SARASOTA – Joel Adler, 81-years-old, has more than 50 years of experience after buying his first bike in his early twenty’s.
Adler bought his first bike in Massachusetts when he joined the air force in his early twenty’s.
With his low paychecks and high insurance, he felt like it was the best form of transportation.
“And then winter came, and I wasn’t sure about my decision. I rode year-round,” said Joel Adler.
And he’s stuck with bikes ever since. He says it’s exhilarating; feeling the breeze in his face as he rides.
“It’s kind of the open-air freedom; it’s kind of the old open cockpit airplane type thing,” said Adler.
His longest trips have been solo trips up to 92 to100 miles per hour.
“I like disappeared from the world, loaded up the bike and went,” said Adler.
Adler has been a customer of Rossiter’s Harley-Davidson since 1994. But, it wasn’t until a year later that he officially bought his first motorcycle with them… the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy.
Terri Antonelli, Rossiter’s Vice President of Operations remembers how excited he was.
“He was so excited, he could not wait to get that motorcycle,” said Terri Antonelli. “That’s the fun part of this job is selling people a way of life.”
“It’s just exuberating, to put a smile on their face is really awesome.”
Adler owns four bikes from their dealership: a traditional Fatboy, a modern V-Rod, a sports bike not made anymore, the Buell, and his 3-wheeler.
“The fourth one is the mobility scooter,” said Adler.
His age has affected the way he rides.
“As you get older your balance begins to go a little bit, and your reaction time slows,” said Adler.
So, he says he rides about half as much as what he used to back in the old days.
But, time and age don’t stop Adler from getting on a bike.
“He rides every day he can unless it’s raining,” said Antonelli. “He’ll come, he rides. He shows up every Saturday, comes in and has free lunch.”
You can catch Joel Adler riding one of his bikes at Thunder by the Bay. The event is from February 14 to the 16th at the Sarasota Fairgrounds. For more information, you can visit their website.