Drakes Branch resident Eugene D. Wells, Jr. rides a 750 Honda motorcycle and has been an avid rider since 1978.

According to Wells, he started riding while living in Greensboro, NC where he was a member of the Greensboro Police Department.

Wells said his wife, Jerris Wells, talked him into selling his Honda motorcycle In 1982 because she was afraid he would get hurt.

Wells said he knew he had started to take a lot of chances on the bike, so he decided it was time to take a break for a while.

“In 2005 after all my children had grown up and were out on their own, I decided to get me a Harley,” said Wells. “I could not believe that Jerris would agree with me, but she did. She even indicated that she would ride with me, something she didn’t do before.”

He said after looking for a few months, he found a black Road King located in Petersburg. Wells said he thought it was the prettiest bike in town.

“At that time, I had a college friend in Northern Virginia that also had a Harley,” said Wells. “We formed a club, along with three other guys our age called O’le School Cruisers Motorcycle Club. We have traveled west as far as Memphis, TN and south as far as Atlanta.”

He said traveling with the group was easy because they all had so much in common. Since Wells is the road captain, he said planning the trips are usually his responsibility.

He said last year, he decided to convert his motorcycle into a trike to make handling easier. “After all, I’m not getting any younger,” he said. “My buddies say that they are not going to convert theirs, but time will tell.”

While he said the club is not sure where their summer travels will lead them this year, he is sure the group will take a journey somewhere.

“As the Harley saying goes, live to ride and ride to live,” said Wells.