Dean Herron of Lakeside Park has won awards with his Beatles Honda motorcycle.
Lakeside Park, Kentucky – Dean Herron got a “ticket to ride.”
Or, you could say he’s ready to roll down the “long and winding road.”
One thing’s for sure: Whenever he does, he’ll be doing it on his own specially designed Beatles Honda motorcycle.
A 52-year-old retired elementary school teacher who lives in Lakeside Park, Herron has been a Beatles fan since he was 10 years old. He has an entire room in his house devoted to the band, complete with yellow submarines, figures and lunchboxes.
“I think when you start a collection, or you decide to do something, sometimes it becomes an obsession,” he says. “Then you keep adding on to it, and it keeps getting more fun.”
A motorcycle rider since he was 17, it made sense to combine his two loves. It started with just a small design, applied by a Fairfield painter. It spread. To a yellow submarine, peace signs, likenesses of the Fab Four and lyrics on his bike.
The license plate reads “Beatle.”
“I always had music on in my house as a child, starting out with Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker Suite,’ ” Herron says. “When I first heard the Beatles’ ‘We Can Work it Out,’ I was never the same.”
And his favorite song? “A Day in the Life.”
The bike has won a few awards, including one at Louisville’s recent Beatles festival, Abbey Road On The River.
“I’ll keep at it,” he says. “I really just don’t want to stop.”
Interested in seeing the bike? E-mail Herron at: DHLoup@aol.com.