A Cross-Country Ride 65 Years Ago
Monday, May 25th, 2015
I have no idea if this is like the Zundapp Don rode. But it's a small Zundapp.
We recently visited family in Idaho and Don–85 or so, I’d guess–told me about motorcycles and his family. He said all four of their sons grew up riding, though only Randy now continues to do it much. That reminded me of a family gathering a few years ago at a condo on Monarch Pass in Colorado. Randy showed up on his bike, which he rode in a day down from The Boise area. Yikes!
But Don said his only personal experience on a bike was when he was about 20. He bought a used German Zundapp bike, about a 200cc or 250cc bike, and rode it from Cincinnati to a summer job at a national park out by Port Angeles, Washington. Presumably that was Olympia National Park out on the Olympic Peninsula.
So he left Cincinnati and made a stop in Chicago for a couple days. Then he set out of Washington. He made the trip in four days!
For the most part it was good weather. That was good because all he had was a bag with clothes and a blanket, strapped on the rear fender. At night he would pull over somewhere and spread the blanket out on the ground and sleep. No big deal.
But then on the third day he was approaching Snoqualmie Pass and it started to rain. He stopped and put on the parka that was his only rain protection. And not good rain protection. His pants were getting soaked.
As he neared the top of the pass the temperature dropped and it was almost snowing. Don was frozen. Against all his instincts he decided to pay $5 for a motel room up on the pass–nearly half of the money he had left at that point. But he was cold and it was necessary. A couple young women schoolteachers also staying at the motel saw this wet, chilled biker and asked if he would like some hot chicken-noodle soup. You bet!!
The next day the weather was clear and he rode on to his final destination, where he spent a great summer living in an old stone house on the beach.
When it came time to head back to Cincinnati the bike was not running well. No surprise that there were no Zundapp dealers anywhere close by. Don used some of his summer earnings to buy an old car and managed to squeeze the Zundapp into the back seat, and that was how they both got back. Then he fixed the bike and sold it.
Biker Quote for Today
You’re a biker wannabe if you like to ride by stores with big picture windows so you can admire your reflection.
