Dennis Gage and son, Sam, relax a bit during the second day of
their Trippin’ on Two Wheels 1000-mile ride to Florida.
More from our man Neale Bayly, who’s traveling from Evansville, Indiana, to St. Augustine, Florida, with Dennis Gage and Dennis’ son, Sam, for the 10th Annual Riding Into History classic motorcycle show. The trip will form the sixth episode of Gage’s award winning show, Trippin’ on Two Wheels, airing on SPEED TV. Neale writes:
“Day two started with the threat of rain. Dennis was up at 3a.m. reading his Clymer manual, as you do, and by 5a.m had figured out how to fix his leaking fork leg. It actually didn’t take him two hours, he was taking a bit of a lie in first. Then wielding his trusty tool kit he fixed it, and we found him standing on a small rocky outcrop above the mill in his BMW tightie whities beating his chest with a 13mm spanner and shouting, ‘I am Gunther junior’ – whatever that means. Fabulous brekkie, cooked in front of us, and we saddled up for the off. If you get my drift. Dennis and Sam actually spent so long scratching around, all on time-lapse video, BTW, that is did start raining. Nothing to worry about though, as five minutes down the road it quit.
Sam (left) and Dennis pose for Neale as they check out the Appalachian Mountains.
Has anyone else noticed these guys don’t have any saddle bags?
“Long day today.A real Trippin’ special where Dennis was on point and hammering. He must have got his blue pill mixed with the greens and the reds this morning as yesterday’s calm was somewhat gone. The smile wasn’t, and we rode hard today. Making 280 miles on two lane roads crossing the Appalachian Mountains was an event on three vintage bikes, but it was a hoot. We about road raced at times, and it made for a lot of fun. Sam [1973 BMW R75/5] has the complete package. Handling, braking and power. Dennis [1969 BMW R69S] is down on power but has nimble handling and a lifetime of cunning, and I [1968 Moto Guzzi V7] have the track experience so can hustle the Old Mother Goose along with the boys. She takes some riding though, as the old gear box doesn’t like hurried down shifts; she wobbles like an overloaded tea trolley on a cobble street over 65mph and it gets confusing trying to back shift and brake with the wrong foot into corners … so as usual life is but a dream.
Lonely bridge, somewhere in
the middle of nowhere.
“Wowing people at gas stations and restaurants, or evoking their sympathy more to the point, as they learn we are riding these old beasts to Florida. Making friends and influencing people not to go into the motorcycle TV business, we are in the groove and of course groovy. Two days down, and two to go, so keep your fingers crossed, your daughters locked up and your moustaches curled as the boys blast off across the Georgia Mountains bound for Savannah on day three of Trippin back in time.”
N
