70 years after riding his first Harley, this octogenarian rode one from Alberta to London, Ont.

With his black leather jacket and red bandana, Bob Mansell certainly looks the part of a Harley-Davidson enthusiast. But at 81, he also turns some heads.

"I was wondering what I was going to do this summer and I thought, 'I'm going to take a ride on my trike,'" said the long-haired octogenarian, who last month rode his motorcycle solo from Edmonton to London, Ont., to visit family.

"To me, it was no big deal, but a lot of people out west, they were wishing me a safe ride and, 'Be careful,' and all this," said the former millwright, who is staying in London for another week.

Bob's five children worry too.

"I rode with him for two hours down the highway just to make sure he was good and on his way," said his 54-year-old son, Dave Mansell, who lives in Alberta.

Bob, a widow for 10 years, also has a GPS tracker on his bike that his family used to check up on their dad during his four-day ride east.

"The weather wasn't co-operating and so really there was no point in stopping," he said. "I just rode through the rain."

Last year, when Bob turned 80, the one-time Royal Canadian Air Force member traded in his Fat Boy Harley-Davidson for a trike.

"The Fat Boy was almost 800 pounds," said Mansell. "My children were adamant that I should not ride it anymore and they suggested I ride a trike.

"My son was not happy about me taking my granddaughters on my big bike and so I like to spend time with them," he said. "I'm their only grandparent and I just had to make changes."

It's been 50 years since Bob first rode a Harley. 

"There's just a mystique about Harleys and fortunately I had enough money to buy them," he said. "This is my third really big Harley."

Bob has had lots of other bikes over the years. 

"I was 12 the first time he propped me up on a Honda CB550 Four," said another son, Wayne Mansell, 57, of Ipperwash, Ont. "I couldn't reach the pegs, but he sent me around the block a couple times and caught me when I was done.