ANNA MONICA

Adventures of traveling by motorcycle Last November, Garyville’s Gene Duhe bought a new Harley motorcycle. Then in December dressed as Santa Claus with wife, Tammy, on the back, Gene rode around delighting everyone who saw them. It was a good start for someone who had only been on a smaller bike as a teen-ager. As Gene and Tammy started taking to the road more and more, their love of the motorcycle and the adventures it could provide for them increased. Fast forwarding to this month, the Duhes have just returned from a nine-state tour on their bike and couldn’t be more satisfied. They went through Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississipi, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. They even took to the small winding roads along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Tammy says the mountains are a new place to ride a bike. Gene did all the driving and Tammy claims she was so comfortable in back that she could even take naps along the way. There was plenty of room in the bags on the bike for Tammy and Gene to pack clothes they would need. They had sent other clothes by UPS to friends in St. Louis they were to visit, and outside of that, they had no firm plans of where to go. Upon leaving St. Louis they looked at each other and said, “Where do you want to go?” The Duhes weren’t the only ones taking a vacation on a bike because along the way, they met other bikers and enjoyed the camaraderie. Some were from Indiana on their way to the National Christian Bikers Association to have a rally in Marion, N.C. and were making a longer ride out of it. Many were older couples. They had lunch with that group and with another from Arkansas. In St. Louis, they went to a Cardinal’s game, to the old train station and the well-known Arch to the West. Having no plans or obligations, Gene and Tammy rode an average of seven to nine hours a day; it just depended on what they wanted to see. Taking back roads along the way that they found interesting, Tammy declares “was neat” because what they got to see was more realistic. They also had no reservations and when they pulled into a motel in the evening, they would get a ground floor room and just park the bike in front. Tammy says the motel managers were accommodating and extremely nice. According to Tammy, she was never sore from sitting in the passenger seat for so long, and Gene was a natural good driver. Once they rode in the rain all day but the sunburn from around the St. Louis and Illinois corn fields, where Tammy says is hotter than a beach, was severe. They could forget about that as they rode among bears, deer and woodchucks in the Smokies. Often, the Duhes would pull alongside a stream to eat. Their bike is named “Synthia” and they feel she served them well. What about taking a vacation like that on a bike? Well, Tammy says it is not tiring because it is so visually stimulating. “Your senses are overwhelmed so you don’t have the boredom. Also, she and Gene could share observations. Mostly, they liked the freedom and the openness this kind of travel could afford them. “It was wonderful,” they agreed. As they parked Synthia back at home, their immediate thought was where to go next. They may go see the leaves change in Colorado, but their real goal is to ride Highway 1 in California and Route 66. “That is where the big bikers ride” says Tammy. Seems that’s what the Duhes want to be, too! ANNA MONICA, a resident of Garyville, writes this column regularly for L’Observateur.