LoneStarBiker \u2014 Texas Independence Trail
Pages 32-33<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The largest percentage of people who own motorcycles – especially Harley's – have come into the sport later in life. And there are some good reasons for this, maybe they rode when they were younger but then had the responsibilities of raising a family, or were getting a career started, or maybe they just didn't have the time or the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that the kids are raised, the career is on track and they have more disposable income they have come into, or back into, motorcycle riding. That group represents a lot of us who call ourselves "bikers".<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then there are those among us who have been hard-core, died-in-the-wool bikers since the first time they got on some friends 50cc scoot and rode around the yard. Our featured biker this month is exactly that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To paraphrase a popular C&W song;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He took a lot of hassle,
'Cause He never did fit in.
Now look at everybody tryin\u2019 to be what he
was then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was a biker when bikers were not cool
Yeah, He was a biker, from his hat down to
his boots.
He still acts and looks the same:
What you see ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 new.
He was a biker when bikers were not cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The accent is a mix of South and North and almost unidentifiable if not for a few of the tell-tale signature words, and the loss of an "r" here and there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a Yankee, Harry ain't too bad. For a biker, Harry A. Smith is at the top of the stack. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Harry lived in one of the U.S. cities with the highest annual snowfall amounts, there he found the weather could put a serious crimp in the riding plans of even the most dedicated biker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the late seventies the economy in Houston was booming and the job situation in Buffalo was getting more and more dismal. So, doing what thousands of northerners did in the 70's and 80's, Harry moved his wife and kids to Houston. In the ensuing 25 years Harry has become a successful business man, raised his children, been tolerated by his wife, made many friends all the while managing to continue to ride his motorcycle on many long trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harry is quick to let you know that he married above his station in life and that may account for his endeavor to stay with the woman he has shared his life with for 42 years. She is the main reason he is no longer a member of any motorcycle club. In New York he wore colors but at his wife's request, once in Houston, he has remained an independent and he wouldn't have it any other way. Sunday night is reserved for his wife. Without fail Harry leaves whatever Sunday afternoon biker social gathering he may be attending to take his wife to a nice Sunday Supper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a young man in upstate New York – the Buffalo area – he was active in the motorcycle community and did his fair share of partying and hell-raising. But most of all he loved to ride. In those days of smaller, lighter, less comfortable bikes, he didn't always own a top-of-the-line dresser, taking a long road trip could be brutal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brutal because the bikes weren't comfortable, and in many cases not reliable. Brutal because the general public had a very negative view of bikers and could show a tremendous absence of hospitality "boys, be out of my county before the sun goes down".<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harry has been, and always will be, first of all a rider. A rider who actually gets out and puts a lot of miles on his bike going places. In those early days Harry and his buddies would take off on extended road trips and ride until they were out of money. When they were broke they would stop in some town and work for Sears as installers until they had enough money to hit the road again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most mornings start with a ride for Harry. Most weekends start with a ride for Harry. Life is a ride for Harry! For years friends have known his bike by the custom-made (compliments of his better-half) ice chest on the back. Recently he purchased a new bike – and the ice chest has a new resting place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1998 Harry's motorcycle drifted to the soft shoulder of the road and did a forward flip with Harry still in the saddle. Harry stayed with it until that no longer seemed like a good idea and remembers, at one point, seeing the bike pass him. Although the accident happened out in the boonies, fortunately he was still close enough to be life-flighted to the Houston Medical Center. Neck broken he spent months wearing one of those metal frames around his neck and his head while he traveled a long and painful road to recovery. Survival and recovery has been nothing short of a miracle. But as soon as he was able he was on the road again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Harry talks about all the rallies he has attended it sounds like a directory of the major U.S. rallies, stories about the trips he has taken could fill many a guidebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One trip he tells about was a trip to west Texas, the group arrived in Sanderson low on gas and the gas station had already closed. Nothing to do except sleep on the pavement beside the bikes and wait until the station opened the next morning – ain't life grand!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing Harry is adamant about when he takes a long trip and that is "when you ride – you ride, when you party – you party." You get your riding done first and then, when you stop for the night, you can party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is a biker? A biker is Harry Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LoneStarBiker \u2014 Texas Independence TrailPages 32-33 The largest percentage of people who own motorcycles – especially Harley's – have come into the sport later in life. And there are some good reasons for this, maybe they rode when they were younger but then had the responsibilities of raising a family, or were getting a career … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":900704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[88,404],"class_list":["post-62046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-lsb-texas-independence-trail-2005","tag-pe029"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62046"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":900550,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62046\/revisions\/900550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/900704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}