<I>The Eagle/Sandra Gubel</I><BR>Moto Guzzi fans enjoy a challenging field game during the recent rally in John Day. The winner was the fastest duo to navigate a course, while gathering the most clothespins.

JOHN DAY – They might be called “zooming boomers.”

Lots of Baby Boomers enjoy the sport of motorcycling.

Celebrating the friendship, fun and freedom that it brings, fans of the unique Italian brand of motorcycle called the Moto Guzzi are a perfect example.

Around 350 of them descended upon the Grant County Fairgrounds for four days late last week.

Amidst games, food and lots of low-key socialization at the Moto Guzzi National Owners Club National Rally, enthusiasts were, in the words of one of them, “in their happy place.”

Motorcycling and being at the rally put Del West of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, in his “happy place,” he said.

The “trying-to-be-retired” truck driver and hauling business owner has driven some pretty precarious roads during his career, including ice roads to the frigid Canadian oil fields.

“Oh, this is a lot of fun,” he said. West started riding a motorcycle when he was 29. When he and his wife started a family, they didn’t stop riding. The couple got a sidecar for their daughter, now 27, and son, now 21, so that they all went.

“We are people with a passion. We are ordinary, working people with a passion for air-cooled Italian motorcycles. I own a Moto Guzzi because it’s different,” added West. “You don’t see these on every corner. It’s a motorcycle that pops out of the woodwork.”

West figures most Moto Guzzi riders are in their 40s and 50s, but “a lot of younger people are coming on board, and older ones are getting into it now. They have more time and more money to do it. It’s a Baby Boomer thing.”

When Gary Jenkins of Canby was a kid, his cousin’s bike parked in the garage was where he started “riding,” stretching his arms up to imitate revving the engine and bellowing “vroom, vroom.” Gary has been riding actual bikes since his teens. Motorcycles have been the “constant” in his life, he said.

At the Moto Guzzi rally, riders ranged in age from 26 to 89, said Gary. He and his wife Gerri were in charge of many aspects of the rally.

Gerri has been the MGNOA Club of Oregon’s state representative to the national organization for 14 years. Affectionately known as “Mama Guzzi,” she got the name, having provided first aid to an injured fellow rider on one of many long distance rides.

Just like West, Gerri and her late husband took their kids on rides and to rallies. “We’ve raised children doing this. We’re passing it down to the next generation. We’re a tight-knit group, a lot of Baby Boomers,” she said.

“There are only several thousand people who ride Moto Guzzis in this country. When we come together, we’re happy to be here, we’re having a good time. We leave politics out and just get together. The rally is for cameraderie and sharing stories and ideas,” said Gary, who is a staff writer for the national Moto Guzzi enthusiasts’ newspaper.

“Motorcycling is a bit of a risk. We all love it so much, we have it in common,” he added, “whether we’re a teen or a 90-year-old person, it’s the same.”

Gary also said, “The brand has only about one-tenth of 1 percent the number of motorcycles as Harley-Davidson. This is probably the most Moto Guzzis anywhere on earth right now.”

Gary said that most people are into the sport because “It keeps us feeling young and active, not in front of the TV set, but away from the stress of everyday life. We leave TV and computers behind. That’s why I like it.”

Motorcycling is “like a cowboy and his horse,” he added. “It’s the same thing, except it’s a rider and his motorcycle.” Gerri added with a smile, “an iron horse.”