Bicycles take us on journeys. Some journeys can be measured in inches or miles, whereas others can be judged in terms of seconds or years. This story is reckoned in fathoms and leagues. Story by Christine Moran | Illustration by Daniel Mrgan 22 ADVENTURE CYCLIST JUNE 2019 n 1964, Rick Moran asked his dad Neighborhood kids raced down Dead was transferred to the USS Hawkbill for a bike and was told that he Man’s Curve (no one really died there), (SSN-666), a state-of-the-art, nuclear- could have any one he wanted — jamming on the brakes and laying it powered attack submarine. It was but he had to work for it. Rick landed over, black scuffs marking a great day. nicknamed the Devil Boat because of a paper route with the Norwich, The Raleigh stayed behind when Rick its numbering. Connecticut Bulletin and then went joined the Navy. While home on leave, downtown to the Firestone dealership he learned that his mom had driven over to pick out a red Raleigh three-speed the bike. It was a goner. on a two-year payment plan. He was Rick joined the Navy in October 13 years old, in debt up to his eyeballs. 1969, leaving cold New England for The new bike cost $36, and he paid the palm-tree–lined city of San Diego. $2 a month. In 18 months, he was free Following his grandfather’s path in and clear and quit the job. He liked World War I, he volunteered for the the Raleigh because he could fix what submarine service. At the sprawling he broke and adjust what was needed Naval Training Center vehicle pool, — he was his own mechanic. The he commandeered a balloon-tired three-speed Sturmey-Archer hub was bike equipped with a big wire basket. simple to take apart and reassemble. He became a bicycle messenger, The bike kept him moving — to the delivering papers, documents, and Most guys in the barracks bummed boat landing, LuMac’s Variety, Amos packages throughout the base. After rides or took the bus off base. Not one Pond, anywhere. boot camp and submarine school, Rick for hitchhiking, Rick went to a local ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 23 department store and bought a new red Royce Union 10-speed. It was sophisticated; it got him places fast. He was logging 20 miles a day! While stationed in Vallejo, California, he and a Navy buddy, Mike Henry, completed a six-day, 300-mile loop to Fort Bragg and back. They slept on beaches in heavy cotton Boy Scout sleeping bags that they tied on their bikes with clothesline. Their minds opened to the prospect of long-distance travel. In 1972 Rick went on a WestPac (Western Pacific) deployment. As a 21-year-old quartermaster, he viewed hostile and exotic landscapes through the periscope: the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Gulf of Tonkin, and Hainan Island. In the confines of the control room, he became friends with Curt Reuter, a young ballast control operator working five feet away. In the control room, underwater and isolated, they talked of bikes and imagined riding the length of the California coast when they returned stateside. They had lots of time to imagine because this tour of duty was 56 days under the sea in a 300-foot-long, pressure-sealed steel tube without fresh air, wind, or sun. After a liberty stay in Guam, they sailed to Hong Kong for R&R. Because the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong forbade nuclear submarines in its port, the boat moored on the outskirts of the harbor. Water taxis shuttled sailors to the waterfront to find a welcoming bar or a restaurant serving fresh vegetables and meat. In Hong Kong, Rick woke up alone in a strange room, his head throbbing (must have been the welcoming bar). His wallet was intact, but his memory wasn’t. He walked downstairs into the sunshine to find all the signage written in red and 24 ADVENTURE CYCLIST JUNE 2019 PHOTOS COURTESY RICK AND CHRIS MORAN black Chinese characters. With no idea where he was, he started walking and passed right by the British Bicycle Company. Hanging in the window was the most stunning sight he could imagine: a candy-apple–red bike frame, loaded, really loaded, with chrome. He went inside and pointed. The downtube read “Harry Quinn.” The Chinese proprietor got the gist, and they struck a deal. Rick picked out Campagnolo components and a Brooks saddle. The shop specialized in hand-laced wheels so he ordered a pair. The British bike with Italian parts and Chinese wheels would be ready the next day. Rick rode the Harry Quinn through the streets of Hong Kong. He was a 21-year-old sailor smiling ear to ear through a sea of people who were smiling back. He Rick Moran and Curt Reuter set out across America in dodged buses, rickshaws, and pedestrians. If a bicycle can September 1973 wearing swim trunks, tennis shoes, be a friend, then he had a new one. He and Harry were and “Connecticut to California” shirts made by a local Norwich, Connecticut, bike shop. After dropping down the going places. East Coast, the pair rode across the southern tier of the Taxiing back to the boat, other sailors marveled at the U.S. and up the coast of California until arriving at the bike. As he crossed the gangplank to the sub, the boarding Reuter family home in San Jose. The trip lasted 54 days and covered 4,000 miles and 19 states. crew did a double take — this was new. The captain was Michigander Bicycle Tour 2019 tour the sunrise side Tawas City, Lupton, Higgins Lake, Cadillac, Evart 28th Annual! 2-Day Tour: July 13-14 • 6-Day Tour July 13-18 • Explore the Iron Belle Trail & Michigan State Parks on their 100th birthday • Enjoy catered cuisine, gourmet coffee, beaches and brewpubs • Travel through quaint towns along eastern lakes and rivers register by july 6 at MICHIGANDER.BIKE ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 25 called. Advocating for himself and the bike, Rick reasoned that double-butted steel with the brazing of an artist. After this was his transportation when he returned to California. 1973, Quinn-trained apprentices also worked on the bikes, The captain must have felt compassion for this young sailor, and in 1977 famed British cyclist Frank Clements took over granting him an out-of-the-way spot to store his “vehicle.” the business. Rick removed the seat and wheels, barely squeezing the After five months in the Western Pacific, the crew readied frame through the two hatches of the sub designed for crew, their stations — it was time for the Harry Quinn to take a ride stores, and torpedoes. In the belly of the submarine, tucked of its own. The sub left Hong Kong bound for San Diego. Once safely behind a labyrinth of metal tubes, Rick’s relief gave at sea, the order was given to “rig for dive” and the voyage way to curiosity about his purchase. began, crossing over 10,000 miles of Pacific Ocean at an The bike looked great and the ride was smooth and average depth of 400 feet. This Harry Quinn may be the only silent — but what, or who, was Harry Quinn? Little did he bike to travel across the Pacific underwater. know that fortune had handed him the opportunity of a Arriving in San Diego, Curt and Rick boxed their bikes and lifetime for a Harry Quinn was a very special acquisition. flew to Eureka, California, to set off on a 1,000-mile, 10-day In The Custom Bicycle by Kolin and de la Rosa, a trip down the state’s spectacular rocky coast. With the ocean whole chapter is dedicated to Harry Quinn of Liverpool, to their right, they were spared the prevailing afternoon wind. England. The Harry Quinn Cyclery was founded in 1901 by They found their pace and pedaled all the way to San Diego. Harry Quinn and his son, also Harry. The younger Harry Finally, their enlistment was up, their duty done, the personally made each frame, consecutively numbered Vietnam War was winding down. In 1973, discharged from since 1949. Rick’s Harry Quinn is made of Reynolds 531 the Navy, Curt and Rick made plans to ride their bikes across 26 ADVENTURE CYCLIST JUNE 2019 America, just as they had imagined. The open road was a logical remedy to spending four years in the confines of a submarine. A local bike shop made them T-shirts announcing “Connecticut to California,” which they wore the whole way. They completed the ensemble with swimming trunks and tennis shoes (note: not helmets). They left Norwich, Connecticut, on September 4, 1973, choosing the warmer, longer southern route to avoid snow in the Rockies. Rick rode Harry and Curt took his Raleigh Grand Sport. Their end goal: the Reuter family home in San Jose, California. Their odyssey spanned 4,400 miles and 54 days (10 days off for sightseeing or visiting) without a SAG wagon or support crew. One day they traveled 154 miles. They traveled through 19 states without the benefit of phones or GPS — just AAA maps. Tan, strong, and satisfied, they pedaled into San Jose, California, to the cheers of Curt Reuter’s family, friends, and the press. It’s been 45 years since that ride, but Curt and Rick are in it for the long haul, still the best of friends. Recently the Harry Quinn received a new paint job (you guessed it, candy-apple red). The pinstriping is gold, all that original chrome still gleams, and the Chinese- laced wheels are still rolling strong.