Memories of an easy rider

Editor’s note: Mark Montgomery, a Sunset Beach resident, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Huntington Beach on Friday. The Independent‘s food critic, John Reger, was a close friend of Montgomery and submitted the following tribute after his death.

Of the many qualities I admired about my good friend, Mark Montgomery, the most commendable was the relationship he had with his wife, Diane.

The two had been married 33 years, been together even longer, and in those nearly four decades, had lived and experienced more than most people can ever dream of accomplishing.

He was a bear of a man, but it was all teddy. He called in constantly to check in with Diane — one of his pet names for her was “kid” — seeing if she needed anything, though often I suspected he just wanted to be reassured by her voice. It didn’t matter if I was standing next to him, he would take the impending ribbing he knew was coming after a phone call with her that always ended with “Love you.”

My joking stemmed mostly from envy. I loved being around them because they had a relationship you rarely see. The foundation for it was built on brutal honesty, humor, deep affection and mutual respect. It didn’t matter what they were doing, they always seemed to have fun doing it.

When they were young, they lived in the back of a Scout International in Mexico for months, living like the hippies they were and enjoying every minute of the unconventional lifestyle. They were each other’s best friend, experiencing demons that would have wrecked most relationships. They not only survived, but they became united even more because of it.

Sunset Beach was the perfect place for them to live. The funky beach town that has more characters than a Raymond Chandler novel was perfect for Mark’s outgoing personality. He was the facetiously self-appointed mayor of Sunset Beach, and known to many of the residents. He volunteered as security for functions at the community center, attended the Sunset Beach Community Assn. meetings and always was available to help anybody who needed it.

When I met him and Diane, six years ago I knew I would be lifelong friends with them. We shared the same humor, had the same passions and enjoyed each other’s company. I never felt like a third wheel, and they never felt put out when I wanted to hang out with them.

They were the Mark and Diane mentioned in many of my restaurant reviews, and we ate together constantly. I will always believe that one of my biggest accomplishments as a restaurant writer was to get Mark, who was a meat-and-potatoes type of guy, to try dim sum. He protested vehemently when I suggested something other than our traditional bacon and eggs. Grudgingly, he went with me to Chinatown in Los Angeles and was surprised. It became one of his favorite cuisines.

One of our biggest passions was motorcycles. We would take the Harleys and ride wherever, whenever. I figured in the short time I knew Mark, we had logged around 8,000 miles together, a lot of them with Diane on the back.

One of my favorite memories will always be the trip we took to Sturgis, South Dakota in 2007. It was one of those trips you dream about taking and then when you do, wish it would never end.

There was always a sense of peace when he and I rode. It was like we had ridden together forever. He was always on my left and I knew I could trust him, never worried for a minute.

Even though he was killed on his motorcycle, it will not deter me from riding, but it saddens me that now that he’s gone, my rides will be alone. It will definitely be an infinitely lonelier road.