Now Let's Talk Rides!!!



85 Goldwing Interstate



I have had several hobbies in my life, none of which my wife seemed to deem as important or meaningful as I did.  I raced dirt cars, I played on dirt bikes, I had ski boats (not enough patience to call them fishing boats), I played with R/C cars and I had campers.  My loving (amazingly supportive) wife tolerated all of these but never really enjoyed any of them. 

When I came home in 1999 with that 1985 Goldwing GL1200 I never thought it would lead to the passion that both she and I share today, the passion of motorcycling!  The old 85 was a great bike!  It was dependable, sharp looking and the nicest motorcycle I had ever owned.  This is the one that started it all.  I rode this bike at least 300 days out of the year.  Cindy and I did our first charity ride on this bike and it was while riding this bike on that event we met our best friends, Tom and Leighann.  We went out on weekly dinner rides, cruised around town and just began to enjoy our new hobby, one I loved and she was beginning to enjoy.  I made my first trip of any real distance, 550 miles one way, on this bike.  I rode it to my folk's house in Tennessee over the 4th of July in 2002.  I learned that inexperience, distance and 100 plus degree temps are not a good combination.  I made my first real ride in the rain on this bike.  My youngest son and I decided to ride our motorcycles to St. Louis, go camping and have a day of fun.  The ride out was great!  Nice sunny skies, good temperatures and good roads.  We awoke from our campsite Sunday morning to clouds and very soon on our journey home, rain.  I learned on this trip the importance of rain gear and being prepared, neither one of which we had or were.  In the years we had this bike we began to develop our soon to be passion for riding. 

In April of 2003 we were at another charity event and fell head over heals for our next motorcycle, a 1997 Goldwing GL1500 SE.  This bike was the one that really got Cindy interested in motorcycling. 

This motorcycle had the helmet to helmet communication system, a CB radio and lots more.  Cindy and I loved the communication system.  We could now ride and talk to each other.  With the 85, I would ask her if she wanted to go for a ride, with the 97 I no longer had to ask.  If I headed for the door with my helmet, she was right behind me with hers.  We got into doing some longer rides with a group on this machine.  We had the bike of our dreams, or so we thought. 



97 Goldwing SE



We were at a charity ride (must be something about these charity rides) a year later, April, 2004 when we were convinced to make our next step.  While on the ride our beautiful 97 got rear ended by another bike.  When we got back to the dealership where the ride was based out of I was informed that we would be without a motorcycle for several weeks while the repairs were being done.  I made the mistake of sitting on an 04, Candy Black Cherry brand new Goldwing.  The rest is history.  



04 Candy Black Cherry GL 1800



There was another surprise in 2004.  Cindy, who to this day, cannot drive a car with a clutch, came to me in February of 04 and declared she wanted her own motorcycle.  Now this love of my life never asked for anything but I wondered if she would actually ride on her own, enough to justify the investment into a motorcycle.  I had to give in, after all, she did ask.  In February of 04 we bought her a brand new 04 Honda Shadow Aero, Candy Black Cherry with Black.  It was a beautiful machine.  She learned to ride on that bike with the aid of the Motorcycle Safety course she got her motorcycle endorsement and our times of riding together really began to take off. 



04 Honda Shadow Aero 750



Now I covered all that so that the stories and adventures that I am going to share with my readers from this point forward will fit together and make a bit more sense, if motorcycling is supposed to make sense.  I will write of the many trips and adventures we made together and the fantastic fun times  we have had, as well as some of the mishaps and unexpected turns in the road.  I hope you continue to follow our adventures because the ride is just beginning!!!!!!

Sometime Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks

For those that know me or have known me for any period of time there is the awareness that I don't, excuse me didn't like holidays.  Didn't care for them at all.  Just another day of the week that someone attached an excuse to so that people could get off work or get all mushy.  This is a guy that would be at work when no one else was.  That was what you were supposed to do, work!  I always volunteered to work holidays, because holidays, to me, were a farce.  When I drove over the road I would not hesitate to take a run that would have me out over Christmas or would cause me to not be home for Easter.  Let's face it, if it weren't for the gallant efforts of my loving wife of over thirty two years (how did she make it that long?) we would have never put up a Christmas tree and goodness knows we would have never celebrated Easter, come on, a rabbit that lays eggs!!!  What a joke!
Of all the holidays I guess I probably hated Halloween the most.  Grown people dressing up and looking stupid, and for what?  To me it was a day of freebie hunters, give me candy, give me, give me....  
I'm here to tell you that there are ways to re-train the way us old dogs think.  Sometimes it is as simple as trying something and realizing that you were wrong.  Life can be fun, you can dress in a ridiculous costume and laugh.  It's okay.  This approach did not work on me.  It took getting knocked on my ass and realizing that every moment should be special.  Maybe it was a combination of my accident and the consistent urging from my grand kids that finally got me to let loose and have a little fun, to realize that it is okay to dress stupid and have some fun. 

I will remember Halloween of 2009 for the rest of my life as the Halloween that I dressed stupid and had fun doing it.  My grand kids loved having Roger Rabbit sitting on their front porch handing out freebie candy to little munchkins and actually having a smile on my face while doing so.  Now I want all you doubting Thomas's to look at this picture, yes that is old sourpuss me with that get up on and I was having FUN!
I guess the whole point of this ongoing of gibberish is to let you in on a lesson I have learned, live while you are alive, enjoy every waking moment, and let those that you love know how you feel. 
I am already planning this year's charades.  We recently got a young pug named Dozer.  Cindy bought Dozer a bee costume for Halloween.  I am going to be a bee keeper, escorted by my lovely wife, the Queen Bee!  I'll post some pictures so that we can all get a laugh after the party, yes I said party.  That is another thing I never did, go to a party, waste valuable time being bored looking at stupid people in stupid costumes.  Well this year I intend to be one of those stupid people in a stupid costume having some long over due FUN!
Gee, I think this year and the years to come I will enjoy Thanksgiving, I will actually put up a Christmas tree and enjoy doing it, I will share a toast with friends and family to welcome in the new year, I will most definitely take my sweetie out for a Valentine outing, I will hide those eggs that a bunny left behind for the grand kids to find, I will learn some new tricks and exercise those lesser used muscles in my face that create a smile, I will have some fun!!