By Joe Berk
I first heard of Dave Barr on a motorcycle ride with Baja John and friends through the wilds of Tehachapi and Kern County. One of the riders in our group (an Air Force colonel) mentioned Dave’s book on a roadside stop somewhere out in the Owens Peak wilderness area. It had my attention immediately. The Internet was in its infancy in those days and when I made it home, I managed to find more about Mr. Barr online.
The site I found listed a book (Riding the Edge) and a phone number, so I called. I ordered several copies, one for me and others for friends. The guy on the other end of the line was Dave Barr himself and we had a nice conversation. As it turned out, Dave lived in Bodfish near Lake Isabella. One thing led to another and in that conversation, I arranged another ride to meet Dave in person. Good buddy Baja John rode with me.
It was a grand ride, starting in Caliente (on the magnificent Bodfish-Caliente Road) and then around glorious Lake Isabella with world traveler and living legend Dave Barr. Dave rode a Sportster in those days; his earlier ride was a 1972 Super Glide. Much has been made of the fact that Barr rode that Super Glide around the world as a double amputee, but it took only a few minutes knowing Dave to stop thinking of him as a double amputee and to see him as a fascinating and genuinely nice guy, and that’s what I remember about him.
Dave Barr’s book, Riding the Edge, is the greatest motorcycle adventure story ever told, made all the more significant by two facts. The first is that Dave Barr, the author, did the ride after losing both legs to a land mine in Africa; the second is that Dave did the ride on a beat up old ’72 Harley Super Glide that had 100,000 miles on the odometer before he started his run around the planet.
Dave Barr’s ride around the world took four years, mostly because Dave financed the trip himself. He’d ride a country or two, run out of money, get a job and save for a bit, and then continue. I first read Riding the Edge two decades ago, and it was the book that lit my fire for international motorcycle riding. I’ve probably read Dave’s book
Rest in peace, Dave. You inspired me and many others, and your memory will far outlast all of us.
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The guy rode shovelheads and Sportsters! Dave Barr RIP!
Our moto world lost a hero for sure.
Absolutely. He was a hell of a man.
Thanks for introducing Dave to us. The guy is a hero.
Indeed he is. Thanks for commenting, Larry.
Sounds like a fantastic person you’d want to just be around. Sorry for your loss.
You would have liked him, Mike, and he would have liked you.
Wow – I have not read the book but know a bit about the story and its pretty amazing. Had relatives up in Bodfish and used to go and see them and had no idea that was his home.
He was a great guy.
Well Joe, pictures don’t lie, but I swore that he initially met us on his Super Glide that day just outside of Bodfish, saying that it was destined for a museum within the coming weeks. Dave was one of those very rare disabled persons that you forget about his disability within minutes of meeting him. It was as though he had been born with prothesis’. He was also quite humble and didn’t appear to feel that life had dealt him a bad hand. It was an honor to have met him. I hope he rests in peace knowing the inspiration that he left behind to others. Thank you Joe.
Pictures do lie when they make me look bald or fat.
Joe, take down Memory Lane. Do a review of a 1968 Pontiac GTO.
Hmmmm. I sort of touched on that in a blog post I did about Richie Haluska’s ’65 GTO. Maybe it’s time for a blog focused specifically on my ’68. Thanks for the suggestion, John.
Guys like that just humble those around them. I will add his book to my list.
Thanks for commenting, Marcus.
I got to meet Dave Barr about 10 years at Antelope Valley Harley Davidson, I BSd with about 10 minutes got his contact information and then lost it so never hooked up with him up in Bodfish Amazing man.
Rest in peace brother.
Amazing is one of many appropriate adjectives.
Thanks for commenting, Larry.