Horizon’s Unlimited is an International Organization of adventure travelers, people who take off and travel around the world, mostly on motorcycles. While they have events all over the world, the Spring HU East Coast Meeting was in Appomattox Virginia from Thursday, April 26th to Sunday, April 29th. 

Not being a world traveler, nor an adventurous, rugged motorcycle type, I thought “I want to spend time with these characters!” These guys were only 75 miles away, so I loaded up my 1991 Honda VFR 750F motorcycle to spend four days at the cell-service-free Holiday Lake 4-H Center. Of course, my bike stood out in a “what the heck is that guy riding” sort of way. A multicolored, fully faired Sport bike was a stark contrast to the bigger 1200cc BMWs in the lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s not to like? This isn’t “everybody dresses the same in jeans, black t-shirts, and drives obnoxiously loud, big slow bikes” Harley crowd. No posers or show bikes here, just well worn, functional rides that can include Harleys.

One Australian couple, Peter and Kay Forwood, has taken their Electra Glide to every country in the world. Yes, every country, all 193 of them, including all the Pacific and Caribbean island nations. Nope, the bike is not amphibious. They ship it to the island and ride around. Over 400,000 miles, two up, on an overloaded Harley. Kay looks like a typical grandmother who should be baking cookies for her grandkids. They tell the story of riding across unpaved Africa during the rainy season. Kay’s job was to walk out into deep mud puddles to see if the bike could get across. 

Peter and Kay didn’t make this event but many other speakers kept me spellbound with tales of world travels … Merrill Glos from Cincinnati who rode around the world at age 68 and rode to this event from Cincinnati, Bill Hooykass who rode from London to China across the Himalayas, David and Emy Woodburn, who rode from Zaire to South Africa with their 10 year old daughter in a sidecar, Chip Nelson and Ken Showalter who rode from Virginia to Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego) on dirt bikes, and many more.

My favorite was the “Farkle Walk”. Farkle is an interesting term that stands for “Functional Sparkle”, bling with a meaning, customizations, and accessories that make the bike more functional and unique. We spent an hour going to the most interesting bikes with the owners telling us all the changes. Most farkles were bags, lighting systems, GPS mounts, racks, and the like. 

Some were humorous though. For example, here is Merrill Glos’s bike with a red Etch-a-Sketch on the handlebar. Up until a few years ago, Merrill was a strong proponent of maps and did not use a GPS. The Etch-a-Sketch was his tease to those who used one. His philosophy is that “the GPS turns an adventure into a long ride.” He has since grudgingly accepted that they have their place, particularly at night in bad weather when maps are impractical. 

Another farkle on his bike is an umbrella, not for riding in the rain (duh) but for strong sunshine while off the bike. Here is a photo of the handle cleverly tucked inside the right pannier. 

I found time to ride to Appomattox Court House with Mark Brunson of Fredericksburg and back home with Scooternut, Lloyd Messner, also of Fredericksburg, so named for the BMW Scooter he rides. Before you think Scooters are for commuting in tight urban environments, Lloyd is leaving for a trip to Vicksburg this week on that scooter, yep, 1000 miles each way. I want one.  Oh, and Lloyd is 82 years old!

Harley Davidson Sportster with sidecar for the owner’s dog

I like the dog’s motorcycle badges, particularly the one “15K and 15 miles does not make you a biker”. This dog has even done the Tail of the Dragon, a famous eleven-mile, 318 curve stretch of US 129 in Tennessee!

Bassett Hound who rides in the sidecar 

 

 

Why Ride a Motorcycle at my age?

Good question and I don’t have a great answer.

Perhaps this Taiwanese Ad (with subtitles) gives a sense of the emotions.

Well worth the 3 minutes to watch this!