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My mother is 88 years old. When she first met my father, he bought two Triumphs; a 1949 3T and a Triumph Tiger T100. These bikes were purchased through the Long Island Motorcycle Exchange, (I still have the original paperwork and registrations!) And my mother was even featured on the cover of their parts catalog with a hilarious caption. 





(Bill and Scuffy on their new Triumphs)

My father taught my mom to ride and they rode together until they started a family, at which point he sold her bike. (He continued to ride throughout his lifetime and got my brother and I into motorcycles as well. Dad actually started a stunt team performing in the Connecticut fairgrounds circuit, doing ramp jumps through hoops of fire, flaming board wall crashes and the like, to raise money for good causes.)
My mother still has her trophies from her road run days, and talks often about that bike of hers. Her treasured trophy is her First Place Trophy from the Laurel State Riders Fall Road Run from 1952. My mother’s name is Jeanette Knotek but people simply know her as Scuffy. My mother walked home from her job at the bank—in the cold and snow — when she got home she  put her grandmother’s slippers on and scuffed around until her feet warmed up. Her grandfather teased her and the name stuck (all the rest of her life!)
My father actually adorned her bike with Buco letters spelling out the name -- I think she said it was somewhere on the frame. 

On September 2nd of this year Scuffy will turn 89. What she would really love for her birthday is to see her beloved Triumph 3T once again. She knows its out there somewhere and she is just in hopes that an AMCA has it so that a brief reunion can be arranged. Besides, I’m sure the owner would love to meet the original owner and get the original paperwork.