|
BikerHotline Friend and Contributor
Rich Britting
Passed Away June 8
Just this May - last month - Rich sent us his coverage of the 10th Anniversary Smoke Out chopper event and now he’s gone? His sudden death does not have any details as yet made available to us, but it’s surely devastating enough that he’s gone.
BikerOrNot members are most familiar with Rich as “Hog Holiday” and his last posting last week stated “BB Monday” (be back Monday). How quickly things change. We at BikerHotline feel that the best understanding of this wonderful individual can only fully be made in his own words from his BikerOrNot profile...over to you Rich...
“Everyone needs a little "Holiday" once in a while....
For me, bike riding has been a life long passion.
I survived the years when a biker was considered a bad element and all the harassment that went with it. I’m a 3rd generation biker. From what I understand, we are few and far between.....
I even have pictures of my grandfather on a 1919 Excelsior Henderson.
My granddad and dad had a life long love affair with Indian Motorcycles, until 1954. That’s when my dad bought his first HD. Indian went out of business so, I guess, Harley was his only "American Made" choice... My Dad never talked about his HD with the same passion he had when he talked about his Indians..... Hmmmmmmm... Makes you wonder....
I'm originally from a small town, in the grape growing region, south of Buffalo, NY. Please don't call it "Up State NY". It's the "Niagara Frontier" or "Western NY". One of my granddad and dad’s things were, to ride from Buffalo to Cleveland. That was back in the day when there were no super highways or modern, dependable, bikes.
I would listen to their stories about the ride. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized that their stories were always about the adventures they had going to Cleveland and never about what happened when they got there.
When I got old enough to ride with them, my granddad had gotten older; he lost his confidence and quit riding.
Looking back, I wish he would have hung in there a longer. Riding with him would have been a great memory.
I did have many fantastic rides with my dad. My dad rode until he was 72.
What I learned from my granddad and dad was that it wasn’t the fact that they went to Cleveland; it was the adventures that they had getting there. It was all about the ride, not the destination...
When it comes to riding, I guess I’ve become a purest, or maybe the term “old school” is fitting... I do all my own wrenching because, when I do it, it's done right. I own several bikes but, I don't own a bike trailer... I hope you get the idea....
I remember the first time I did Daytona. It was 1970. People still rode their bikes to Daytona at that time. I did it on a 1968, 900, Sporty. Good thing I was young…lol.
I believe it was about 28 degrees when we left Buffalo. There was snow on the ground but, the roads were dry and clear. We took route 90 to Cleveland and it started it snow. Route 79 and 77 weren’t finished yet. As we headed south on route 71 from Cleveland Away from the lake, the snow stopped. It was clear sailing until we hit Tennessee. The plan was route 90, route 71 to the 75, south to Lake City FL then over to Jacksonville and down to Daytona
We grouped up with about a dozen other bikers on the way. An ice storm stranded us in Chattanooga for two days. The locals thought we were nuts but, made sure that our Chattanooga visit was a memorable one. Chattanooga turned out to be a blast.
At that time no one would think of trailing their bike. You were a biker because you rode a bike! We rode into Daytona feeling like conquerors!
Being a biker back then was different. We were a close knit group and since we all rode to Daytona, we all had stories about the ride to trade…we were brothers!!!
The last big bike week I did was Daytona 1994, It had evolved into a circus, a trailer your bike week, filled with wanna-b bikers, that own HD’s because it’s trendy and they’re having a mid life crises...
The spirit of the ride became lost.
I’m sure they’re still a few bikers that ride there but, I bet it’s getting fewer every year. On the plus side, these yuppie, wannabee bikers have made the sport more acceptable... Now I blend…lol!!!
I still do the Ride Home to Milwaukee every five years... Get it??? "The RIDE Home" Lol@me...
Over the last ten or so years, I’ve become more of a gypsy rider. I love meandering around, especially in the south.
I love finding a general store or a gas station with a bench out front. The bench is a social thing in the south…lol. If you sit there long enough, without fail, some local will come and sit. The bike is a great ice breaker. No matter how trivial, is seems everyone has a bike story to trade. I’ve learned so much about life in these small towns and the people that live in them……I love it!!!!
I still own my first new HD. It’s a 1982 FXRS, shovel head. People are always amazed when I tell them that I’m the original owner. I don’t know if it’s the look of, damn your old or, no shit,,,you’ve been riding that long…lol.
Over the years I’ve become a novas bike builder. Having an engineering background has really helped. I don’t build that “orange county crap”. My bikes are statically balanced with dynamic suspension and geometry…. What I’m trying to say is,,,I build bikes that you can ride!”
Maybe you get an idea of the rare and unique individual Rich is...was. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Rich’s family and friends.
Funeral Services for Rich are to be held at Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Inc.
4199 Lake Shore Rd.
Hamburg, NY
Friday June 19th 2009 12:00pm
|
