Norman Rockwell Busted My Clutch Cable

I discovered that in an emergency, you can shift a Royal Enfield without using the clutch... if you can avoid coming to a complete stop.

This weekend was the last day for the Norman Rockwell Exhibit at the local museum of art. As an artist myself, I've admired Rockwell's idyllic take on happy childhoods and commonplace adult life. I got a little emotional feeling a reverence for seeing these treasures in person. In a sea of cardigan sweaters and polyester slacks, the only guy in a leather jacket, rigid Levis and engineer boots quickly composed himself and moved on.

I rode the 45 minutes to the museum in sunny, Rockwellian weather (60 degrees is nice for January), but on the way home my clutch cable snapped. I guess after 6000 miles of commuting it was time. Turns out, if I could keep rolling I could shift up and down without the clutch. Just goose the gas to shift up, hold on when shifting down, pray for no intersecting traffic, and be prepared to roll through stop signs and lane-split. On Enfields, a clutch cable is a cheap and easy fix.

Rockwell once said, 

"When I go to farms or little towns, I am always surprised at the discontent I find. And New York, too often, has looked across the sea toward Europe. And all of us who turn our eyes away from what we have are missing life."

"Going and Coming" by Norman Rockwell

This was my family's 2010 Christmas card, which features our 1961 Ford pickup. You could say the card was inspired by the above Rockwell painting titled "Going and Coming."

This Hero is Modest

ADVrider forum poster "buzzez" found this newspaper article in a wall while remodeling his home. "Policeman Reports Saving Couple in Runaway Only When Ordered." The article describes the harrowing, 1910 rescue by motorcycle officer F.E. Lockman of a couple traveling by horse and buggy when the horse was spooked and bolted. Officer Lockman rode his motorcycle alongside the horse, jumped off the moving motorcycle and onto the horse, stopping it after being dragged 50 feet. The best part is that he went back to the station to report only that he had wrecked his motorcycle (leaving out the act of heroism until his sergeant ordered him to report the full story.)

via ADVRider forum

 It doesn't say what type of motorcycle he rode, but in 1910 it would have looked similar to this:

via dvrbs