NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — NAFCU Board Member Ed Templeton, president/CEO of SRP Federal Credit Union, had the itch to get a motorcycle ever since he was little riding his dirt bikes, but his parents would not allow it.
So when he turned 50, he decided it was about time. Templeton mentioned buying a bike to his wife who did not really take him seriously until two days later when he showed up in the driveway with a Harley Davidson Road King. He said she would pass through the garage refusing to even glance at it for at least a month.
A fellow biker later related a story to him that he could not bring himself to buy a motorcycle while his parents were still alive and Templeton realized that was exactly his story too. "Seven days after my dad died, I bought a motorcycle," he explained.
Every year since, he has ridden from August, Ga. to the normally sleepy little town of Sturgis, S.D. (population 1,200) for the Black Hills Motorcycle Rally, which brings more than 4,000 bikes into town during the first week of August. Templeton enjoys riding with a bunch of his buddies–other "working stiffs"–who make the cross-country trip. "When you go across the Mississippi River on a motorcycle, it's like nothing else exists," he said. Templeton raved about the views. "You see some absolutely spectacular vistas from a motorcycle," he said. A car is just not the same because on a bike, it is more panoramic.
One time after he and his riding buddies had breakfast at his house, they were heading out for Black Hills and his starter went bad. He was so concerned about being left behind that a mechanic who was riding with them roll-started it for him and away they went. Templeton was so obsessed with making it to the rally he went through this process 50 or 60 times, he said, until they got there and could repair it.
His wife, Dee, has grown fond of the hog now and they enjoy long rides together, especially after he sold his Road King just weeks ago for Harley's Cadillac, the Ultra Classic. They even rode coast to coast in 2005, Templeton said, with some other couples. "Two oceans, 7,000 miles, 15 days…" he said with pride. "We had a fabulous time."
Non-riders would think all that saddle time might take its toll. You get through it because "No. 1, you enjoy riding and, No. 2 you have to enjoy some degree of discomfort," he said, equating it to muscle soreness for a hiker.
About a month ago, he and his wife took a road trip to the Keys and after riding to South Dakota for the rally the first week of August, Templeton is turning right back around and making the trip again with his wife to see Mount Rushmore and some of the other sights. "I'm always ready to ride. Just point me in a direction and I'm ready to go," he said.
–scooke@cutimes.com
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