My First Vous

MY FIRST ‘VOUS

By Miserable George

Man, it was ‘way back in 1984, and I can remember it like it was yesterday...well, almost. There were five of us riding, with my late wife, Sandy, packing with me. The other riders were: your own staff man, Rick Kline, who turned me on to the ‘Vous in the first place, his good friend, Al, my buddy, Davey, and a friend of his, Bobby. We stopped at a diner near the PA Turnpike entrance west of Allentown, PA, for breakfast. As luck would have it, their rest room facilities were all blocked up! Was this an omen of things to come? I hoped not. We’d just have to make a "rest" stop further up the pike!

So, OK, we were off! We had clear sailing up the Turnpike to Clarks Summit, where Bobby HAD to stop for a case of beer. That boy just couldn’t operate without his suds. Next, we hopped onto I-81 North, and winged it up to Bingotown to hook up with I-88 east to the Duanesburg area. Remember the "omen" I mentioned awhile back? Well, as we were doing the ramp to I-88, Al’s old Shovelhead flat out quit! Now, old Al is not one to get rattled, no matter what the situation. (Bear in mind...we had NO back-up 4-wheelers with us...bikes only!) As we glided to a stop all I heard from Al was, "Oh boy, my first breakdown!" Well, as luck would have it, it was just a broken ground cable, which we were able to jury-rig so it would get him to the ‘Vous. And, off we went...again!! After a gas stop just north of Binghamton, we struck it N.E. on I- 88, all the scooters purring like the proverbial kitten! Yeah!!

Well, a few hours later, we stopped at a rest stop, and when I pressed the starter button on my FLH...NOTHING!! After a quick check of the machine, we could find nothing amiss, so, we bump started the bike, and all seemed OK. In reality, what was happening was, the regulator was not sending a sufficient charge to the battery, sooo, I opted to run without lights, (a no-no in N.Y.State.) This seemed to work, as I had no problem after the next stop, but it was laboring like crazy to turn over...you hog owners know exactly what I mean...right? OK, by now, we were at the Duanesburg exit, and all we wanted to do was get to the Indian Lookout Country Club. If memory serves me right, this was the first party there, (after Frosty Acres.) We missed the turn-off at Batter Street, and ended up coming in from the lake area...the opposite direction we go now (using Batter Street). OK, now that I have you all completely confused, I’ll continue. We entered the "holding pen", parked the bikes, and breathed a big sigh of relief...we were here!!

It was a blast checking out all the scoots, and bros and babes congregated here, anxious to get in and get established...as were we!! Well, it finally happened...the powers that be finally opened the big gates, and we were off, (after pushing mine again) to find that elusive camp-site. Man, we cruised the area, after a treacherous traverse up and down that old slate roadway, and finally found a very small empty spot, but by this time, our group had been split up, so after my wife and I finished setting up, we had to scout the area to find the other guys. We finally re-grouped and set out to the "midway" to score some much needed grub. The wife sort of objected to my photographing all the pretty babes, but since I planned to submit this stuff to some biker mags (for money), she accepted it! I think all tolled, I had four pics published. Actually, this was the start of my freelancing "career."

I don’t remember the bands that were there, but, the hillside in front of the main stage was packed. I was a drinkin’ man back then, and in the course of partying, I lost a very important exposed roll of 35MM film. We scoured the grounds around the stage area, but...nothing! That "bug" had bitten again! All the while, I had this awful thought in the back of my mind..."Will my bike start when this is over?" That’s enough to spoil any party. Well, the week-end flew by, and Sunday morning it was time for the big test. Hey...it turned right over, and started up like a champ! End of problems...? Er, not quite. We gassed up at the exit gate...remember that old Sunoco pump, and struck out for good old I-88, bookin’ it down to Cobleskill for breakfast, after which, she started up again...no problem. Yeah, I WAS riding without lights, and I guess, lucky to get away with it. Just south of Cobleskill, the skies darkened! Yep, you guessed it...rain! Big time. Well, here, the wife and I were OK, we were the only ones in the group with rain gear! Hooray, we did something right! Oh yeah, even though it was June, it got pretty nippy, and getting soaked didn’t help. We had some big plastic bags, used to keep camping stuff dry, so the guys used them as makeshift raincoats. Of course, this thin plastic didn’t hold up too well under the buffeting wind as we rode, so the guys were soon really soaked to the bone. We figured we’d ride out of it, like you often do, right? WRONG!! This puppy stayed with us all the way to just north of Allentown. In fact, we stopped at the north entrance of the Lehigh Tunnel, where Rick warned us that upon entering the tunnel, our glasses would probably fog up. I told the wife to be ready when I whipped mine off, to hold them till we were through the tunnel. Sure enough, as we got about 50 yards in, they fogged!! Off they came, but I still had my face shield for eye protection. At the south end of the tunnel, the rain had stopped! Weird man!! So, we had a fairly decent ride the rest of the way home.

Not an earth shattering adventure, but an interesting one. It launched my free lancing adventures with over 10 bike publications down through the years, and the chance to meet lots of very interesting people. I live in Florida now, and my dear wife has died, but I still manage to motor up to the ‘Vous... (in the Dodge HEMI). I’ll keep doing this til the BIG MAN says..."That’s it!!" Thanks to the Potters, the staff, and all the folks who make the Harley Rendezvous the fantastic event it has become. Check out US Rider News for the 2007 event. A special thanks to Rick Kline for originally turning me on to this event...he hasn’t missed one yet! Hey, maybe we’ll see you at Indian Lookout Country Club in 2008.

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