Wild hogs: 'Big bikes' aren't just for outlaws anymore

In the 1960s, riding a big motorcycle was often associated with rowdy clubs like the Hell's Angels and other seedier elements of society that might be considered "hell raisers."

Smaller bikes were just coming onto the scene with the introduction of the Honda 50cc, and those who rode the big bikes, or "choppers," needed to be somewhat mechanically inclined just to keep them running.

"In the old days," said Salt Lake County resident Robert Pusey, "the only guys who rode Harleys were wild and crazy folks.

"And you had to enjoy being mechanical," he added. "Not only enjoy it, but you had to at least be able to do it because you'd be out in ... nowhere and something would go wrong with it. But today they are really reliable."

Today it is fashionable for everyone from stockbrokers to pilots to teachers and grandmas to get together ?and ride the "big bikes" as they travel across the country.

It's a scenario that was humorously depicted in the movie "Wild Hogs," starring John Travolta and Tim Allen, in which four middle-aged men who have been longtime friends decide to hit the open road on their motorcycles.

And it happens in real life, too. There's a group of Utah friends who have been together since high school, and Leslie Coleman hung the moniker Pals & Gals on the group that meets for breakfast every week and often goes on short rides when weather permits.

Now in their 50s, Jim and Terri Meadows, Jerry and Linda Petersen, Pusey and his wife, Cari, along with Coleman and her husband, Roger, also manage at least one 10-day motorcycle trip a year and have toured the entire western United States.

The four men and two of the wives have been friends since graduating from Brighton High School in its first year of existence in 1970 and have since gone on to successful business careers.

Petersen has his own insurance agency, Meadows is a partner in an auto repair business, and Coleman's entrepreneurial efforts have included a restaurant in Salt Lake City and a bed-and-breakfast near Zion's National Park. He currently lives in Hurricane, making it tough to get to the group's weekly breakfasts.

Robert Pusey appears to be the "baddest" of them all in his undershirt and leather vest, sporting pins, buttons and all manner of trinkets. Together with his beard and long hair, law enforcement officials hassle him regularly throughout the 42 states in which he has toured.

But the law backs off when it finds out that he is an attorney. And besides, neither he nor his buddies are law-breakers. And Pusey's wife, Cari, points out: "He is not a brothel inspector."

But Pusey quickly points out, "She doesn't go on all the rides with me."