Gary Tant

Aug 18, 1950 -Feb 7, 2020

LOUISBURG, NC

Story: Doobie

Photos: Cathy Tant & Robin Layman

In Memory of Gary Tant

11 February 23

Friends and family all gathered at Old School Bike Shop and Old School Detail in Louisburg, N.C.!!!

It was a beautiful Saturday to fellowship and remember Gary Tant, owner of The Biker Barn who passed away in February of 2020. Gary was a dear friend to many.

Lots of folks came out and it was like a homecoming or family reunion. George cooked his famous chops on the grill and everyone brought in a dish or dessert.

Thanks to everyone who came out and spent the day with us. It meant a lot!

As the 2023 riding season begins my mind is racing in a thousand different directions as I wait for winter to give way to spring. I have so many people I want to see, things I want to do and places I want to go but I’m on a fixed income so I’m very limited about what I can do and where I can go. I will be going back out to Colorado in April to do a funeral for a very close friend who died 8 years to the day after my wife died but after that I have no idea what I’ll be doing, I will wait for the Spirit of God to lead where He will.

Regardless of what God has us do or where He leads us, as bikers, the goal we should all have is two fold. Our first goal is to do what we love most i.e. to ride our scooters and return home to the people we love safely. We reach the first goal by keeping our heads on a swivel so we’re aware of our surroundings and by not doing stupid stuff that puts ourselves or others at risk. Too often it’s the little things like not checking our tire tread and air pressure or making sure all of our lights are working that can ruin what should have been a great day in the saddle….

In my opinion our second goal, which is to destroy the image society has of bikers, is just as important as the first. As bikers we’ve all been stereotyped by Hollywood as drug dealing murderous gang members and sadly the majority of people outside of the scooter community have bought into the ignorance of Hollywood’s producers. It’s a stereotype that has been put on us for decades and it will likely take decades to destroy it but it’s a challenge I look forward to.