os

to be wi

ONCE YOU'VE had a taste of life in the saddle, there’s no

Born

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

d

turning back.

At least that’s been the experi-
ence of one North Vancouver man.
Harry Whittaker was given his first
bike — an ‘‘Endian"' motorcycle —
at the age of 16, when its owner
went off to war. Two years ister,
he had to give it back, but by that
time, motorcycle riding was i: his
blood. :

Later, «s a family man with
other spending priorities, he suc-
cessfully repressed the urge to get
back in the saddle — until his son,
John, bought a second-hand Hon-
da 450. ‘‘I thought that having a
couple of rides on his bike would
lessen the urge of wanting to get
my own, but it didn’t,” Whittaker
recalls. “So, for my 50th birthday
present to myself, I bought a 550
Suzuki triple two-stroker.””

Now, 13 years later, he’s logged
a lot of miles and gone through
five other motorcycles — ‘‘all

one.”’ His current bike is a Suzuki
Cavalcade 1400, a top-line touring
bike.

Is it unusual to re-enter the
world of biking when you’re past
the half-century mark? Not ac-
cording to Whittaker. ‘‘Maybe it
was a novelty before, but now
there’s lots of people my age and
older who have bikes,”’ he says.

He does, however, have advice
for motorcycle novices of any age:
drive defensively. ‘‘Motorists real-
ly don’t see you... that’s where
defensive driving comes in. Don't
depend on eye contact in their rear
view mirror — lots of times they're
looking right at you and they don’t
even see you. They’re looking for a

. . ’ “1 would certainly recommend
NORTH VANCOUVER resident Harry Whittaker says there’s no place rind

nicer than Beautiful B.C. for motorcycle travel, but he has journeyed to that en who is ene (aren, i
places such as Colorado as well. Here he shows some of his destination h 5 h * t, talk ‘3
points on a map. school, or, at the very least, talk to

people who do ride.’’

And he emphasizes “In my opi-
nion, anyone who doesn’t wear a
helmet is stupid.”’

Safe driving has seen Whittaker
through two trips to Colorado and
numerous adventures within B.C.
and Alberta, travelling alone or
with his wife, Chris.

more powerful than the previous

Introducing the BMW

‘ K100 ET.
_ Building on the already
r ) illustrious heritage of the K100
(named “Motorcycle of the Year’ in

six different countries in its first year,
and the first foreign bike to earn the
prestigious

G-mark Product award from Japan's

Ministry of Technology), the K100 tT
brings new refinement to the thrill of
the open road.

Consider: Curb weight of 283
kg, coupled with “‘Nivomat’’ self-
levelling suspension, affords
exceptional handling — even when
touring fully-loaded. The miles tly by
tirelessly.

21 -@unday, April 8, 1990 - North Shore News

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE

TO EXPERIENCE THE
PLEASURES OF BIKING

By PEGGY TRENDELL-WHITTAKER
News Reporter

**Riding by myself is not lonely,
because I like it, but on long trips
it is nice to bave a partner,’ he
comments.

It was when he was returning
from his first trip to Colorado that
Whittaker experienced his worst
day on the road. ‘*I didn't have the
proper raingear and got caught up
in some really bad weather. In-

4/5

stead of holing up in a motel for
the day ! decided to keep going. At
one point I found myself so cold
and shaking so violently ! nearly
lost control of the bike.’*

A few miles outside a small
town, he spotted a VIP Restaurant
and pulled in. ‘‘When I went in, I
was a walking puddle,’”’ he says.
‘*The lady took one look at me,
directed me into the kitchen and
told me to take off my clothes.*’

What awaited him was not an

See Biking
Page 23

Comfortable

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Small wonder the K100 LT costs

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a