Tag Archives: riding

From the back of a motorcycle

Yesterday, my husband and I went for a ride on the bike with no destination in mind. It was fun to just ride back roads, then stop and try to figure out where we were with the GPS.

From the backseat of a motorcycle
We don’t have an intercom system, which means no talking and lots of time to think. I had a chance to think about goals, dreams and how to get to them. I had a chance to think about things that have bothered me, and try to figure out why they were an issue. I had time to just take in the world and enjoy living in the moment.

I saw plenty of things that made me laugh out loud. (My personal favorite was the Tennessee Vols fan who painted the fire hydrant by his drive way orange and white.) I saw the beauty of Middle Tennessee everywhere I looked. We encountered kind and friendly folks.

At one point, we peeled off the road to consult the GPS. A white minivan pulled up beside us, and a man checked to see if we were broken down. He explained that he rides too and just wanted to make sure we were okay. It made me happy in my heart to find kind people in this world.

One area we rode through, literally every person waved. It made me wish we weren’t so far from downtown Nashville… otherwise I’d insist we buy a house there to be around such friendly people!

On yet another positive note, for once we did NOT have anyone obviously not see us. Yay for safety! Keep your eyes open for motorcycles!

From the backseat of a motorcycle

It started to get dark, and the temperatures started to drop. Not dramatically, but enough that you could really feel it on the bike! We called it a day and headed home for dinner. I was a bit sad to see it end, but it just made me more ready for an upcoming road trip with friends.

Yes, I am getting into this whole motorcycle thing. Help us all, right? But I love that I’m growing to love something my husband is so passionate about… broadening my horizons and seeing things in a whole new way. Gotta appreciate that.

Riding along

image My husband got a new toy recently. He got a motorcycle. Specifically a Honda VTX 1300.

I know, that means nothing to most of my readers. Frankly, it doesn’t mean a lot to me, either. It’s a motorcycle. And I am still getting used to having it around.

See, I never had any experience with motorcycles at ALL until I met my husband. And I’ll me honest, the stories that stuck out to me in our “getting to know you” days were the ones of his accidents on bikes back in the day. Specifically the one that left him being life flighted with horrible injuries.

So, when my husband would talk about wanting a motorcycle again, my stomach would clinch. Can’t we talk about a hot rod? Or how about a boat? Maybe a horse? But no, he wanted a motorcycle.

I had never ridden on one. It wasn’t really something that was even on my bucket list. But last November, he got me on the back of a friend’s bike for my first ride. And I had fun. I did. But it didn’t really put, “Go get a motorcycle” on my to do list.

A couple months ago, though, an offer fell into our lap to get a motorcycle, and I had absolute no reason to say no, outside of fear.

We took possession a few weeks ago, but we were too busy to ride it. Plus, it needed new registration stickers and it didn’t have a backseat for me.

So, over the last week, all those things were remedied and as I write this, I can say I’ve gone of more than one ride with my husband… and, yes, I do have fun every time. But its still going to take awhile before I get excited about it. I’m trying, though. I am.

My hesitations come from fear of an accident. I trust my husband’s abilities, but I don’t trust other drivers. Not as far as I could throw any of them. I give cars and trucks the evil eye from my backseat perch of the bike. Don’t you DARE hit us!

But my hesitations also come from my constant fear of running out of money. When you’ve lived with $10 in the bank that had to last days, you have this intense need to watch every single penny. The bike needs a lot of parts to be replaced that were removed by the previous owner. It needs a windshield, saddle bags, side panels (really!?), the back turn signals returned to stock, and a crash bar.  Not to mention we want to invest in good leathers, and other riding gear. Oh and I want to outfit it with LEDs so we are seen easily at night. So, yeah, as I joke to my husband, “Money just flying out of here!”  But, that will all come in time as we can afford it. It’s fine as it is; we just want to make it even better.

I’m enjoying it. I am. Honey, see? I said it! I’m enjoying it. It’s fun to ride, and I can’t deny the gas savings! Plus, it gives us a second “vehicle” that we’ve been needing again. So… I’m going to focus on the positive, and the excitement will come with time.