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The floor of the barn where Bill La Fontaine parks his Harley-Davidson motorcycle is cleaner than those in most operating rooms. Come to think of it, so are the walls and every single surface. In fact, on entering, it feels like a visitor should leave her shoes outside to avoid scuffing the floor.
And what is that machine gleaming in the corner? It's shiny and black and has lots of chrome. It must be a classic car, or perhaps a collector's item of some sort. But Bill laughs off the equipment somewhat demurely. "It's my lawn mower." He flicks a piece of lint off his jacket and adds, "I guess I keep things pretty clean." That flicked piece of lint might reconsider hitting the floor because it's been duly warned. It is not welcomed here.
This is a barn where any car or motorcycle would dream of living. It's big, airy and impossibly clean, and it's loaded with vehicular company. Among the vehicles taking up space (albeit in an extremely organized fashion) are a BMW convertible, a 1965 Ford pickup truck, which Bill painstakingly restored, and a classic 1953 BSA dirt bike.
For 61 year-old La Fontaine, who's lived in Norwalk his whole life, keeping his vehicles blindingly clean is reflexive. "It's just the way I am," he says with a shrug. Beyond managing dirt build-up and polishing chrome, Bill and Lyn, his wife of some 30 years, enjoy taking road trips on the Harley during the more gentle months of the year -- when the roads are decidedly less gritty.
But until spring there is at least one thing Bill La Fontaine's vehicles will not be doing -- collecting dust.
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