Gerry "Loafer" Martineau

[BudMan]

I just saw this. I'm very sorry to hear of his passing. My condolences to his family.

[Kawhead]

Bless his heart and may this very kind, witty and heart full of joy friend of mine rest in peace. It was so fun to exchange humorous barbs with "Loafer"! Such a good hearted gentleman biker.

This is very sad to hear and unimaginable to know the sorrow his family and closer friends are bearing.

I know he'll be dearly missed.

[Monkeyman]

Saw that post on FB the other day. Very sad. Like many others, I never had a chance to meet him in person but still felt like I knew him pretty well.


RIP Loafer :(

[Work4crown]

Good morning, I am Gerry's oldest son Todd Martineau. Thank you so much for this thread and all of your kind words. I have wanted to come in here since my dad passed 2 weeks ago and make sure that everyone knew but I just didn't have it in me to say the words. So big thanks to Ponch for getting it started.

I have really enjoyed Vulcan Baggers over the years. My dad bought his 2001 Kawasaki Nomad new and made sure we all heard about how awesome/comfortable/spacious it was when we were all driving sport bikes with .001" of foam on the seats. He was always glad (maybe a little too glad) to store our motorcycle jackets and in his lockable/waterproof saddlebags when our bikes didn't have any storage.

In 2014 he sent us an email demanding that one of us buy a 2001 Kawasaki Nomad (just like his) in Ohio. He basically said we'd be fools to pass up such a good deal so I bought it. I thought it would be a great tribute to my dad to have the same bike that he had loved for so many years. I live in Walworth, NY and my dad lived in Vermont. So I didn't get to see him as often as I would have liked but that bike reminds me of him every time I open the garage. It has been an awesome bike and I'm glad I took his advice.

I can tell you that my dad talked about all of you like you were his next door neighbors. Sometimes our internet friends stay in the internet but I have heard my dad talk about Ponch, Monkeyman, Blowndodge, Topcat and more when I would visit his house at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Your stories and posts were important to him and he considered you all real friends. I seem to remember him mentioning that he was able to meet up with a few of you in real life from time to time and he really loved that.

Origin of Loafer: My dad was a retired bread truck delivery man for Bouyea-Fassetts (and later UniFirst) and I think he was going for the double meaning of "loaf of bread" and retired person "loafer".

My son made a Youtube video to honor his grandfather Gerry. Feel free to check it out.


On Saturday morning August 17, 2019 his motorcycle club (The VTwins) are going on a memorial ride to honor Gerry by riding some of his favorite roads. I have been invited and am hoping to be able to get my bike up there for the ride. If you're out riding on the 17th think of Loafer.

Again, thank you all for your friendship with my dad over the years.

"Keep the shiny side up and the rubber side down" - Loafer's motorcycle advice

[fish]

DAMN!! I was wondering why I wasn't receiving any e-mail from my buddy.
Sure will be missed

[ponch]

Originally Posted by fish

Sure will be missed

He is.

[magicgrotto]

RIP Loafer , Were ever you may be let your wheels roll free !

[Work4crown]

I made a Lithophane of my dad using a 3D printer. Don't know if you have gotten a chance to see one of these things but they are really awesome. I look at it everyday and it reminds me of some of the best times with my dad.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/h6mpXG7DbxRKXi9Z6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sSoT4qHdEyKLfg8dA

[Work4crown]

My dad's motorcycle friends in Vermont sent me this patch in the mail. I believe they found an online place that makes them and ordered a bunch for their group.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dA2zkXgS8KjWSJAo9

[blowndodge]

Originally Posted by Work4crown

I made a Lithophane of my dad using a 3D printer. Don't know if you have gotten a chance to see one of these things but they are really awesome. I look at it everyday and it reminds me of some of the best times with my dad.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/h6mpXG7DbxRKXi9Z6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sSoT4qHdEyKLfg8dA

Todd I knew your dad well. If a man can call another man "charming" then your dad was charming! I used to quiz him all the time to see if I could trip him up! He'd always come up with the right answer! After a while he asked me to stop it! Hurt his brain too much. You had a great relationship with your dad. The kind I wish I had with my dad but didn't. Life is like that sometimes. Beautiful Lithophane artwork! "Loafer' LOL now I know. His moniker made me believe he was just a lazy guy like me and loafed all the time! Now it makes sense! That made me smile today!

Blowndodge.
Brad

[Work4crown]

It's funny - he had the bread delivery job for so many years. Once when I was in high school he hurt his back and was unable to work. But for some reason he still had to go to work. I don't think they always had substitute drivers available at that time. So he asked me to take a week off from high school to ride around in the bread truck with him and do all the carrying and lifting and he would just drive the truck. His work schedule was from 3am - 3pm Mon-Fri with about half that amount on Saturdays and Sundays. Waking up and going to work at 2:30 am was a real eye opener for me. I used to think it would be so easy to carry loaves of bread and food in and out of buildings until I had to do it all day long for a week. I was amazed how friendly he was to every person on his route; especially so early in the morning. I certainly wasn't in the mood for smiling and small talk that early. I was so glad to go back to high school at the end of the week. Maybe that was a valuable education for me in its own way? It was at that time I decided to buckle down on my school work and try to get into college. Watching my dad do so much work everyday, come home so tired...really helped me respect all the hard work he did to keep our family eating. When he had a stroke at work he was forced to retire early. As much as it would've been financially nice for him to keep working I really felt he had earned his early retirement. It was time to start loafing around instead of lugging loaves around.

[Rasta]

I was thinking about your dad when I was out riding around yesterday. May He Rest In Peace