What Would Paul Revere Ride?

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Sarah Palin’s non-campaign for the presidency has been in the news a lot lately – for riding as a passenger in Rolling Thunder in D.C. and, more recently, for her comments about Paul Revere and the British. It got me wondering that if the technology and gas stations had been available at the time, what would Paul Revere had ridden on his famous Midnight Ride?

The most obvious first choice would have been a Harley. What’s more American? Then it dawned on me that the colonists wouldn’t have been able to hear what he was saying as he breezed by; the straight pipes would have drowned out his cries.

It certainly wouldn’t have been a Ducati. The red paint scheme would have gotten him noticed, but possibly shot as it would have been too close to the color of a British soldier’s uniform.

It wouldn’t have been a Triumph. That’s what the redcoats would have mounted. It wouldn’t have been a BMW, either. The Hessians were hired by and fought on the British side.

A Japanese bike? Maybe, but I’m thinking that Revere might have selected a brand name that predicted the future – Victory.

Do I have too much time on my hands or what?

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Mini-rant: A sunny Sunday morning ride turned overcast yesterday when our small group stopped at O’Hara’s restaurant on Twin Lakes in Salisbury. I went to the counter and ordered a hot dog. The cashier took my money and gave me change, then called me back seconds later to say it would take a while because breakfast was still being served. I looked over at the grill where the grease jockey was attending to a sausage patty. She couldn’t add a hot dog next to it on the otherwise empty grill for another 20 minutes because breakfast is served until 11:30 a.m.?

Such strict rules I can understand at McDonald’s, but here? I got my money back and left the premises. I was thinking that the O’Hara’s might make a fun RIDE-CT: Along the Road column in “The Republican-American,” but given what happened, the heck with it.