I know I'm jumping ahead in the story, but I have to share with you this most awesome moment Chris and I have shared thus far.
Finally, we were alone with the opportunity to ride our motorcycles together. Finally, we had the chance to get on our bikes and R I D E ! ! Just the two of us. Free. Wind in our faces, free.
It was so very much fun!! I'm not much of a descriptive writer, so my words truly cannot describe the fun, excitement, joy I felt riding with my husband on our motorcycles for the first time. I didn't take any photos of us, because we were short on time.
Brytin had his first day of school Aug 17, and so it presented us with some alone time. After dropping off Adrienne, we went back to the house. Chris was planning to wash the bikes - mine was filthy from sitting, his was filty from riding.
Around 11:00, Chris got a call from work saying that he had to go in for a minute. My hopes of our first ride almost vanished. But, ever awesome, my husband was able to go into work and get back in time for us to ride for a short while.
I haven't ridden much since getting my bike, especially not on the freeway, so I was hoping to gain some experience (read: confidence) by following him. After all, if I was following him, I couldn't very well chicken out!
So, we set out on Jamacha Boulevard and then suddenly were on the 125 going North. Oh my gosh - I was driving my little itty bitty motorcylce 60 miles per hour! There was so much wind, so much more to think about! But I did it :)
And then we went East on the 94. At this point, I passed him going 65 ;)
We took Old Campo Road for a spell which is a few miles of relaxed curves. It was so much fun! Sometimes, he would lead and then I'd gather some courage and pass him. Sometimes, we would ride side-by-side and then he would taunt me by reving his big bad ass Harley and zooming way out in front of me. I felt like we were in a relaxed game of cat-and-mouse. Not only exhilarating for the soul, but also for the marriage ;)
After a short while, Chris realized we had to go back because we had to pick up BooBoo from his first day of school (Wow!). With no warning what-so-ever, he took a left turn :( I recovered well and then led the way back home.
I couldn't stop smiling!! We bought our motorcycles in March. Due to logistical reasons, we have been unable to actually ride together. Finally! Aug 17, 2009, we shared our first ride. It is a memory I will never ever ever forget!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Helmets For Sale!
We found a really great website for inexpensive motorcycle gear: www.Leatherup.com
The first things we bought were helmets for the very low price of $35 each. My half-shell helmet has a carbon fiber look; Chris ordered a German-style flat black one.
They arrived very quickly. (Leatherup.com is seriously awesome.) We were so excited when our boxes showed up! I remember thinking that we were about to share a really cool moment – our first step towards becoming motorcycle riders!
And then Chris tried his helmet on.
My cool bonding moment was forever ruined. Not only was his helmet too small, but the German-style did NOT match his face shape. He was very disappointed, and I instantly felt guilty because mine was perfect :) (I’d show you pictures, but he probably would be mad at me.)
So, we got on leatherup.com and ordered another one - flat black half-shell. Unfortunately, Chris refused to change the size he ordered. So, eventually, we ordered him another one. Exactly the same helmet – flat black half shell – just one size bigger. Finally! Chris had a perfect helmet! Woo hoo!
In the meantime, I came up on a full-face helmet for myself (for free) that is currently collecting dust on the “helmet shelf” in our linen closet. I understand that a full-face helmet might save my brain in the event of a crash. I understand that safety is important when endangering your life on a two-wheeled adventure. (We’ll debate the contradiction between having a helmet law and allowing lane-splitting later.) But honestly, I do not know how people wear those things. They squish my cheeks, they cut off my peripheral vision and I cannot hear ANYTHING going on around me. How can I be safe if I am repeating the chubby joke over and over in my head because my cheeks are so fat? (My name is Chubby. My mommy is chubby, my daddy is chubby – even my puppy is chubby! Haha Just kidding.) But seriously, if I cannot hear the cars that are threatening to cut into my lane, and I cannot see them because my vision is impaired, I do not think I am safer wearing that helmet.
And then, leatherup.com started to sell the slimmed-down, barely legal, hardly going to save your noggin version of the half-shell (or so we thought). Chris has been pining for one of these for quite some time, but they usually cost around $120. So, we ordered him another helmet – flat black, of course.
It arrived the next day or so and SURPRISE! It looks exactly the same! There might be a quarter-inch less padding, but the visual effect is EXACTLY the same. And since Chris once again did not want to order the bigger size, it just does not quite fit him.
So…were you keeping track? We have SIX helmets! Thankfully, our six helmets did not cost as much as one expensive one, but I do not have room in my house for six helmets. Anyone want to buy a helmet?
The Helmet Shelf (the one Chris wears is not present)
The first things we bought were helmets for the very low price of $35 each. My half-shell helmet has a carbon fiber look; Chris ordered a German-style flat black one.
They arrived very quickly. (Leatherup.com is seriously awesome.) We were so excited when our boxes showed up! I remember thinking that we were about to share a really cool moment – our first step towards becoming motorcycle riders!
And then Chris tried his helmet on.
My cool bonding moment was forever ruined. Not only was his helmet too small, but the German-style did NOT match his face shape. He was very disappointed, and I instantly felt guilty because mine was perfect :) (I’d show you pictures, but he probably would be mad at me.)
So, we got on leatherup.com and ordered another one - flat black half-shell. Unfortunately, Chris refused to change the size he ordered. So, eventually, we ordered him another one. Exactly the same helmet – flat black half shell – just one size bigger. Finally! Chris had a perfect helmet! Woo hoo!
In the meantime, I came up on a full-face helmet for myself (for free) that is currently collecting dust on the “helmet shelf” in our linen closet. I understand that a full-face helmet might save my brain in the event of a crash. I understand that safety is important when endangering your life on a two-wheeled adventure. (We’ll debate the contradiction between having a helmet law and allowing lane-splitting later.) But honestly, I do not know how people wear those things. They squish my cheeks, they cut off my peripheral vision and I cannot hear ANYTHING going on around me. How can I be safe if I am repeating the chubby joke over and over in my head because my cheeks are so fat? (My name is Chubby. My mommy is chubby, my daddy is chubby – even my puppy is chubby! Haha Just kidding.) But seriously, if I cannot hear the cars that are threatening to cut into my lane, and I cannot see them because my vision is impaired, I do not think I am safer wearing that helmet.
And then, leatherup.com started to sell the slimmed-down, barely legal, hardly going to save your noggin version of the half-shell (or so we thought). Chris has been pining for one of these for quite some time, but they usually cost around $120. So, we ordered him another helmet – flat black, of course.
It arrived the next day or so and SURPRISE! It looks exactly the same! There might be a quarter-inch less padding, but the visual effect is EXACTLY the same. And since Chris once again did not want to order the bigger size, it just does not quite fit him.
So…were you keeping track? We have SIX helmets! Thankfully, our six helmets did not cost as much as one expensive one, but I do not have room in my house for six helmets. Anyone want to buy a helmet?
The Helmet Shelf (the one Chris wears is not present)
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Catalyst for the Two-Wheeled Adventure
One night, back in January or February, Chris and I happened to watch a documentary on the Hell’s Angels. This documentary sparked a very long process that I will only begin to describe in this post.
After viewing the documentary, Chris decided that being a club biker would be the coolest thing ever. In turn, we spent the rest of the evening researching the Hell’s Angels.
SURPRISE! Chris is not “eligible” to become a Hell’s Angel based on the fact that he is black. I was a little offended, based on the fact that I live in Southern California where everything is much more liberal and have since almost forgotten about racism, bigotry and prejudice. But yet, being from the Midwest and seeing what I’ve seen, it was not all that shocking, and I quickly accepted the Angel’s choice as fact.
Chris, however, had a completely different respose. Somehow, he got the hair-brained idea to be the first ever black man in the Hell’s Angels. Though I instantly was fearful of his life, I didn't want to completely squash his dreams, so I allowed him the opportunity to play out this scenario…
Thankfully, after about 10 or 15 minutes of impromptu role-playing, Chris concluded that it probably was not in his best interest to march into the Dago bar over on El Cajon Blvd and demand they allow him to get patched in.
As we lay our heads on our pillows that night, the conclusion was made that we were definitely going to ride motorcycles, but that Chris would have to find a different club to join…
After viewing the documentary, Chris decided that being a club biker would be the coolest thing ever. In turn, we spent the rest of the evening researching the Hell’s Angels.
SURPRISE! Chris is not “eligible” to become a Hell’s Angel based on the fact that he is black. I was a little offended, based on the fact that I live in Southern California where everything is much more liberal and have since almost forgotten about racism, bigotry and prejudice. But yet, being from the Midwest and seeing what I’ve seen, it was not all that shocking, and I quickly accepted the Angel’s choice as fact.
Chris, however, had a completely different respose. Somehow, he got the hair-brained idea to be the first ever black man in the Hell’s Angels. Though I instantly was fearful of his life, I didn't want to completely squash his dreams, so I allowed him the opportunity to play out this scenario…
Thankfully, after about 10 or 15 minutes of impromptu role-playing, Chris concluded that it probably was not in his best interest to march into the Dago bar over on El Cajon Blvd and demand they allow him to get patched in.
As we lay our heads on our pillows that night, the conclusion was made that we were definitely going to ride motorcycles, but that Chris would have to find a different club to join…
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Leroy's New Ride
When my mom heard that we were talking about getting motorcycles, she emailed me this video. Not sure, but I'm assuming she meant it for Chris ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcWQhOcBKnE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcWQhOcBKnE
Biker Chick Eats Pavement
We talked about buying motorcycles for a long time before making our final choices. During one of our discussions, Chris stumbled upon this video. It was at this point that I decided I would be buying my OWN motorcycle.
Click Link to see Video - Biker Chick Eats Pavement
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Click Link to see Video - Biker Chick Eats Pavement
Shared via AddThis
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