The Journey

The world has changed over the years. And most don’t ever think about what it must have been like back in the days before cell phones and credit cards. Most can’t even imagine what it was like to travel without them. That’s what The Journey is all about! A motorcycle trip from Kentucky to Florida back before you had a cell phone to call for help if needed, or a pocket full of credit cards to help pay for it. A time when if it broke, you fixed it, or hoped for a not her rider to come by and help you fix it! A time when getting into a motel was almost impossible for a motorcycle rider, a time when you were not welcomed in most restaurants, and a time when police did not need a reason to stop you. The Journey is a story of a trip on a Harley Davidson motorcycle long before there were Harley shops in every town, and when even if you found one, chances of them helping you were not that good anyway. Today, Harley Davidson dealerships are a destination that every rider heads for, with their show rooms full of new Harley’s and a shop with several mechanic’s ready to repair any problem you might have out on the road. But back in the early 80’s, it just wasn’t that way. If you rode a Harley, and it broke, you fixed it yourself! The Journey is also about how we handled different situations that would happen when you were out on the road traveling. How years ago people would still help each other, and would go out of their way to give you a hand sometimes. And how meeting new friends out on the road would lead to a friendship that would l ast the rest of your life. Just like traveling today, luck plays a big part on any road trip. And the Journey is the story of a trip that luck played a big part in. Even with all the planning and going over your bike before a trip, things happen sometimes that you don’t plan on. And how you handle those times, is what makes a trip an adventure. I starting writing The Journey as a way to remember how it use to be, and a way for my kids to know what their dad went thru years ago. Something to remember me by long after I’m gone. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. I dedicate this story to the memory of all those friends who I met on the road who have passed a way over the years, and to those who are still with me. I’ve been n blessed all my life with more friends than I deserve. And to my wife, Sissy, who has stood by me for over 30 years. Without her, no ne of this would have been possible. Hooper