Doug Wothke has been around the world on motorcycles four times. Unlike Ewan McGregor and some others, he wasn’t on brand-new, factory-backed machinery. His mounts were a 1948 Indian Chief, a Pan Head bobber, a Sportster converted to a dirt bike and a rigid Shovel Head. Doug got hooked on bikes as a teenager. His parents wouldn’t let him get a bike, so he did the natural thing: he bought an aging Hodaka and kept it in a friend’s garage. Mrs. Wothke couldn’t understand how her son could fall off his bicycle so many times…
Wothke caught the world-traveler bug when a friend who was a missionary in Hungary told him about several old American bikes for sale there. The disease festered until 2006 when Doug embarked on his first world circumnavigation on the ’48 Chief. The adventures continued on the other machines, but he says the toughest trip he ever undertook was traveling the Tran America Trail last summer. The Trans America Trail is a five thousand mile off-route from Tennessee to Oregon. In typical Wothke fashion, he tackled it on a Harley-Davidson Tour Glide.
Doug will be telling these tales and others, along with stunning photos at the Midwest Moto Swap Saturday, February 22nd at the Medina County Fairgrounds. Check out Doug's website www.motosapiens.org to see tons of photos from all of his motorcycle trips!
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