The Hurleys and their Harleys have been together for more than 50 years. And while Harley Davidson motorcycles are celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Ken and Jean Hurley have been along with them for at least half of that time. It was back in 1946 when Ken said he had a yen to get a motorcycle. He bought a used one and his love affair with the open road and his Harleys has been going strong ever since. "I served in the Navy for three years (1943-46) and when I got out I wanted a motorcycle," he said. In 1950, Ken laid out $1,090 and purchased his first brand new Harley. "They cost about $22,000 right now," he said, by way of comparison. Ken, 77, and Jean, 76, crossed the United States three times - they've traveled the southern, central and Canadian routes. The only state they haven't visited is North Dakota. "I wouldn't think of riding across the country in a car," Jean said. "But on a motorcycle you can enjoy the scenery and meet interesting people." Riding along the west coast by the Pacific Ocean and getting caught in a snowstorm in the Rocky Mountains in June are two of the memories that stick in Ken's mind. "One summer we were as far west as you could go and we dipped our feet in the Pacific Ocean then we went to Daytona Beach and on to Acadia National Park (in Maine). It was an awesome trip," he said. The early days "It was very classy," Jean recalled. Ken left his military career and the two were soon married. Jean was as avid a motorcycle enthusiast as her husband. "I never drove one but I loved to be in the back seat going for a ride," she remembered. "Ken was just born to ride a motorcycle." When they first began riding, there really weren't too many other enthusiasts around - that suited them just fine, Ken said, because they liked to take their trips alone. "When you're with a group you have to stop when they want, and eat where they want, when it's just me and Jean ... she makes all the decisions," he said. When the couple's four children, Marlene, Dean, David and Ken Richard, came along, the couple had to put the brakes on their cycling trips for a short while. "We kind of gave up riding for a while," Ken remembered. Jean said their daughter joked that if they could have gotten a sidecar large enough, the whole family would have been riding together. Ken Richard and Dean used to ride bikes for a bit but they didn't have any big interest in it, so they gave it up rather quickly. During the time they were raising their family, Ken was the manager of Hart's Grocery Store on the corner of South Union and Amity Streets in Spencerport before going to work at General Motors' Rochester Products plant. He retired in 1989. Hitting the road again The couple has traveled almost one quarter of a million miles on their motorcycles and on their latest bike, a 1994 Electra Glide Classic, they have logged 72,000 miles. "And that's just on weekend and day trips," Ken said. Hitting inclement weather is always a possibility when you are on a motorcycle, the couple said. "We take along bright yellow slickers and pull them on when it starts raining," Jean said. Ken said that riding in a rain storm is tricky because the roads get slick and the rain drops come pelting down. On their cross country trips, they have gone to several bike rallies and out to California to visit their son. "I just wished I'd keep a notebook and written down all of our adventures," Jean reminisced. The Harley love affair While there are no big rides scheduled in the near future, Ken joked that he plans to be riding for another 15 to 20 years. "After 55 years of riding, it just feels good," Ken said. "It's hard to explain the feeling." |
