Oh, thinkin' about all our younger years.
We were young and wild and free.
We were young and wild and free.
(Lyrics taken from: Heaven - Brian Adams)
Every once in a while I find myself digging through old pictures and finding a two-wheeled gem. Back then I didn't take many pictures, and often relied on others, that's why there are not many motorcycle pictures from my early days of riding.
Back in 1994 I visited Samos, a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. The vacation place a group of friends had rented was cheap, and thus a bit remote. Hence, small rental bikes (which were cheap, too) quickly became our preferred means of transport.
Back in 1994 I visited Samos, a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. The vacation place a group of friends had rented was cheap, and thus a bit remote. Hence, small rental bikes (which were cheap, too) quickly became our preferred means of transport.
The girl riding pillion is me, and yes, I had long curly hair once… Helmet laws were non-existent in Greece back then. And neither did we bring along gloves or boots, nor pants for the ride. Well, at least we were wearing sunglasses...
It was a hot summer.
***
Es war ein heißer Sommer
Ich habe neulich ein altes Foto von mir entdeckt. Aufgenommen wurde es auf Samos in 1994. Freunde hatten billig ein Sommerhaus mieten können, aber es befand sich etwas im Landesinneren. Also organisierten wir kleine Motorräder, um mobil zu sein.Natürlich hatten wir weder Helm noch sonstige Motorradausrüstung dabei. Es gab ja sowieso keine Helmpflicht damals, und wir machten uns auch keine Gedanken über die potentiellen Gefahren. Damals waren wir waren unbesiegbar.
The restrained smile gave you away. Sometimes, 1994 doesn't seem that long ago...
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile I have learned to smile a bit more, Richard ;-)
DeleteWhat a couple of hot numbers! Cute!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like yesterday… NOT ;-)
Delete20 years ago ... really, I was surprised when I did the math and figured out how long ago 1994 happened.
ReplyDeleteKaren, 1994 still sounds pretty close to me, too. Twenty years on the other hands… oh my.
DeleteExactly!
Delete1994....I was one of the unknowing who thought motorcycles were death traps.....how wrong I was, and I rue the opportunities lost....
ReplyDeleteDom, I was only two years into motorcycling, and thought it was the coolest… you truly missed out on something back then, but now you make it all up for it riding in winter...
DeleteSonja, in the fifties a baby car seat was a wire frame canvas sling that hooked over the front seat. They usually had a little white plastic steering wheel with a little red horn that went "meep meep".
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing any of my generation made it out of the 50's.
In retrospect you were fairly safe in the 90's too, by all accounts. I note that the bike did have one concession to safety, bark busters to protect the rider's knuckles from stray olive branches.
Hey, David I didn't even notice the hand guards… so all was good. Well as kids we survived driving without seat belts, and riding without safety gear. Maybe that's part of being young is about.
DeleteGreat picture of you Sonja. What were you thinking with that smirk?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Well, Brandy… I was probably thinking about taking a refreshing dive into the ocean. It was a very hot summer.
DeleteSonja:
ReplyDeleteThere's something wrong with your Math. The dates and your age don't match.
That motorcycle looks like a 2004 model . . .
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Well, Bob you ole charmer… I guess the bike is just like me… I also don't look my age (ha ha).
DeleteThe 4 Ss!
ReplyDeleteIt could be "Dirty Dancing on 2 wheels" - you look a bit as "Baby" and the boy like Patrick ;-). But maybe the sun confused the picture ;-)
ReplyDeleteHeike, the 'boy' and I did indeed dance once (we even took classes…). It wasn't dirty dancing though but there were some Latin moves in it.
Delete3 S's then!
DeleteSingle, Seventies and Stuck? Well, definitely not the latter ;-)
DeleteI was thinking Samos Sea Sun - yours sounds better...
DeleteOh, and that.
DeleteCool picture on the bike. It looks like it should have the title 'Carefree'. I look at pictures of myself from 20 years ago and I realize that I was way better looking than I thought I was at the time. I wish I looked half that good now. Oh well; my grandfather was right,' too soon old and too late smart.'
ReplyDeleteThanks, David. It felt cool back then, too. As a matter of fact I like my current self much more than my past self twenty years ago. So far Mother Nature has been generous to me ;-)
DeleteNice pic Sonja. It seems most people when going to Greece ride without gear, I think it is the culture and the heat. A friend of mine who never rides rented a scooter and scootered all over the place, but she must have scared herself because she won't look at scooters or bikes now. You look very carefree!
ReplyDeleteDar, carefree, yes… I was once.
DeleteI have barely seen people in full gear in Southern Europe, neither in Greece, France, Italy or Spain. They'd laugh about the geeks in gear. However, with what I know today I would still gear up, and put my helmet on...
Nie hätte ich lieber einen Helm getragen, wie damals auf Ibiza. Der Verkehr dort war echt gruselig.
ReplyDelete