BigLefti's Adventures
rides, roads & good company — 2007 & beyond

A memoir in chapters

Tales from the Road

Some stories don't fit in a photo caption. These are those stories — the ones from before the blog, before the GPS, before anyone thought to write any of it down.

Chapter 1

The Night I Went to Church

Nineteen years old, a 57 Pan Head chopper, thirteen outstanding tickets, and a church parking lot at midnight. Also: two LA County Sheriffs who just wanted to sit on the bike.

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Chapter 2

The Midnight Tow

Towing a broken-down friend's chopper home by rope at 65 mph, in the dark, with no speedometer to prove otherwise.

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Chapter 3

Restoring Faith in Today’s Youth 1969

Returning a lost bank bag full of cash and checks -- and getting talked into accepting a reward anyway.

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Chapter 4

The Hawk & Rabbit

A hawk with a rabbit in its talons very nearly caused a highway pileup -- and taught him just how fast a brain can work.

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Chapter 5

Crazy Man

Scraping hard parts through a curve on a Gold Wing, chasing a Kawasaki ZX-1400 that outran him easily.

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Chapter 6

The Hogwire Fence

A brand-new $36,500 Gold Wing, a roll of fencing wire under the bike at speed, and a $9,800 insurance claim.

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Chapter 7

Just a small patch of oil

Sliding thirty yards down the freeway after hitting an oil spill mid-lean -- the crash that kicked off the whole chopper project.

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Chapter 8

The day I used my bil’s name to get out of an equipment violation.

Illegal headlights, a chrome Nazi helmet, and a brother-in-law who happened to be CHP.

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Chapter 9

Front wheel lockup at 65 mph.

A custom-built front wheel that seized mid-ride -- and the machine shop lesson that came out of fixing it.

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Chapter 10

Rear ending a car and taking off his license plate.

No front brake, an oil slick, and a very understanding stranger.

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Chapter 11

Mowing my big toe, or how to buy a triumph

A lawnmower accident, a hypodermic needle through the toe, and a 1964 Triumph Bonneville bought anyway.

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Chapter 12

Visiting some 1%’s at Calico Ghost Town

Two strangers from a biker club messing with the carburetors -- and the quiet satisfaction of resetting them first.

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Chapter 13

The chick magnet.

Getting asked for a ride by a girl at a stoplight -- and doing absolutely nothing about it.

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Chapter 14

Being cool at the post office.

Looking sharp on the way in. Walking straight into a plate-glass window on the way out.

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Chapter 15

Surprise visit to Ed

Talking his way past a receptionist and into an old family friend's office as a fake Hell's Angel.

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Chapter 16

The night I almost slept with the bears or the truck ride that scared me to death.

A bike breakdown on a dark mountain pass, and a first-ever, terrifying ride in an eighteen-wheeler's cab.

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Chapter 17

The night I dropped a girl off a little early. Charleah Gay

A tipped-over chopper at a red light, a watchful sheriff, and a getaway that was never actually a getaway.

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Chapter 18

In a Family Way or the beginning of Middle Age

Marriage, kids, trail bikes, divorce, and the slow return to real motorcycles again.

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