Hometown ride with dad
A trip home provides the perfect bonding experience for a rider and her dad
When I graduated from college in March 2016, my dad took my whole family out for dinner to celebrate. As we left the restaurant, my grad present was waiting for me on the curb: a shiny 2007 Harley-Davidson Roadster. Never in my life had I received such a thoughtful, useful, and badass gift – and it was from my dad! He made me promise that we would take a trip together.
My dad, Mark, has been riding motorcycles for a good part of his life. He’s 50 and rides a 1993 H-D Heritage Softail model with all of the tassels, decals, and attitude to go with it. When we settled on a time, he booked a week off of work and said, “Just tell me where to pull over to let you catch up.”
The plan was for me to ride the 385 miles from Vancouver to my parents’ place in Castlegar, British Columbia. From there, my dad and I would ride 800 miles to our hometown of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Our roots are still there: the coffee shop my parents built from the ground up and lots of family members. My family is close-knit, and my two siblings are very near in age to me, so growing up we usually did everything together. I don’t have many memories of just my dad and me, so I was excited to have him all to myself for a week. I knew we were going to learn a lot, figure some things out, and annoy the heck out of each other at least once.
Before we took off, my dad helped me wash my bike, put some air in the tires, and top off my oil. He was ready to get out of town, and although a long motorcycle trip isn’t necessarily a “vacation,” those open roads are so freeing, mind clearing, and helpful to mental health. He held my hand and said a prayer for our trip, and we got on our bikes and took off east. We kept the first day “short” (236 miles), but it still took us all day to get to Radium Hot Springs, a village in British Columbia. We were so excited to be on the road that we stopped at every lookout, rode slow on the scenic passes, pulled over at every coffee shop, and spent so much time talking, taking photos, and reminiscing that we didn’t even notice we were riding straight into a rainstorm. Just like when I was a kid, my dad made sure I was as comfortable as possible. He took my cameras and secured them in his waterproof saddlebags, got me a warm drink as we took cover at a gas station, and made sure I was dry. I don’t think he even noticed himself doing it, but I sure did. Even though I’m an adult now, I’ll still always be his first-born little Becky.
Riding through Banff, the Rocky Mountains, and all the way to Calgary was a blast. The Sportster and the Softail are cool motorcycles, but with my 883 engine and modified seat and my dad’s ape-hangers and older engine we were looking at some long, painful days on the prairie straightaways.
When we hit Calgary, we linked up with the guys from Calgary Harley-Davidson. The plan was for my dad to get on a brand-new Road Glide model for the rest of the trip. When we got to the dealership, half-jokingly I asked them to give me a big ol’ bike, too. The guys laughed but told me they actually only had one motorcycle left from their rental fleet for that week and it was a Harley-Davidson Tri Glide trike. “Hell yeah!” I said, and for the next 870 miles my dad and I were rolling comfy. That day we were only supposed to ride about 370 miles, but because our bikes were new and exciting we ended up riding almost 500 miles, all the way to Prince Albert – and our butts weren’t even sore.
Those big, open skies paired with the huge, yellow canola fields and the smells changing every couple miles would bring back so many memories for my dad and me. At every gas stop we would try to explain some new smell to each other. When night came and the sunset would push us to our destination, it was a whole new feeling of nostalgia. I could almost feel myself, as a kid, on the back of my dad’s bike, barely able to touch the pegs or wrap my arms around him, riding home from my softball game, half-asleep. I felt so far away from Vancouver and so close to my roots.
We pulled our motorcycles right up to the house I grew up in, visited the riverbank, and sat at the spot where we used to watch the Canada Day fireworks. We went to the house where my Baba and Guido have lived for 40 years, and took them for a ride on the back of our bikes. We went to my elementary school; the coffee shop; and even the Saskatchewan Penitentiary, where my dad’s work took him during my childhood.
As we rode away from Prince Albert and back toward British Columbia, I was so grateful to be able to share the passion of motorcycles with my dad. Although we’re 25 years apart, our styles are similar, our love for the bikes is the same, and we connect on the road as if we’re the same age. If you’re ever able to ride with your parents – or your kids – do it! The passion comes alive when all you have to do all day is ride.
My dad and I even developed a new set of hand signals and habits on the road because of this trip. We warn each other of a deer or animal on the side of the road by shooting it with our hands. We make fun of the straight roads by motioning that we are wondering which way to go and then pointing straight again and again. If you’re ever lost in Saskatchewan, just look around and you’ll probably be able to see your destination because it’s so flat. This was the first opportunity I’ve had to really share the love of the road with my dad. We had so many similar stories from trips and from our lives that we could bounce back and forth all night long.
I can say that after this trip we know each other better. We have inside jokes, we told each other things we’ve never told anyone else, and we created memories that can never be forgotten. I’d follow my dad anywhere and everywhere, but even more so if it’s on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle!
The Tri Glide
My Tri Glide trike experience was pretty awesome. At first it was sort of a joke: little me on such a big, shiny, new machine. But getting that bike was a huge turning point for me on the trip. The Tri Glide has six speakers, cruise control, and a trunk – not to mention zero wind buffeting. I’m used to getting blown around and maxing out my engine on my Sportster model, but the trike was easy cruising on the highways. I wasn’t one bit tired or sore at the end of a long day. I especially recommend it to someone who’s scared to get into motorcycles, someone who isn’t capable of holding up a motorcycle, or someone with disabilities who can’t put their feet down. It’s very stable, very easy to ride, and very straightforward. It’s a good way to ride without all the muscle needed to maneuver and hold up a two-wheeled motorcycle.
Story by Becky Goebel
Photos courtesy of John Evely and Becky Goebel
First published in Issue 043 of HOG® magazine.
The start of something great
A lot has happened since I did this ride with my dad 8 years ago. In 2018, I moved to Los Angeles, California. My dad and grandpa do an annual run on Father’s Day, and in 2021, they rode all the way from British Columbia to LA to watch me become the first woman to complete a bike as an Invited Builder at the Born-Free Motorcycle Show. The following year, my dad and I met up in Milwaukee for the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival.
My dad has supported me in so many ventures. He has helped me host events, work the bar, take out the trash and he’s shown up for my new, fast-growing company, Axel Co, which makes motorcycle gear and clothing for riders. He has been the backbone of a lot of my projects, such as building a bike to race at MotoAmerica, as well as building some pretty cool old Harley choppers. I recently got married to a bike builder and my dad hired my husband to build him his own chopper – a very shiny Shovelhead – so he can have a bike in California for when he gets sick of the Canadian winters.
Motorcycles have brought my family together over the years, and I can’t imagine life without my family or without motorcycles. I think about this trip with my dad often. It was one of my first big writing/riding jobs, and it was awesome to be able to take my dad on this trip. I feel like this article helped me realize what I really loved doing and boosted my motivation for many years to come. We have ridden a lot since, but our next big trip looks like it will be on our freshly built old-school Harley choppers. Stay tuned!
Becky is a content creator, journalist, and professional rider, appearing in movies and TV shows. She’s also the owner of Axel Co, which sells motorcycle clothes and accessories, and is now based in California.
Instagram @actuallyitaxel
YouTube @actuallyitsaxel
Website: www.actuallyitsaxel.com
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