F
From MARS
Guest
I learned yesturday that Corky Reed has died. Many of you may have known Corky since he was active in BMWMOA rallies for years. He is the person who introduced me to BMW's and inspired me to travel on a motorcycle.
I met Corky back in '85. We were both cruising our sailboats down in Florida and had decided to spend the winter in Charlotte Harbor at Burnt Store Marina. He was just hanging out (retired college professors can do that), and I was working at the local repair facility to replinish the kitty. Corky would share tales of his travels on his beemers and on his boat while I worked on the many little projects he needed done. I was so entertained by his stories that I never did get around to billing him.
Corky was a "character". He added color to the world. I remember him telling me about going to the Arctic Circle Rally. He rode his bike from LA (Lower Alabama) to the rally not once, but two years in a row, and he was in his seventies. Corky couldn't say K-bike without putting "f____ing" in front of it because he kept dropping them while trying to negotiate roads that would have been better suited to the GS. But he didn't let that stop him from trying, and it always worked out. Someone would come along and help him right the bike or he would unpack everything and shove whatever was available under the bike, lifting and shoving, until it was at an angle that he could get it back up. Corky sailed the Carribean on his Cape Dory 36, Inerarity, mostly by himself, when he wasn't riding around the country visiting the many friends he had made over the years or hanging out at his place on the water in Lillian, AL.
Voni shared with me the fact that Corky is dead when I asked if she knew him. I had lost touch with him over the last four or five years. Many times I had thought about checking in on him, but life always got in the way. It is my loss. She told me he was found dead in his yard after a hurricane a year or so back. Probably had a heart attack while trying to secure something in the height of the storm. Even though he was in his eighties, he was planning another trip to Alaska on one of his bikes when the hurricane came.
Percy "Corky" Reed added dimension and color to my life and the lives of many others. Everytime I ride my f___ing K-bike, I'll think of him. I'm going for a ride now and let Corky's spirit feel the wind.
I met Corky back in '85. We were both cruising our sailboats down in Florida and had decided to spend the winter in Charlotte Harbor at Burnt Store Marina. He was just hanging out (retired college professors can do that), and I was working at the local repair facility to replinish the kitty. Corky would share tales of his travels on his beemers and on his boat while I worked on the many little projects he needed done. I was so entertained by his stories that I never did get around to billing him.
Corky was a "character". He added color to the world. I remember him telling me about going to the Arctic Circle Rally. He rode his bike from LA (Lower Alabama) to the rally not once, but two years in a row, and he was in his seventies. Corky couldn't say K-bike without putting "f____ing" in front of it because he kept dropping them while trying to negotiate roads that would have been better suited to the GS. But he didn't let that stop him from trying, and it always worked out. Someone would come along and help him right the bike or he would unpack everything and shove whatever was available under the bike, lifting and shoving, until it was at an angle that he could get it back up. Corky sailed the Carribean on his Cape Dory 36, Inerarity, mostly by himself, when he wasn't riding around the country visiting the many friends he had made over the years or hanging out at his place on the water in Lillian, AL.
Voni shared with me the fact that Corky is dead when I asked if she knew him. I had lost touch with him over the last four or five years. Many times I had thought about checking in on him, but life always got in the way. It is my loss. She told me he was found dead in his yard after a hurricane a year or so back. Probably had a heart attack while trying to secure something in the height of the storm. Even though he was in his eighties, he was planning another trip to Alaska on one of his bikes when the hurricane came.
Percy "Corky" Reed added dimension and color to my life and the lives of many others. Everytime I ride my f___ing K-bike, I'll think of him. I'm going for a ride now and let Corky's spirit feel the wind.
