* * Motorcycle rider knows when to quit

I suppose it was fitting that my friend and fellow motorcyclist Bill Sowers and I had this conversation on my birthday. Bill and I love the feeling of leaning a bike through a fast set of sweeping turns, but now 82 years old, he’s decided it’s time to change directions, so to speak.

“I was born in 1933,” he said, noting that everybody always thinks he’s much younger. He has a perpetual gleam in his eye and a bright, healthy spirit. “I went into the Navy and got married and then went to college (at Concord University in West Virginia), so I only dabbled with bikes when I was younger.

“In 1971, a movie called On Any Sunday was released. I was totally hooked from that moment on.” The movie featured motorcycle legends Mert Lawwill, Malcolm Smith, and movie star Steve McQueen having the times of their lives riding and racing motorcycles. Bill saw the movie with some friends and all of them bought dirt racing bikes.

Bill has a degree in teaching with expertise in sociology, biology, mathematics and general science. He taught school for a few years and coached sports that he’d played in high school: football, basketball, and track. He taught throughout Virginia and West Virginia. He was living in Georgia when he caught the bug. “I rode enduro races, through unimaginable obstacles in the woods. These are timed races so the object is to go at a consistent speed, neither too fast nor too slow.

“Riding fast, jumping things, racing through the woods… it was fun! A friend and I could outrun anybody. It was thrilling. I was not into thrill sports prior to that. I was athletic, but not big enough to be a real football star: 5’9” and 128 pounds in high school! We’d ride every other weekend or so. We’d drive 200-300 miles to ride dirt events.

“I eventually transitioned to riding on the road.” The motorcycle industry and Honda in particular went through a difficult patch from 1982 until around 1986. He was able to find a new 1982 Honda CB750 that by 1985 had never sold and he got a great deal on it.

“I had lots of bikes after that. One of the best I ever had was a Yamaha FJ1300. I had two of them. One I rode to the Arctic Circle in Alaska, past Fairbanks.”

His significant other, Mona, is an enthusiastic passenger with him. “We’ve been all over the United States and Canada,” he said. “We’ve been together 20 years. She’d never ridden before we met. Motorcycling has always been a big part of our relationship. Every Sunday we’d do 200 to 300 miles in loops around the area.”

In recent years, time began catching up to him. “When I turned 80, it was like a switch was turned on. Fortunately I was smart enough to realize that. I’ve never had a serious crash in my life. I started not feeling comfortable handling the bike. I ride with lots of buddies, but I’m the oldest. I dropped the bike a couple of times in parking lots and things. I started thinking about it and I realized that my upper body strength was waning. I had a hip replacement and I never totally recovered as far as strength. Even when I get up from this table, I’ll limp a bit.

“A motorcycle is inherently unstable, always wanting to fall down. You’ll think you’re strong enough to handle it, but you’ll get to a point where you can’t. I chose to look at something different.” He bought a three-wheel trike, a Can-Am Spyder, with two steered automotive-style wheels up front and one powered wheel at the back. “To be truthful, I’d much rather be riding a two-wheeler. I really would! But I know I can’t, at least safely. I’d be concerned and I’d never put Mona on another bike with me.”

I asked what advice he had for others.

“Start to look for those signs and patterns in your riding, your inability to do certain things. Listen to what your body is telling you. If it says, ‘I can’t do this any more,’ then you need to believe it.

“The Can-Am is so stable and fun to ride that I’m not sacrificing much. It’s has unbelievable engineering.

“I hate getting old. I hate it. I once rode a 1605 mile trip in 23 hours and 30 minutes. I can’t do the things I used to do. When I stand, I wobble. I realize it, but I don’t like it. I want to do the things I used to do. I’m still young in spirit. Most folks guess I’m younger than I am. I’ve been fortunate to be able to ride for all these years.”