Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

That m y HRD will finally co me home aga in after all th ese years. She was a Black L ightning, th e world 's first a nd fastes t-:--Ro lli e Free ro de her to a record a t Bonn eville in his swim tru n ks a nd tennies. The p icture . m ade th e big slick pages of Li fe ma gazin e, a nd th e wall s of a time warp Wendover cafe. I' ve had boi lin g black coffee under her th ere, a nd wondered where in th e world she ever got to. My father , h er ori gin a l owner, de-tu ned h er af ter her salt fla t runs a n d rode stree t on high-test a nd benzol, a fra gr a nt 5050 br ew . She go t a lo ng jus t swell o n 98 horses way ba ck th en in '48. My Tige r wo u ld jum p h er qui ck th ro u gh th e inter section , but th en sh e'd win d o u t a nd whistle past me an d never sh ift, didn 't ha ve to. An d we used to ride two-up on her , too , my dad a nd I. . Out along th e o ld narro w coa st co ncrete tha t dipped and rose with th e Pacific shore. Out where grass fie lds wave d down to sand a nd wh er e whol e co m m u ni ties hadn 't bee n bo rn yet. -We sto pped a nd wa tc hed Peter La wford a nd Tonto Harrisonsurf Mal ibu Point on long mahogany boards ha ndmade in the T erritory 'of Hawaii, and after that th e coast road was clear and wide open forever. An d the n my fa ther lo an ed h er to so meo ne to run ex h ibition here a nd th ere, faraway fairgrounds a nd tank towns. T im e slithe red by. And just lik e a favorite too l or best book she n ever got re tu r ned . H e ll , I ' ve lo oked every w he re. Excep t -i n o i ly o ld barrel s a n d dingy sh o p corners, places far ben ea th her. She n eeds to be sta nding up tall o n the road somew here, her big twi n muscles ma ki ng th a t Vince nt legend live on. I'll see h er so me day - I just kn ow I will- black a nd swift and eternall y differen t, her bri gh t p ipes bring in g back th at all urin g ra re so ng o f h ers. Mea nwhile, I ge t ou t the p in k sl ip and look a t it, turn it over in m y hand , read it aga in , her en gi ne number memorized, an d th en p ut th e p iece of lega l paper down next to a sna ps hot I still have. She wa s a grand sick le, th at H RD , an d she ra n like n obod y's bu siness, ra n a way fro m every th ing o u t th ere. Even herself. William Edgar I-------~----------_· I I I I I I I I SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM (PLEA S E PRINT C LEA R LY ) Address City _ State --L.Zip _ --------------------,,. CN·36 o Th is is a renewa l o Please b ill me o Enclosed is check or money order Charge my 0 V isa 0 Mastercard .[~ISA~I OK, please start my subscription to Cycle News and send me the newspaper . o every week for one year (50 issues) f or $32.50 o every week for t w o yea rs (1 0 0 issues) f o r $60.00 o six mont hs second c lass (25 issues) f or $17.00 ~ne year (5 0 issues ). 2nd class Canada or M exico and all other f ore;g n countri es $61 .00 (U ,S,funds). First class an d airma il rates available upon request Si g na t u re MC /Visa # _ - - - - - - - -- Expiration Date Send to : CYC LE NEWS, Inc., P .O . Box 49 8 . Long Bea ch . CA 90801-0498 / (213) 42 7-74 33 -'- - - _ I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

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