Walter Kern S Favorite Moto Photos

A Great Person Has Left Us...

A light has gone out in heaven, and it has dimmed this page today. I learned that one of the most outstanding biker women I have ever met lost her life in a car accident on August 31st, 2008. Jane Kern, 70, who probably had two hundred-thousand two-wheeled miles under her belt, was killed when the car she was riding in was a struck by another vehicle. So great was the impact that one vehicle flipped over and both burst into flames. I first met Jane by electronic proxy when I joined the About.com motorcycle forum in 2005. Jane was the wife of Walter Kern, the biker guru and columnist who anchored the forum. He had all the answers... She had the personality. Jane Kern was the one who never forgot a birthday, was the first to extend congratulations, and never had a cross word for anyone. Jane was standing on the porch of a quaint little hotel in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, when I first pulled up on a dusty 1986 K75, for the 2006 BuRP Rally. I was one of the last ones to arrive, and she made me feel like the guest of honor. She listened to the adventure of my ride with open wonder. It would be 5 more days before I discovered that she had outridden me to a factor of three. And she would do it again on the her ride back home to Freehold, NJ with husband Walt -- in the rain. I seem to recall that Jane Kern liked lighthouses. I haven’t been riding much due to worsening arthritis. But I am going to ride to a lighthouse on September 20th in memory of Jane Kern. And I hope the wind is blowing that day, or that the gulls are screaming... Because I am going to share a laugh with her. And I’m sure it won’t be the last one either.

Jack, thanks for this great honor to Jane K. I loved reading about her adventures with Walter when I was active on the forum. She seemed a gentle spirit and that came across on the electronic waves. So very sorry to hear this. I also recalled reading the stories from that Maggie Valley trip and wishing I had gotten to know some of those people, Jane was one of them.

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