Bikers help Springsteen, stranded on side of road

FREEHOLD, N.J. — When three New Jersey men stopped to help a stranded motorcyclist near Allaire State Park in Wall, they received the celebrity encounter of a lifetime.

Dan Barkalow, 55, of Freehold was on his motorcycle Friday when he stopped to help another biker and found Bruce Springsteen with an inoperable Moto Guzzi cycle.

Barkalow was returning from a Veterans Day event with two fellow members of the Freehold American Legion, Bob Grigs and Ryan Bailey, when they came across the famous "Born to Run" rocker.

"I just pulled over and got off the bike and said, 'Hey, I think I know you,'" Barkalow said.

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The three men tried to get Springsteen's bike running, but were unsuccessful. Springsteen — wearing a brown riding jacket and a red handkerchief — then hopped on the back of Ryan Bailey’s bike and they headed to the Original Mulligans Grill in Farmingdale. While the musician waited for his ride, he bought Barkalow and his friends a round of drinks, the Freehold man said.

“We just talked about old Freehold bands," Barkalow said.

"Nice guy, real down to earth," he added. "Just talked about motorcycles and his old Freehold days.”

Springsteen was raised in Freehold and still lives in New Jersey. The American Legion post says Springsteen is eligible to join since his father was a veteran.

“It was nice to help out,” Bailey said. “One Freehold person helping out another.”

Contributing: The Associated Press