It was a beautiful, extremely hot summer night and Linda and I were riding my 765cc Shadow Phantom Magna motorcycle semi-naked down Robert Moses Causeway, way out on the tip of Long Island.
It is around 10:30 at night, with a full moon. It’s still 80 degrees out, even at night.
The ocean dunes are on one side and the bay dunes and bird sanctuaries are on the other side.
It’s quiet, peaceful, and nobody is around as we ride (now fully naked), into the wondrous night except for a police car hiding between two dunes in the bushes waiting for speeders to go by.
The police have their lights off and are way back in the bushes and Linda and I didn’t notice them as we flew by. One cop was drinking his iced Dunkin Donut coffee and says to the other, “Did you see that?”
“Yeah,” the other cop says with a smile. “I think they were naked.”
Linda and I are having a really great time as we ride wildly into the glorious night, until we get to the tip of Long Island, right before the water to Fire Island where you can go no further unless you have a boat.
In the sand dune deadend we make a merry-go-round, wild sliding turn, and started to go back. As we turn around and start back, Linda stands up on her foot pegs, topless, dancing slowly and lovingly around my neck.
She starts giggling and singing, and soon I join in now, as both of us are standing on our foot pegs somewhat naked and wonderfully out of our minds with “moonlight madness” singing down the road.
Robert Moses Causeway is a considerably long, pleasant ride about 10 miles long. Us wild ones are flying down the road as the warm, scented beach wilds are softly blowing maddening fragrances that caress our nakedness.
Flying by we pass the cops in the bushes going back the other way. It’s night, but the full moon reflected off the water gives the cops a pretty good picture.
Now one cop turns to the other and says, “Did you see that? Those crazies went by again.”
“Well, I am almost finished with dinner. And if they come back again, let’s get those naked love birds!”
Sure enough, we are having such a good time, we turn around and go back for one more exotic, loony ride.
The police are now done eating, and they start to pull out of the bushes slowly. Just when they are about to hit the road, they put on their headlights just as us nutty, naked riders go by again!
The police hit the siren and lights, and immediately give chase, shooting sand and smoking rubber.
I hit the throttle and we take off like a rocket! I am gaining distance on the police car, but know I will soon run out of road.
I know we are naked, have been seen by the police naked, are now speeding. And if we get caught, they will probably throw the book at us.
Furthermore, we certainly will get a ticket for speeding and they will take away my license, as I already have 12 points on my license and possibly get locked up for the night for dangerous driving and indecent exposure.
I am doing 117 miles an hour now, and remember a bend in the road with a big sand dune blind spot.
I downshift from fifth to first gear smoothly, and slide behind the dune, completely covering us and the bike.
Ten seconds later the cops go shooting by! I now have three choices–hide, run, or give up.
But the cops are not dumb, and shortly back up and find us hiding behind the sand dune.
They took my license number and other ID as they look at Linda, what a sight!
Then they started to laugh at us. They said, “We saw you go by the first time. Then you went by the second time, and we could tell you probably were naked. But, stupid! When you went by the third time speeding, that was too much. Listen, I know a lot of lovers come by down this road on their motorcycles and we get to see some awesome sights, but you two tonight take the cake.”
He hands me my ticket and says, “Get lost!”
We ride back to my place I had in Lido Beach during the summer, and when we get there Linda is in shock! She is stunned.
One hour ago we are on Robert Moses Causeway being chased by the cops. The next hour we were lucky to get back home.
It’s not amazing to Linda. It’s frightening. She says, “What is going to happen when my parents find out about this?”
She grabs my arm tightly, sinking her fingernails into my arm in frantic confusion. Her heart is pounding, but it slows to rushing as I start to calm her down while holding her tightly as I plead, “It is okay. Calm down please, I love you so much. Calm down. It is alright. It’s alright baby.”
I looked concerned for her. I implore, “Please forgive me for being so stupid. Let’s go inside out of this naked exposure and try to calm down.”
“Stupid,” she says!
We run up the stairs and I sit her down on the couch while holding her tightly.
She is still breathing heavily and I start to whisper in her ear, “I love you. It’s ok. Let me explain.”
I look into her frightened eyes as she looks at me in trust and belief. We talk in the night-darkened room in soft whispers as the moon reflects off the floor and beams off her trusting eyes.
She doesn’t exactly understand or want to understand what I am saying. But she is safe in my arms now and that is enough for this moment.
Editor’s Note: Barry A. Popkin is the Delaware-based author of four books in multiple genres including military history and family biography. They include: “My Year in Vietnam,” “The Savior The Prophet The War,” “Worlds Collide,” and “The Death of God in New York City.” All the books are available on his website or on Amazon.com.
