STARTED GREAT!
ENDED BAD!
The weekend started great! Saturday was the
Vargo Drag strip Reunion. The place was in operation from '58 to '69. It was the 40
th anniversary of the closing. The old strip is still there on the old
Vargo Farm. I headed up there Saturday morning. It was so crowded they were turning people away by 10:30 am! Two of my friends from Jersey couldn't get in driving a 57 pick up. I blasted through the gates and the crowd and parked right on the old drag strip on the 46 knuckle. I will post a story and pictures later.
After I got home my oldest kid got on the 57 Pan and impressed the shit outta me. He rode that thing like he'd been doing it for years. We took a ride up to the bar for a late lunch and then headed back down the road to the
Vargo Drag strip Reunion to catch the tail end.
Trial by fire! The kid had to weave that ape hanger
Panhead through hundreds of (very) expensive cars, people, wet grass, gravel, vendors etc. to follow me through there. At one point, as I slide between a trailer and a vendors table with only inches to spare, he yelled out "Why are we doing this!?". I yelled back "Why not!"
Well, he made it through and was out on the drag strip next to me.
Fuckin' A! We hung out with some friends that had hot rods out there and rode back home before dark.
I had a great day and a great Saturday night to boot!
Then came Sunday...It started off really well. I spent the morning fixing a few odds and ends on the Pan. I woke Junior up at around noon (apparently he had a good Saturday night too!).
The weather was GREAT. 70 degrees in November in PA.
The kid's always hungry so we headed out for some lunch. After lunch I told him that we would take a ride around the Lake and then down along the Delaware River so he could get some quality riding time in. Second time ever on the Pan.
Well fate took over after that... at the last second I decided to make a right instead of a left and circle the lake in the other direction. We were cruising up the road, me in front, junior in back when I noticed that he was riding the shoulder. I pulled over and it took me a second to realize he had no glasses or helmet on (I don't wear a helmet but I make him wear one...do as I say not as I do). He explained that the helmet had blown off his head and took the glasses with it. I looked down the road and about a quarter mile back I could see the helmet on the shoulder.
I told junior to stay put and I would go get it. The road was clear and I rode back down. I decided to hang a left onto a side road just past where his helmet was laying. I signaled a left turn, slowed down and began to make the left when
POW! A fuckin' car slams into my left side! Somehow I kept the knuckle upright bent bars and all and got over to the side road. That's when I noticed that my hand had been crushed between the bars the brake lever and the car.
It was
UGLY, tendons exposed and gouged flesh! (You know it's bad when the Ambulance Crew can't look at it without groaning).
A guy in a pick up was at the corner and saw the whole thing happen right in front of him. He gave me an old towel to hold my hand together. The old guy that hit me was trying to pass me on the left while I was making a left turn!
From where I was laying in the grass I could see the old fool checking out the damage on the right side of his car. He was about 100 yards away on the main road. The Jack Off didn't even look over at me. He got back into his shit box and took off! I called junior on his cell and he ran down to the accident scene and immediately wanted to kill everyone and anyone. I had to calm him down and focus him on the task at hand...get the bikes home!
Well the cops came, I got loaded into the meat wagon and junior rode the pan home to get my van and collect the knuckle. A friend and his wife happened to be riding by on a 57 pan and a 1945 knuckle (believe it or not). They stayed with the bike and waited on junior to load it up.
The nurses at the Trauma Center were actually bringing their friends by my bed to look at the horrible gaping wounds in my hand. They would wince and quickly exit...made me feel even better.
The doctor eventually got me stitched back together and junior came and got me home.
What have I learned from this experience?
It is a bitch typing with one hand!
Here are some pictures from the Vargo Drag Strip Reunion (Bucks County PA). In operation from 1958 - 1969 this was the 40th aniversary of its closing. The place was a mob scene and they were turning people away at 10:30 AM due to the crowd. I think I already mentioned this in a previous post but I just got the pics uploaded.
While I was getting my hand "nursed' on Monday I was checking out the free On Demand movies. They always have some weird old shit on there. I stumbled across a 1970 Roger Corman flick called Gas-s-s-s. 
Tank mounts repositioned so the tank halves just about touch in the center.
A 25 year old oil tank repair and an Anderson peg.
A slick throttle cable bracket made from a Linkert Low Speed needle piece.
My ex- wife took a trip to California in 1986 and visited The Shop in Ventura. She took some pictures for me. Check out the prices of the bikes for sale on the white board. That 1960 Duo-Glide looks pretty good (except for the 61-64 tanks) for $4,000. I like the basket case prices too. An indian 4 cyl. for $4000! And this was retail!
