As I wrote yesterday I downloaded a ton of pictures from our early days of riding. I thought I would start off by posting shots from a couple of years of Rhody Runs. Most of these are from ’82 –’84 with one or two from ’90.
While most of these are random pictures some have a story behind them, such as the cat in the black t-shirt and hat in the second photo riding the mini chopper. He was a fixture at Rhody and he was always riding that mini. I don’t think I ever saw him ride a motorcycle. One year during the run on a Saturday night out on a deserted logging road he was snuffed out. Rumors flew fast and loose Sunday morning with some saying that it was a dope deal gone bad, while others had it down as a contract hit for something he did, or knew. Anyway, the shooter was believed to be another regular at the run. I don’t remember her name, but she was a mousey gal who always hung out on the fringes of the action but never really fit in. Speculation was that she did the deed so certain people would like her. Sounds crazy to me, but then again who am I to say how people think.
The Sporty in the 5th picture was a patch holder’s bike. He just got married (in a bar) and his club brothers tp’d his bike as their way of sending him and his new bride off in style. It was funnier than hell to watch them take off leaving strands of toilet paper rolling in the streets.
The next photo is of Ozzy and I hanging out. He’s the one smoking the cigarette and I’m off to his left. I’ll be writing more about Ozzy in the future, but for now let’s just say, he was one of a kind, he always left you laughing your ass off, and he is sorely missed.
In ’84 Easyriders came to Florence to shoot the run for the mag. The gentleman with the denim shirt and red bandana in photo # 9 is none other than Rip himself, of Rip’s Run fame. This was a full story in the mag rather than a Rip’s column and it was a big deal for us to have ‘our’ little run in the best (at the time) damn biker magazine in the country. I have a copy of that month in my stash somewhere and when I can dig it out I’ll scan it.
The last pic that deserves mention is #11. Yeah, he’s a little person. Again, names escape me but if memory serves me right, he was at one time a club member. He built that beautiful metric rigid himself and ran it like a sumbitch! All I can say was that he was a tough bastard no matter what his size.
The rest of the pictures are of bikes that caught my eye. I love the style back then; even swing arms were made to look cool. And you saw a lot of older iron riding around then because the collectors hadn’t gotten to them yet. As I’ve said, simpler times…
Gail and I haven’t been to a Rhody in 20 years and I’m sure it’s changed (read that mellowed). Someday we’ll go back to see who’s still around but I seriously doubt that it will compare to those glorious days of marriages, murder, and mayhem.
While most of these are random pictures some have a story behind them, such as the cat in the black t-shirt and hat in the second photo riding the mini chopper. He was a fixture at Rhody and he was always riding that mini. I don’t think I ever saw him ride a motorcycle. One year during the run on a Saturday night out on a deserted logging road he was snuffed out. Rumors flew fast and loose Sunday morning with some saying that it was a dope deal gone bad, while others had it down as a contract hit for something he did, or knew. Anyway, the shooter was believed to be another regular at the run. I don’t remember her name, but she was a mousey gal who always hung out on the fringes of the action but never really fit in. Speculation was that she did the deed so certain people would like her. Sounds crazy to me, but then again who am I to say how people think.
The Sporty in the 5th picture was a patch holder’s bike. He just got married (in a bar) and his club brothers tp’d his bike as their way of sending him and his new bride off in style. It was funnier than hell to watch them take off leaving strands of toilet paper rolling in the streets.
The next photo is of Ozzy and I hanging out. He’s the one smoking the cigarette and I’m off to his left. I’ll be writing more about Ozzy in the future, but for now let’s just say, he was one of a kind, he always left you laughing your ass off, and he is sorely missed.
In ’84 Easyriders came to Florence to shoot the run for the mag. The gentleman with the denim shirt and red bandana in photo # 9 is none other than Rip himself, of Rip’s Run fame. This was a full story in the mag rather than a Rip’s column and it was a big deal for us to have ‘our’ little run in the best (at the time) damn biker magazine in the country. I have a copy of that month in my stash somewhere and when I can dig it out I’ll scan it.
The last pic that deserves mention is #11. Yeah, he’s a little person. Again, names escape me but if memory serves me right, he was at one time a club member. He built that beautiful metric rigid himself and ran it like a sumbitch! All I can say was that he was a tough bastard no matter what his size.
The rest of the pictures are of bikes that caught my eye. I love the style back then; even swing arms were made to look cool. And you saw a lot of older iron riding around then because the collectors hadn’t gotten to them yet. As I’ve said, simpler times…
Gail and I haven’t been to a Rhody in 20 years and I’m sure it’s changed (read that mellowed). Someday we’ll go back to see who’s still around but I seriously doubt that it will compare to those glorious days of marriages, murder, and mayhem.
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