Frank Marineau – “The Sizzling Hippie”

by Patti Bogan

Frank has been around the HOG chapter for quite awhile. You might recognize him from hanging at the Harley shop drinking coffee at the high-top table, or showing up for chili on a Saturday.

He started riding motorcycles in Idaho in 1970. He dirt raced, did cross-country riding, motocross and trials which is riding over rocks, trees and other obstacles. He’s owned Bultacos, Yamahas, and, of course, Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Frank’s first Harley was a 1200 Sportster, purchased about 1994.

Currently Frank owns three bikes – a 2010 Heritage Softail Classic, license plate “thawed,” an Ultra Classic Limited with the plate “hybrn8” and a trike with the plate of “frozn.” It appears there is a license plate theme. He’s owned blue, gold, black and green bikes, so there is no theme there, although right now the bikes he has are mostly black.

So with all the winter-related license plates, you are probably wondering why Frank’s road name is the Sizzling Hippie. He had a new leather jacket, and you know we all want leather that doesn’t look new; leather that might single us out to others as “new riders.” Although Siz’s story is that he wanted to just “loosen” it up a bit since the leather was so stiff.

To loosen it up, Siz put the jacket and a pair of Birkenstocks in the clothes dryer. The Birks got lodged in the dryer drum and started a lint fire. With the toughness of the items, the Birks survived as did the jacket, which was worn for many road miles. And indeed it did not look new at all! Therefore, a road name was born … the Sizzling Hippie.

While Siz shows a tough exterior, he can become positively giddy when something appeals to him and he chooses to laugh out loud. But don’t sell him short. He is tough, and could be considered the Lance Mackey of motorcycle riding. He’s known for riding every day of the year; and at one point had ridden about 720 days in a row; that’s a few days short of two years, nearly 24 months. That’s tough. He’s better than the Postal Service, riding through rain, sleet, snow, hail.

In the early 2000s, Siz was the HOG Head Road Captain for three or four years. He was also the Treasurer for one of the rally committees. Some of us traveled a lot of miles with Siz. One of the trips involved Jaz, Daisy Corn (Stacey) and me (Peppermint). We were riding about 2,200 miles to get to the 2002 Canadian HOGs on the Hill rally in Penticton, B.C.

At the time, Siz was also known as the “Head of the Hons” because the four of us had ridden so much together. So it was the Hons and Frank. When we got to the rally we had a wonderful photo taken … and it was our pride and joy. Willy G. was also at the rally, so unbeknownst to Frank we had a photo taken with him, too. The one with Willy G. ran in the Hog Jaw Herald, with a title of “the new Head of the Hons.” Barry came out to one of the Wednesday night rides and asked Frank what that was all about. Frank did not like losing his Hons, not even for a single photo. But we made up for it … and traveled together again.

It’s all about having fun, and in case you’ve not figured it out, there is no mercy in this group. And that’s what makes for a great group, and fun times. While Siz took a hiatus and wasn’t around much, he’s back now, so get acquainted. We can all learn a lot from him.