By Rod Lee

On the first page of his book 4 Strokes West, about an unforgettable motorcycle trip he took with two friends years ago, Mark DerMugrditchian of Northbridge writes “show me a person who always knows what comes next, and I’ll show you a person who may not know the exhilaration of uncertainty.”

Mark DerMugrditchian, author of 4 Strokes West, talks about his book at the Northbridge Senior Center.

Like Mr. DerMugrditichian, I have an appreciation for how a motorcycle can change your life. Mine, most recently, was a Yamaha 650, sold several years ago to a young man from Connecticut who put it on a trailer on a dark and rainy night and drove off.

The thrills I got tooling around the back roads of Central Massachusetts cannot compare to those my friend Mark enjoyed on what he calls “An Amazing American Adventure.”

This was a long time ago, 1976. “I had an idea, which then became a dream,” he writes. The personalities of himself and two buddies—Steve and Tom—were “a recipe for unpredictability. Get a Virgo, an Aries and another Aries in one room, and that’s what happens.”

Recently, on the afternoon of August 11th, during an appearance at the Northbridge Senior Center, Mark shared with elders some remarks about the trip “The Bachelors Three” made from Massachusetts to California. He was introduced by the Senior Center’s program and volunteer coordinator, Amy Cowen, who, like Director Kelly Boll, was pleased to welcome a local author to Highland St. as part of the Senior Center’s ongoing lineup of activities and entertainment.

Difficult as it is to write and market a book, 4 Strokes West deserves the interest it is drawing. The reason for this is that Mark describes in candid and vivid detail what he and his buddies experienced as they made their way across the country on their Honda CB 360 T motorcycles.

They rode in rain and snow. They were sometimes cold, wet, hungry and tired. They slept in a tent under the stars for nights on end. They hiked. They argued. They met celebrities, including Muhammad Ali. They saw monuments and historical sites and national parks. They forged new friendships, verifying, Mark says, the truth of Honda’s slogan “you meet the nicest people on a Honda.”

Mark set as his themes for the book “think big,” “dream and keep dreaming until they come true,” “be nice to people,” and “thank God for all His blessings.”

Now, as then, he believes America is “a great country.” 

It is great even when things turn ugly, as they did one night in New Orleans when Mark, Steve and Tom were kibitzing with some women at a club, Crazy Shirley’s. Outside, after escorting the women away and returning to their bikes, they were jumped by two men they’d seen in the bar. They men had been giving them dirty looks.

“They were carrying pieces of lead pipe as they walked towards us,” Mark writes. “Things had gotten very serious, very fast. They stopped ten feet away. ‘So you boys like stealing other men’s girls, huh?’” one of them said.

A fight ensued.

Mark, Steve and Tom prevailed.

“We came from wholesome, happy families that had led to our generally positive outlook on life,” Mark writes. “But it seemed like we were always running into people who were looking for problems.”

As he put it to his pals in bed, afterwards, “I’m just sick and tired of being bullied or pushed around.”

This was an exception, however. Most of the people Mark and his pals encountered were gracious, kind and helpful.

After nine months and 22,300 miles, he had to write the story, even though it took a while to get it published.

It’s a good one and he is working hard to promote the book.

“I have an interview with Jan Lewis (host of Be My Guest on Upton Community Television), a presentation at a big Armenian church in Watertown that could involve over one hundred people and after that maybe another one at a church in Watertown and an interview on Worcester cable in October,” he says.

 Contact Rod Lee at [email protected] or 774-232-2999.