85-year-old motorcyclist an easy rider

LYNDON -- Seven thousand miles and counting.

That is how far 85-year-old Wilbur Hatfield, of Catskill, N.Y., has driven his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in his 20th cross-country trip since 1981.

He and biking mate David White, 56, a down-the-street neighbor who is retired from the auto repair and towing business, were in Lyndon on Tuesday visiting Hatfield's relatives in Osage County.

In Lyndon, they stayed at the home of Hatfield's niece Charlotte Schneidewind. They visited another niece, Ellen O'Donnell, of Scranton, and cousins Ella Beverly and Lucille Silvers and her husband, Ralph, in Osage City.

For most of their trip, they haven't kept to a schedule and have stopped when they wanted. Most days, they turned in about 10 p.m. after a shot of brandy, then they were up at 6 a.m. for a couple of cups of coffee and soon were back on the road.

"Some days we ride 150 miles," said Hatfield, who was born and raised in Detroit. "Other days we'll ride 650.

"We just go," he said. "We get on the road and make up our mind where we're going. We have no set route."

They plan to start the final leg of their journey today after nearly a month on the road.

On the way back, Hatfield will visit daughters and grandchildren in the Detroit area, while White will split off at Columbus, Ohio, to be home in Catskill for his wife's birthday Saturday. Then the two men will start their bowling season Sept. 10.

Their cross-country odyssey began Aug. 2 in New York and has taken them through northern states to visit Hatfield's relatives in Washington and Oregon.

They cruised down the Pacific Coast Highway, through the redwood country of northern California and across the fog-shrouded Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco before turning their bikes east and heading back through Nevada, Utah, Colorado and now Kansas.

The bikers have learned to travel lightly, taking "lots of socks and underwear," Hatfield said. The gear is stored in "tour pack" compartments on the back of the motorcycles.

Hatfield drives a blue 1994 Ultra model, while White is on a red 1987 Classic. Hatfield owns both Harleys and keeps them spic 'n' span along the way.

Weather, for the most part, has been kind to the bikers this year. The hottest temperatures -- a furnace-like 105 degrees -- were in the California desert. The most severe weather was in Montana, where the riders were peppered with hail.

Other than that, there were a few rain showers.

Along the way, Hatfield and White have met strangers who became fast friends in roadside restaurants. Some see "Wilbur's Harley" written in red on his blue motorcycle and come into a diner greeting Hatfield by name.

"We all share the same thing in common, and that's traveling, whether by motorcycle or car," Hatfield said.

Hatfield said he started riding motorcycles when he was 65, shortly after his wife, Gertrude, died. He has ridden motorcycles in every state except Alaska.

Hatfield's only regret is his wife didn't live long enough to join his cross-country rides.

Besides riding his motorcycle, Hatfield skis in Austria, New Zealand, Italy and Switzerland; plays golf; goes snorkeling; and bowls two nights a week with a 175 average.

White says Hatfield's endurance and energy amaze him.

"If I can get to be his age, I hope I can still walk, let alone bowl and ride a motorcycle," he said.

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