Trampin' Is Back In Style.

Article By: Chris Callen

Remember when we were kids how cool it used to be to sleep outside? Even when it was just in the back yard, the feeling you got from doing your own thing was a blast. Over the years though, whether from the increasing belief that we were too old or that we deserved better, we somehow walked away from these juvenile tendencies to rough it.

Now I know that you have identified this metamorphosis as well as I have. You know the guys that pull up in the billion dollar winnebagos and pop out a complete garage from the back, fully equipped with all the amenities of a four star resort. Or better yet, the cats who just have a "Must stay in a hotel" rule about traveling. Somewhere we have, in part, moved away from the basic "let's just split" mentality that has made the word biker mean more than just a person who rides a motorcycle.

This is starting to change however, and it did my heart good on the way back from Sturgis when I noticed that trampin' has come back in style! I'm not sure if it is the result of a slow economy, the rising price of gas, the cost of attending a national event for a week, or just the plain old need to reconnect with Mutha' Nature, but people are rejoining their inner child and that sense of being OK with sleeping outside. I'm not talking about the camping that goes on at the big events; that still isn't tramping, fun, yes, but not tramping. I mean the scores of people that I saw that were literally pulled over on the side of the road with a tent set up in no designated area. Quite a few more were at roadside rests with tarps pulled across the seat of their bikes, pegged into the ground, providing a small motorcycle lean-too, sleeping right beside the scoot. So I don't get to far off the subject and what it has to do with motorcycling, let me explain the importance of this observation. Gas prices are a drag right now and the country is in hard times, but the one thing that shines through is the ability to get on your motorcycle and clear your mind with a good road trip. And this doesn't mean that you have to take out a loan to do it man, just ride the bike, sleep where you may, eat when you can and let whatever God you subscribe to handle the rest. For as long as I can remember, I have looked up to scooter tramps, and not because they were wild, crazy, dangerous types. It was mostly due to the fact that they were rugged individualists who made do with what they had, were satisfied with who they were, and placed a value on helping their brothers be happy as well. This by no means should suggest that trading your Ergoliner in for a Coleman four man is a direct path to personal enlightenment, but it's a good start.

There are quite a few benefits to traveling tramp style, the savings being just the first of them. Let's get back to the metaphysics of motorcycling for a minute and talk about the personal satisfaction you get from knowing that you can take care of yourself, whatever may come your way. Or how about the camaraderie that you get from meeting other tramps taking the same trip you're on? I have seen little boys, with the attitudes young man often have, come home all grown up, just from a trip across the country where everything wasn't provided for before they left. You could see a proud look in their eyes that they got from knowing that they accomplished more than driving from one state to another, they had survived road tripping like a true scooter tramp. Sleeping under picnic tables, showering at truck stops, eating a continental breakfast at a hotel you didn't stay at, all might seem like living less to the norms of society, but for a few of us, it's pure heaven. Today, the life of a tramp is still something you can't buy over the counter, and I'm so glad to see it coming back in style. (Dedicated to Little Gene and Jimmy, I'd be proud to ride with you boys again, anywhere!)

Wild Man