The Sopranos…

James Gandolfini was one of the great ones.   I was greatly saddened at his passing and I have enjoyed his acting greatly.   To say The Sopranos was a masterpiece is an understatement.  It was awesome.  The show especially resonates with me because I grew up in the same area (New Jersey) and many of the opening scenes are places I know personally.   Mr. Gandolfini also went to the same school I did.  I liked the show for its story line, the acting, and the accents.   I felt like I knew those guys.   I’ll admit it:  I am a Sopranos junkie.

What I had not known is that James Gandolfini was a rider.   Take a look…

It seems that Mr. Gandolfini found a Vespa to be perfect for getting around in New York City.   It also seems he was whacked (sorry, couldn’t resist) by a cab in the Big Apple and fortunately, he was able to walk away from that one.  I was surprised that a big guy like James Gandolfini rode a little Vespa, so I dug around a little more.  I would have guessed that he rode a Harley had I not known about the Vespa, so I Googled it and sure enough, this turned up…

This all piqued my interest, so I looked around a bit more to find other famous folks on bikes.   I particularly liked what I found on a site titled The Art of Manliness, mostly because I knew about and was familiar with the riders it listed.  Guys like Clark Gable, Steve McQueen, Lawrence of Arabia, and others.  Then I Googled “celebrities who ride motorcycles” and wow, was I ever disappointed.  Oh, they listed a bunch of folks, but the problem was I had never heard of most of them.  I guess I’m old.  I could trip over Ryan Gosling, Adam Levine, Ryan Reynolds, and others and not known they were famous.  Who are these people?

Anyway, rest in piece, Mr. Gandolfini.  You were an original, and I greatly enjoyed your work.

More to follow, folks…I’m firing up my CSC 150 today and I’m going to get some photos for you later this morning.