In the 1950’s and early 1960’s, one could hear the likes of Triumphs, BSA’s, and Harleys rumble down the hard roads and dirt roads of Lucia, North Carolina.  After returning from a tour in Korea, Gilbert (Gib) Beatty and his brother Joe  enjoyed their weekends on the scramble and flat tracks of North Carolina.  While this trend faded for the brothers as family, jobs and other responsibilities took their place, the excitement of motorcycles and riding remained and was passed down to the next generation. 

      
  Korea - Gib (L) & SSG (R)    1961 Advance, NC - Joe (52c) Gib (7)

In 1969 Gib introduced his oldest, Dane, at the age of 7 years, to a Sears & Roebuck 106.  Dane was too small to reach the ground on the Sears.  To overcome this obstacle, Dane used a large rock in the back yard to make up for his shortfall as he would pull up to the rock for starting and stopping the motorcycle. 

Since the precedent had been set, three years later Gib introduced his second, Kirk, at the age of 7, to the same Sears & Roebuck.  The Sears was also too big for the young rider to reach the ground and the clutch was too heavy for the young man to pull in.  Thus the father would get the youngster started in second gear and slide off the back (because the large rock had been removed).  When the young man was ready to stop, he would blow the horn and the father would come out to “catch” the motorcycle.  Trusting the youngster to slowly ride between his legs and stop, Gib would grab the handle bars and hold the motorcycle steady while his son would come to a stop and get off the machine.  (Never once did the son injure the father using this technique.) 

The tradition of motorcycle riding had begun.  Over the years that followed, the tradition was passed down to the third son, Joel, while Dane and Kirk rode various motorcycles, from Yamahas to Kawasaki’s to Hondas to Suzuki’s, through the woods and open fields around Lucia and the surrounding area.

As the boys grew older and became legal to ride on the highways, Kirk in particular converted his dirt bike riding to the road.  Eventually in 1994 this youngster-grown-up bought his first Harley, a 1994 Sportster 883 Deluxe.  Having put away his regular job to pursue the desire to work for himself and follow through on the company he set up in 1996, 1997 found this budding entrepreneur running his own Information Technology consulting firm with 1998 bringing a contract requiring a significant amount of travel each day.  To bring some enjoyment to the 130 mile round trip, a 1998 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Classic was purchased.  This machine was purchased as much for enjoyment as an investment and low cost means of transportation.  With the tour pack, this company executive could load up his laptop and head up the country for the daily trip taking the back roads from Mount Ulla in Rowan County to the client site in Lenoir, North Carolina.

While 2002 brought ideas for new business endeavors, including a potential tour operation, 2003 brought unexpected changes bringing virtually everything that had been known as normal to a screeching halt.  In the later part of 2003, after beginning the recovery from the challenges brought upon by the first few months of the year, the tour operation started making its way back to the forefront of the possibilities that laid ahead.  Thus 2004 rekindled the exciting desire to create TourAmerica, where those who love to ride these two-wheel machines can enjoy a ride on the back roads and byways through the small towns and countryside that is the character of this land we call America.