Another Two Ner-A-Cars - June 19

Tuesday, June 19

The nicely cool day starts with watching Miles drive his small tractor around, and then I'm off on the Nimbus I rode yesterday. This engine is strong and unusually smooth, with no vibration band, which most other Nimbuses have. Going North on the old main road, I get pulled over by a smiling cop who just tells me that this is Vermont, not New Hampshire where there's no helmet law. Well, that was easy, and I keep it on until some distance away from his territory. Today's first mission is getting some Carhartt pants, which over here cost less than half as much as back home.

Moving tractor equipment about.

I'm riding on Rt. 5, which unlike the sublime Nimbus engine is all but smooth, and decide that when we go for dinner up here tomorrow, it'll be by car. It's a pity, but my shoulders can't take the short Nimbus suspension and the lack of a windshield. After the succesful store raid, I then cross into New Hampshire, go south towards Lebanon where I get gloriously lost again.

New Hampshire state slogan: "Live Free or Die".

Yesterday I called Ken Young, who has two Ner-A-Car motorcycles, that are much more original than the Cannonball participant I took pictures of in Burlington last week. We agreed to meet, and finally finding the right road down to Greenfiels, NH. Even going by car, I arrive late. The house's electricity is out after the most recent storm, but eventually I get to see the two Ner-A-Car siblings, that are stacked away in the basement with an array of other bikes. We then drag them out for a couple of dozen shots for the motorcycle magazine in Kansas.

I took all the good Ner-A-Car pics on the other camera, but forgot its download cable in NYC. Hence the basement pic above.

Ken deals in motorcycles, and acquired the nicer one of the two when the new owners of the Indian motorcycle museum put all the non-Indians up for sale a few years ago. The ratty one he traded for a Ford T (part of another trade), so they haven't cost him much. Actually Ken doesn't even ride the rideable one either, but merely bought them because they're oddballs. He prefers his bigger bikes, like the BMW /2 or the Indian Chief. And he still laments that he didn't buy the Munch Mammoth at that auction: It went for $22K, and is now up in six-figure territory.