles, so when searching for answers to important questions make certain you are speaking with an authorized agent with access to the latest revisions of the laws. 

Some states that have no legal minimum age for a passenger, do at least stipulate that the child must be able to reach the foot pegs on the motorcycle.  IF you live in a state with helmet laws, the passenger, regardless of age, must wear a properly fitting helmet.  For very young children it may be difficult to find a properly fitting helmet, but the matter would certainly be open to conjecture as to how a judge would rule on whether or not it did fit properly.

While the laws usually prohibit carrying a passenger without the motorcycle being outfitted with a passenger seat and passenger footrests, there may or may not be an easily found specific notation that the passenger has to be able to reach the footrests.  Check the wording of the current law in your particular state for a proper understanding of how it reads. 

The following information is taken from the AMA (American Motorcycle Assoc.) website, and to obtain it, I searched each state individually.  When possible, I compared the information to what I could find posted by the appropriate office within that state.  If you find yourself in need of legal assistance, I urge you to verify the information as it can change at any time depending on the passage of legislation within in any state.  Laws can be interpreted differently based on circumstance, or reliability of the source quoting them, so for specifics in regard to this and other questions, consult a qualified attorney in your state of residence for current applicable laws.  Helmet laws are given here only as they may have a bearing on the legal minimum age of a passenger.  Vrumblesramblingbikerblog.  Dated:  May, 2012.

ALABAMA:  There is NO restriction on the minimum age for a motorcycle passenger.  A rider who carries a passenger is required to have a passenger seat and footrest, and both rider and passenger are required to wear a helmet.

ALASKA:  No minimum age for a passenger.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets are required for operators under age 18, and for all passengers regardless of age.

ARIZONA:  No minimum age for a passenger.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets are required for all operators and passengers under age 18.

ARKANSAS:  Persons under age 8 are prohibited from riding as a passenger on a motorcycle.  Passenger seat and foot rest are required.  Riders and passengers under the age of 21 are required to wear a helmet.

CALIFORNIA:  No minimum age for a passenger.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets are required, see California Vehicle Code Section 27803.

COLORADO:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Riders and passengers under the age of 18 are required to wear a helmet.

CONNECTICUT:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet is required under age 18. 

DELAWARE:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Riders and passengers must have an approved helmet in their possession.  Riders up to 19 must wear helmets. 

FLORIDA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required. Helmets are not required for riders over 21 providing they carry a minimum of $10,000. In medical insurance.

GEORGIA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required. Helmets are required.

HAWAII:  Minimum legal age for passengers is 7.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets required under age 18.

IDAHO:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets required under age 18.

ILLINOIS:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  No helmet requirements.

INDIANA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets required under age 18.

IOWA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets not required.

KANSAS:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required under age 18.

KENTUCKY:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required for novice riders, under the age of 21, and instructional permit holders.

LOUISIANA:  Minimum age for passengers is 5.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets are required.

MAINE:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets required under 18, operating with a learner’s permit, operating less than one year with license/endorsement; passenger is subject to the same restrictions as the operator.

MARYLAND:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets required.

MASSACHUSETTS:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets required for riders and passengers, including passengers in sidecars.

MICHIGAN:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  The site states helmets are required, however, this is a good example of how laws can change, and why riders should stay current on their status.  Michigan recently reversed this decision.  Consult Michigan law for exact stipulations.

MINNESOTA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets required under age 18 and for instructional permit holders.

MISSISSIPPI:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required by law.

MISSOURI:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

MONTANA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmets required under age 18.

NEBRASKA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

NEVADA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

NEW HAMPSHIRE:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required under 18.

NEW JERSEY:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet with reflectorization required.

NEW MEXICO:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet with reflectorization required.

NEW YORK:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

NORTH CAROLINA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

NORTH DAKOTA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet with reflectorization required.

OHIO:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required for novice riders, under age 18, and passengers are subject to the same requirements as the riders.

OKLAHOMA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required under 18.

OREGON:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

PENNSYLVANIA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet optional 21 or older if licensed not less than 2 full calendar years or has completed an approved motorcycle rider safety course.  Passengers exempt if 21 or older.

RHODE ISLAND:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required under 21 and novice riders, required for passengers.

SOUTH CAROLINA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet with reflectorization required under 21.

SOUTH DAKOTA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required under 18.

TENNESSEE:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

TEXAS:  Minimum age for passengers 5, unless seated in a sidecar attached to the motorcycle.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required under 21.  Over 21, must show proof of successful completion of rider training or hold medical insurance covering injuries resulting from an accident while on the motorcycle.

UTAH:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required under 18.

VERMONT:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet with reflectorization required.

VIRGINIA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

WASHINGTON:  Minimum age for passengers 5.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

EST VIRGINIA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet with reflectorization required.

WISCONSIN:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required under 18 and for instructional permit holders.

WYOMING:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required under 18.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

PUERTO RICO:  No minimum age for passengers.  Passenger seat and footrest are required.  Helmet required.

In Memory of Paul Brady, born Feb. 21, 1957, departed this life April 21, 2012.

From all accounts, Dixie ABATE’s Ride to the Capitol on April 28^th, 2012, in support of motorcycle safety and motorists’ awareness of motorcycles on Alabama’s highways and by-ways, was a huge success.  I’m thankful.  After having worked so hard on it, if it hadn’t been, I’m not sure how well I’d have handled it. 

It was hard for us to work so hard on planning an event, spend money out of our pocket to promote it, and then miss it, but in our list of priorities, family comes first, and we were able to be with ours during a time of great loss.  No regrets, we were where we needed to be. 

Martin’s brother, Paul, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, so we were in Pennsylvania for a week, missing the ride, but still calling in reminders to speakers and press, passing on information and updates to Matthew as it was reported to me on the morning of the ride, and supporting it to the end from 16 hours away. 

The message about safety and awareness got good press coverage and hopefully lives are richer for it.  My life is also richer for having an opportunity to be a part of this wonderful family. 

My fondest memories of Paul center on our ride up to Pennsylvania last July.  We were meeting him for breakfast, and as we pulled up and parked, I noticed an antique store across the road.  We were a few minutes early, so I hastily got out of my gear and walked over to check out the treasures in the shop window.  When we saw Paul, we walked back to the diner where we were met by their brother, Mike, and had a wonderful visit and a great breakfast.

As we ate, it began to rain, pretty heavily in fact, and so we sat for quite a while drinking coffee and visiting waiting for the rain to stop.  When we walked out to leave, I saw that in my haste to get to the antique store, I’d left my helmet, upside down, on the seat of my bike – during the rainstorm. 

I stood there looking at that helmet and wondering how I could have been such an idiot while Paul and Martin looked on without saying a word.  Finally, trying to keep a straight face, Paul, said, “If you turn it up the other way, the water runs off”.  That did it.  We lost it.  We’re standing there laughing our heads off as I poured a pint or so of water out of my helmet and plopped it on my head.

That evening, as we got ready to meet the family for dinner I told Martin that his brothers, most of whom are seasoned riders, would think I was a real idiot when they heard what I did.  He said he didn’t see how they’d know, to which I told him, “They’ll know”.  I knew we’d never make it through dinner without Paul sharing the story of my mishap.  Sure enough, we barely got sat down at the diner before Paul goes, “Do you know what she did?”  We lost it again. 

That is how I’m going to remember Paul Brady – laughing with me, and not at me, and making me, an only child, feel like part of his great big family.  I’m a better person for having known him, and I’ll never forget the camaraderie we shared that day.  He wasn’t with us in body for the meals and reminiscing this trip, but he was certainly there in spirit as we all celebrated the life and memory of Paul Brady.

Female Riding Attire in the Early 20th Century. ©

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women's riding apparel

Ironically, I found this material while researching the topic “politics in riding” in the early 20^th century, and found it to be a better article on female riding attire than the politics that plague the hobby (and every hobby).  I’ll get to the politics of it in a later post.  First, I’ll give a little background on what I’m about to present in this one. [Due to length this will have to be divided into multiple posts – please read them in order for better clarity]

In July, 1919, a man calling himself “Grandpa Grundy” sent a letter to a motorcycling magazine criticizing the way female riders dressed which set off a firestorm of responses from both the female riders themselves, a dealership owner, and from others who just wanted to add their two-cents worth to the on-going conversation.  Sound familiar?  I’ll start by summarizing the criticisms made by “Grandpa”, although the reader will see that “Friend Wife” seems to have been the catalyst behind his explosive comments. 

And can you see women of—well, never mind the ages, but real, honest-to-goodness, grown-up women, dressed in quiet efficient styles of becoming modesty and simplicity, DRIVING motorcycles?  Well, they do in England.  In American motorcycle circles you sometimes see a girl, a young girl, driver, but her costume is always a crime against man’s piece of mind and looks like a cross between bathing trunks and a movie poster of “Hetty Hoot, the Cow-Girl of Bloody Gulch”.  Long John’s “stripped stock” hussies out there on the sands of California are modestly gowned beside them.

Often you see a girl on a motorcycle wearing an ordinary skirt and white stockin’s and when she rides its tandem.  With her arms wrapped lovingly around her man person’s tummy and her skirt up to her knees—or above—and her feet dangling in the vicinity of the muffler, all the observer’s much-over worked eyes register are two white legs.  Either his artistic sense is horrified or his modesty is shocked, sometimes both—and the sport gets another black eye.

                                                     1920 fashions

Didja ever ride behind one of these outfits at night with your headlights or spotlight in good working order?  Oh, Boy, how those white pins do stand out (stand out is right) in relief!

Honest, now, doesn’t that sort of stuff look cheap?  Sure, from some view-points its funny for a minute, and it appeals to some folks; so does Charlie Chaplin’s cheap slapstick stuff.  Let’s hope this sort of riding won’t last any longer than Charlie’s humor has in the movies.  Don’t let any of us do anything to cheapen the motorcycle game.  A girl riding tandem is O.K., but let’s have her dressed properly for it.  A modest and full divided skirt answers the problem easily.  But a girl or a woman who’ll ride behind clad in an ordinary skirt that creeps up to her waist or riding pants and a tight fitting jersey has no respect for herself or her sex.  Keep these girls off, fellows.

                                                  Edwardian split skirt

Of course, the sidecar girl hasn’t such a problem to solve.  She’s got to have something durable, strong, that will stand rain and dust, but there’s no necessity for even a divided skirt. 

I don’t think there’s any question but what the above described lady riders injure the motorcycle sport.  They look like hoydens (that’s what Friend Wife calls them) and usually they act like it and we’ve got enough troubles with the open muffler goofs without having the girls dress noisy too.

I was present at the Weirs Gypsy Tour this year and I got a distinct jolt when some of the girls unloaded.  They wore brother’s army breeches and canvas and spiral leggings [WWI] for a starter and either tight-fitting jerseys or these clinging form-fitting knitted sweaters.  There were a number of these, and I didn’t see but one divided skirt in the whole crowd up there.

But I got another and more distinct wallop between the eyes when it dawned on me several hours later that these said girls had brought no further wardrobe and intended to amble around the works for the rest of the time in those man-teasing outfits.  But they did that and more.  They sprawled out on the ground along by the hill climb and they had wrestling matches on the hotel piazza with their “gentlemen frens.”  But to top it off they actually got out on the dance floor and SHIMMIED with their partners in those outfits!

Wow!  ‘Twas turrible!  Sure, every window along the dance hall was a writhing wrangle of chaps trying to get an eyeful.  They were standing all over each other.  And they nearly had to call out the militia to protect the girls from the mob that wanted a dan—wrestling match.  There was a waiting list a mile long when the orchestra gave up exhausted at midnight.

Why Friend Wife Beat It.  It’s all wrong, Lorenzo, all wrong.  They otta been spanked and sent home to dress.  You couldn’t drag a hotel guest (there were a few regular guests there, too) into that dance hall with a team of motorcycles and a steam roller.  They scuttled for their rooms and hid their heads under a pillow.  Friend Wife, who had never been to a motorcyclists’ outing before, was aghast at the temerity of the sirens and wanted to go home; she didn’t want to be identified with any such gang.  She allowed she was a decent, self-respecting lady person, but her khaki suit (WITH SKIRT) and sunburn marked her as one of the motorcycling crowd and she wanted to dash away from that point as fast as the old Injun could turn a wheel.  But there were a few ladies there, dressed in the habiliments of civilization and horror and shocked modesty drew them together right from the first.  Friend Wife mixed with them and we stayed.

But let me tell you, when a motorcycle outing features such disgraceful outfits and antics that a chap’s wife hankers to be away from there in a hurry—there’s something decidedly wrong with our version of the sport.  I’ve been a rider off and on for eight years and to my mind, it gets worse all the time in this respect.

Dog-nosin’ the Trouble.  The trouble?  Well, it’s hard to say.  Possibly it lies chiefly in Americanism as she is today.  But I reckon what we need most is a little balance, some of the older men and their wives riding to give the sport its proper dignity.  In England we find the great majority of the riders composed of older men of high standing in their communities and in business.  They are the stable, dependable, steady men that make the wheels of business, professional and social works go round.

Over here we find the most of the riders are from 18 years up, and not very far up at that before they desert the game and buy automobiles.  And in youth the blood runs red and hot and they run their motorcycles the same way.  Nothing less than 75 mph in machine and girls interests them a whit…

Grandpa went on to say what was needed to change the dynamics of riding was lighter weight machines older men could ride without, “breaking his back, arms and legs”.  Next he wanted to oust the open-muffler guys so the sport would survive.  Sound familiar again? 

They were there in force.  Nobody objected to open mufflers on the hill during the climb, but some of those rats just opened their mufflers and paraded back and forth in front of the hotel at speeds averaging anywhere from 50 to 90 mph.  The place was an inferno of noise.  These birds were just showing off.  They had no excuse for doing it; there was no reason in the world why they should make life miserable for the folks who wanted to cross the road, or needed a little rest after the long grind.  Their object in life was to make as much noise as possible so as to attract attention of anyone that might look.  Everybody looked and if looks were dangerous the O. M. G.’s would have passed out of this world faster than they ever rode in it, with mufflers closed.

Grandpa went on a few more paragraphs telling the world how to get older men involved in riding and the various dances and other activities associated with it.  Now, let’s have a brief look at some of the responses his letter got.

The girls who were at the Gypsy Tour in Boston of which he spoke, naturally took exception to his description of them, and the following rebuttal, written by a motorcycle dealership owner, followed in the next issue. 

To begin with, we believe the least he could do when writing such an article is to do his writing under his own name instead of his suggestive nom de plume.  Is he ashamed of his grossly exaggerated statements, or is he just a motorcycle knocker camouflaged to give the impression that he is trying to do the sport some good?  Is his article not a greater knock to motorcycling (both sport and the publication) than the much despised Grandpa Grundy’s Open Muffler Goof?  The respectful and sedate riders of Boston though thoroughly against lynching, believe Grandpa Grundy is more deserving of such treatment than is any O. M. G.  Such articles as his certainly do not improve American motorcycling.  On the contrary they give it a black eye and tend to keep respectable parents from allowing their sons and daughters to ride this machination developed by the devil.

Is it as bad for a girl to ride a motorcycle with “brother’s breeches” and spiral leggings, as it is for “friend wife” (not personal) to go bathing in one of these modern one-piece bathing suits?  Are the costumes worn by Boston lady participants in the recent Gypsy Tour to the Weirs any worse than the riding habits worn by so-called respectable society when riding horse-back?  Is it any worse for sister in brother’s breeches to shimmy at a hotel used exclusively for the Gypsy Tourists (Grandpa Grundy’s statement to the contrary notwithstanding) than it is for semi-naked bathers to go through the same antics on the beaches of our many watering places?

G. G. must have imbibed too freely of the present unlawful [era of prohibition] beverages before writing his article, or he may have been the one that smuggled some of the same into dry New Hampshire on The Tour…his article was untrue in many instances…There were five hundred riders on the tour.  Over one-third of these were women.  Less than twenty-five wore “brother’s breeches”, and half of these changed to women’s apparel upon their arrival at the Weirs.  His statements of wrestling matches on the piazza were mere fabrications, nor was there any truth in his statement that they “sprawled out on the ground by the hill climb”.  Yes, they shimmied.  But what of it?  The customs of today are quite different than they were when G. G. was young…regarding the near necessity of calling out the militia, and the mile long waiting list when the orchestra gave up exhausted are both fabrications of his ever evil-seeing eye…

Hotel Weirs throws open its doors for the first time during the year when the Boston Gypsy Tourists arrive.  There are no other guests at the hotel, and a very, very few inhabitants in the village.  In other words, the village and the hotel belong to the motorcyclists during their three days’ stay.  The red-blooded rider has a chance to open his muffler cut-out, also his throttle.  He has behaved himself for the previous year.  Can you blame him for opening up a bit when he has such an opportunity, especially when his actions are sanctioned by the local police and he is given the right-of-way over every other moving object in the village?…Let’s boost or shut-up.  [signed] Ben C. Straube, General Motorcycle Sales Co., Boston.

Someone else’s “Friend Wife” chimed in on proper clothing for female riders…”A nice riding suit with the proper breeches, leather puttees and a long coat, such as girls wear for horseback riding seems to me to be the ideal outfit for the girls who drive motorcycles (while they are driving).  They shouldn’t be worn around picnic grounds or to dances.  Girls, my advice is to stick to the divided skirt until we can educate all the girls up to the fact that motorcycle riding habits should not be worn to dances”…Let’s ask our…councils to pass an ordinance prohibiting girls from riding tandem unless they wear divided skirts…they stopped them from riding on the tanks and they can stop them from riding tandem, unless they are properly dressed”…

“R. G.” chimed in that in his part of the country, “we have not been so sorely afflicted by the ‘flappers in pants’ whose didoes on the coast are so graphically described by ‘Grundy’”. 

The girls in question then raised their hackles at Grundy’s criticism.

…did you ever try to ride a motorcycle in a divided skirt?…did you try to walk in one?…how do you know anything about them?  I have done both for seven years for the very reason I did not care to be talked about or laughed at.

Now, as to the divided skirt, when it comes to comfort there is no such thing.  Convenience is forgotten and cleanliness takes wings.  I ride, not on the tandem or in a sidecar, but on the saddle and I ride.  I do not run around town or stick to the boulevards but get right out in the dust and dirt and ride.  I’ve had several divided skirts, all of different materials, oen or two trips and one is compelled to wash the clumsy, awkward thing [remember – automatic washers and dryers are not standard yet] If you really ride you get dirty, all words to the contrary being utterly false.  No one desires or tries harder to look neat and clean on a machine than I do and with a divided skirt it’s an impossibility.  It’s either switching around your ankles so you cannot walk or flapping against the machine, picking up grease and dirt.  Wherever there is a motor, I care not who owns it or how careful they may be, the real rider gets grease and dust…This is my first year to try trousers and they are the finest thing I have found in which I can be absolutely comfortable when riding.  They do not gather grease and dirt from the machine.  Of course, there is nothing pretty or ladylike in running around in the trousers when off the machine, nor is it at all necessary, for by having a skirt opening all the way down it is a very simple matter to slip it around you and button it up, and there you are…Now you respectable lady riders back me up…shall we let Old Lady Finicky and more of their kind make us load ourselves with divided skirts or shall we be free to choose as comfortable, clean, and convenient a costume as the men riders?  After just completing a 500-mile trip wearing trousers I know whereof I speak.  I am going to the coast this month wearing trousers so Eee Bee and Grandpa Grundy you better buy some smoked glasses or you will sure get some shock.  – A real Rider.

Father Pierce then noted some of the girls wore riding breeches and a coat of some sort (leather, if their folks have the coin, otherwise, if not) and spiral leggings and, “I’ll be darned if I can see anything to take exception to…there is much to approve.  They look neat and far more in place than a divided skirt that has picked up a lot of dirt and grease along the way, from flapping against rear wheel, mud, and chain guards…it is merely a matter of getting used to a thing.  The first man to wear ‘long pants’ was accused of having skinny legs, and nowadays if a fellow went down the street dressed like George Washington et a., ye Gods, what a riot there would be…five years from now if a girl climbs from the tandem seat of one of the many makes of four-cylinder motorcycles of that day dressed in the manner to get Grandpa Grundy all het up she’ll excite no comment, but if she’s dressed in divided skirts et al, everybody will look at her and giggle”. 

 

Motorcycle Awareness – an Example of its Importance

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underrun bars

Have you ever been involved in a situation and later realized that only by the intervention of a Divine Power are you alive and able to tell the tale?  I once managed to pull into a gas station, run inside and huddle with a dozen or so people on the floor in the bathroom as three tornadoes were converging on the spot where the station sat. 

It was a very sobering experience.  As one woman called and left voice mail messages for her children telling them how much she loved them thinking she would not leave that bathroom alive, I ran back to my car and tore out of there.  I had been dodging multiple tornadoes all day trying to get home from Virginia, and right or wrong, as I listened to that woman’s conversation I decided I might die that day but it was not going to be on the dirty bathroom floor of a gas station. 

As I left Jackson, TN, zig-zagging my way, left then right, onto whatever streets were not littered with debris, I looked over at the beautiful historic church I’d admired so many times, and I could see a dark surface with a cross shape that looked like clouds. 

It took a minute to realize that what I was seeing was an open door, hanging ajar behind the gaping hole that used to be the beautiful front door to the church.  The interior door, hanging at that weird angle, had a glass window in it shaped like a cross, and the reason it looked like clouds was because there was nothing but the front wall and a little bit of the front corner of the church still standing.  All of the interior and the exterior back and side walls were scattered all over West Tennessee. 

Perhaps because I remember how it feels to wonder if your next breath may be your last, I stand in awe of Reuben Carrill, Jr. who endured injuries most people cannot imagine, and selflessly uses the accident to try and help others.  I won’t tell you Reuben’s story.  I’ll let Reuben tell you in his own words.  Once you read it, give some serious thought to the safety equipment he says would have prevented his injuries and make an effort to share his story so that with enough support this safety feature might someday be used on every 18-wheeler in the U.S. 

Reuben couldn’t have prevented the initial accident, but the damage from the second part of his accident could have been prevented if the truck had been equipped with underrun bars.  Sometimes the solution to a big problem is simple and inexpensive and when confronted with the need for it, I wonder why this wasn’t done years ago.  Such is the case with underrun bars.  Now, watch the video, then click the bar to your left and read about the simple device that would have prevented so much pain and suffering.  When you finish, drop Reuben a line and tell him how much you appreciate what he’s done for motorcycle awareness.  Ride safe.

http://www.motoridersafety.org/page1.php