‘Wheels of Fire’ to roar in parade
From our weekly issue dated August 27, 2008
The traveling trike trio (Photo by Linda Corey-Woodward)
On Labor Day, people can see flashy three-wheeled motorcycles in the annual Illinois Valley Lions Club parade in Downtown Cave Junction.
Parade watchers will get to enjoy all the usual components of the I.V. Lions Club parade and festivities. For many, the highlight is seeing the colorful and innovative trike designs in the parade.
Among them will be Loren Conner, a Cave Junction resident, who will pilot his shiny black tricycle with bright orange flames on the fenders, engine cover and body. This is no store-bought trike. It was designed, built and painted during the course of four years by Conner, his wife, Patricia, and friends, and first shown at a 2005 Medford show, where it took a first-place trophy.
Their trike is made of parts from some interesting vehicles. The rear body was a 1928 Dodge sedan, which now sports rear lamps from a 1914 Model-T. The vehicle is powered by a 2000cc Porsche engine covered by hand-crafted sheet metal. The headlight came from a 1913 REO automobile.
The upholstery was by Engles Upholstery. Others who worked on the machine are Valley Muffler & Hitch, Baker Body Shop, and CJ Auto Electric.
Since it was finished, the Conners have enjoyed carrying home awards from motorcycle and tricycle shows throughout the Northwest. It was featured in Trike Magazine, the official publication of the worldwide “Brothers of the Third Wheel” organization. Some 15 tricycle riders from Washington, California and Oregon, who are former members of a local chapter of “Brothers of the Third Wheel,” will have a reunion in Cave Junction. They plan to enjoy Oregon Caves National Monument and The Chateau, and participate in the Labor Day Parade.
The Conners regularly compete during the Brookings Azalea Festival car show, Kool Knights Car & Motorcycle Show at Crescent City and other regional shows. In 2006, they won 2nd place at the national trike show near Branson, Mo., Conner said.
He, his wife and their enthusiastic Jack Russell Terrier, Taz, enjoy riding the eye-popping trike in parades and poker rides. Taz even has his own goggles for their jaunts. Conner and his wife used to ride motorcycles, but they gave it up and decided to try tricycling, after Patricia suffered a broken leg.
They readily took to the new trike in 2005 and enjoyed the friendships formed in the tricycle organization. Conner says that there were approximately 25 members in the original chapter. Many came from Northern California in the Bay Area. Now the remaining group of 15 is simply a group of old friends who enjoy their annual Labor Day gathering at Country Hills Resort out Caves Hwy. and seeing each other at regional trike shows.
The Conners moved to Cave Junction in 1974 and raised three children here. He has operated Loren Conner Construction, a building construction and mobile home customizing business, ever since. He began his career in heavy construction in the late 1960s.
He said that he worked on the Magic Mountain amusement park, when they lived in Ventura and Ojai, Calif. He doesn’t miss living or working in California. He much prefers the quiet and the beauty of Southwestern Oregon.
The Conners enjoy living in Illinois Valley and riding around the area on their beautiful trike. Watch for them in the Labor Day Parade with their “wheels of fire.”
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