Something New In the Parts Dept.
SOMETHING NEW IN THE PARTS DEPT.
DANNYE G. ROMINE
SHOULD YOU STOP by a certain bike shop in North Carolina to pick up a silicon rectifier or other part for your BMW, you might be surprised to find an attractive 21-year--old brunette behind the counter. What's even more surprising, she seems to know what she is doing.
Her name is Ellen McCauley, and with her little dog, Heidi, in tow on a BMW, keeps the roads hot between Chapel Hill, where she attends night classes at the University of North Carolina, and Durham, where she works in the parts department of a motQrcycle shop with a rather clever name, "The Open Road."
The fact that she bought the big twin for transport and travel in the first place fits her view of herself and her generation — unafraid to try something new and interesting just because it's "different" or departs from an established pattern.
"Anyway," she explains, "After I'd purchased my BMW, I decided I'd better learn to fix it myself. Dave Kiesau, head of
Open Road, offered me a job, and I thought, 'What better way to learn how to fix my own motorcycle than to work in a motorcycle shop?'
"Now I know the interior of a motorcycle inside-out. If someone comes in and asks for a silicon rectifier, I have to know its specific part number so I can put my hands on it right away."
The ability to tell a rectifier from a contact breaker is only one of the many talents of Ellen McCauley.
Besides writing poetry and short stories, this girl is a serious folk singer who's played cafe concerts and she's pretty skillful at packing a bedroll and camping in picnic areas as she makes her way around the country on her BMW.
"There are so few years you can enjoy yourself, you should make the most of them. Most girls my age go to college mainly to look for a husband. I think they miss out on so many experiences when they settle down right away."
Recently she packed up her gear — which includes her bedroll, her knapsack, her guitar — and roared out of Durham to visit her brother in Tallahassee, Fla.
"I camped in a Georgia park the first night and arrived in Tallahassee the next day. Scared? No. I never worry about anything," she says. "I take certain measures of precaution for safety's sake, but anything you do beyond that is pure and simple worry."
Ellen plans to sail for Europe soon, where she'll buy another machine for a long two-wheeled sojourn to absorb the Continental way of life. "Most people are afraid to try something different," she says. "This generation isn't afraid to do things, yet we're getting the reputation for being rebellious.
"I'm not a beatnik — and, actually, I'm not even rebelling — at least not from tradition. All I'm really trying to do is have some fun before I do the conventional things like finish school, get married and have children."
