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Bonk on
a Bike
by Shannon Lee Mannion
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I case the parking lot in front of an upscale west
end restaurant. No sight of the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy that was
being trucked in for the photo op with Radek Bonk. But then why
would they be an hour early. Radek and I were booked for an interview
over lunch with photo to follow. Ah, there’s a brand-new Mercedes
Kompressor, a sporty-casual car for a young, man-about-town hockey
player if ever there were one. I pull in beside, hoping that some
of the gloss and glamour rubs off on my little runabout. |
 adek
Bonk’s table, please “Oh, Mr. Bonk’s not here,”
the maitre d’ replies. “Then whose Kompressor?”
I blurt. Not important. It’s not Bonk’s and it’s
he who I’ve come to see. I choose the seat with my back to
the door. Having never seen Radek Bonk and knowing nothing about
him except that he plays hockey and has a Harley, I figure he’ll
find me. |
| A tall sweatshirted, baseball-capped
person in scuffed sneaks approaches and holds out his hand. It’s
Bonk, looking like a university student out for a quick bite. I’m
not sure what I expected of a prize-athlete. He epitomizes laid-back
comfort and with a firm squeeze of my hand seats himself and orders
a ginger ale. His gaze is direct and open. I say how glad I am that
he’s agreed to meet me. “No problem,” he smiles.
He’s gracious and accommodating. Again, I don’t know
what I expected. Maybe some arrogant hockey jock who wouldn’t
offer the time of day if asked? My mistake . . . again. No rich
playboy stance, no pretence. I mention
that a local Harley Davidson dealer is providing a Fat Boy to
pose with and discover that he’s pressed for time and can’t
wait an hour until the bike arrives. Yikes! Quick, make some phone
calls to the bike shop; everything has to be moved up. I rise
to find a phone booth.
In a second, Radek proffers his cellular phone.
And now comes one of those funny inter- generational moments where
the tech-minded young help the Luddite-old. “I don’t
know how to use a cell phone,” I cringe, waiting for a guffaw,
but instead, with a shrug and a quizzical look, but he didn’t
roll his eyes, too polite for that, he dials the number. |
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| Our food comes and I think to
myself how I could really get into doing a Lunch with Jan Wong kind
of column. Lunch with Shan. Kind of has a ring. We chat about his
love of cars and the ones he keeps in the Czech Republic along with
his Harley, the Mitsubishi 3000 he bought in 1995 and a BMW M5 he
bought two years ago. “ I like fast cars,” he admits
and says that one of the pleasures of spending his off-season months
back home is being able to drive through the forests and mountains,
savouring the spectacular Czech scenery. He says of the BMW SUV
he uses as his daily driver here, “The X5 is a four-by-four
but quicker and lighter than most SUVs. And it’s a very comfortable
ride,” adding, “I like Hummers, too.”
The Fat Boy pulls up on a small flat bed equipped
with a neat lift and we leave the restaurant. Radek Bonk sits
on the bike and little boy glee suffuses his face. |
| Have you always driven motorcycles? |
| Not really. I always wanted one but could not afford
to get one until now. I bought the 1998 Fat Boy and customized it.
Only the motor is stock. I added chrome, put on a bigger gas tank,
different seat, different fenders and different handle bars. There’s
a bigger wheel on the back, too. |
| You have several high-end vehicles now
so where do you go automotively from here? |
| There will always be a car I want. There’s always
a Ferrari. |
| Why don’t you just go
out and buy one? Too showy? |
| No, not too showy. You wouldn’t be
able to drive it in the winter here and the roads back home are
not very good for that kind of driving. I like Ferraris and Porsches,
too, but I dunno. |
| It sounds to me that
although you are in a position to spoil yourself, you don’t. |
| You just don’t buy something because
you can. You want to be able to use it. There’s no point having
a Ferrari and only driving it three times a year. |
| If you were going to indulge
yourself, what would you do? |
| These days, you have to be smart with your
money. A hockey career is over when you’re 35 or 40 and then
what? You cannot spend all your money now and when you finish. .
. . |
| Yes, what then? |
| I would like to return to the Czech Republic
and coach kids now to play hockey but you never know. |
| Last question, how do you deal with being
recognized in public, essentially, being famous? |
| I’m not famous. People know me because
I play hockey but it’s a team sport and everyone’s important. |
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