Our Two-Wheeled Adventure

Honda Rebel Cafe Racer

2011-09-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

It all started MONTHS ago. I was pregnant. We were clearing out the third room for the baby's stuff. I was packing away old pictures, and I came across a photo of me with the motorcycle my parents gave me for Christmas 14 or so years ago. It was like a 1978 Kawasaki. It was blue. And it had a ginormous banana seat.

I wanted a cruiser. A mid-eighties Honda Rebel. Preferably a 450, but a 250 would suffice.

I got a banana seat. I hated it, but it was a gift from my parents so I had to act like I loved it. Seriously, I hated it.

So when I bought my own bike, I bought a Rebel.

And I was ECSTATIC!

And then, like I said, a few months ago, I saw the picture of me with the blue banana boat bike, and I thought, "Huh. That's not so bad."

And then I saw a Triumph on the road, and I thought, "Huh. That's not so bad."

And then I saw another one. And another one. And each time I was genuinely surprised by my reaction. "Huh. That looks kinda cool." WTF?! No. Cafe racers are NOT cool. CRUISERS are cool. BAGGERS are the coolest.

What's wrong with me?!

And then today we were at Motoworld and got the opportunity to talk to our old friend Ray (aka Mike) and I admitted out loud that I really kind of like the cafe racer. And Mike said, "Check out the Kawasaki."

So tonight, Chris and I were Googling like mad the Triumph Bonneville, the Kawasaki version and "Honda Rebel Cafe Racer Conversion."

And after waiting over a year for my white bagger, I've asked him to build me a cafe racer.

AND I'M SO EXCITED!

Hopefully the cafe racer will be an easier task than the bagger and it'll get done before 2012...but hopefully my writing about it doesn't jinx it ;)

Friendships

2011-09-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

Don't tell my husband, but I think the greatest part of Our Two-Wheeled Adventure thus far is the friendships we've created.

From Salt and JohnnyBoy, to my newest friends, the Property Of's. The friends we have found, the friendships we have created are truly priceless.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of celebrating Angel's birthday. Forevermore, September 11 will carry a less somber meaning for me. It is the day to celebrate my Angel :)

Again, I say, "Rejoice!"

2011-09-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

I woke up thinking of the verse that says, "Today is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it."

Why? Because Season 4 of Sons of Anarchy is FINALLY starting!*

AND it's 90 minutes tonight! The commercials make it look soooooooo good! Will Jax really leave? Why is Clay fighting with everyone? Who will be the big bad enemy this season? Will Lila and Opie get married? Will Tig and Tacoma finally settle their 8-yr-old beef about Missy**?

I'M SO EXCITED!

And if you didn't know, Kurt Sutter has offered up a challenge for the opening tonight that is offers a HUGE reward.***

I'M SO EXCITED! Hopefully, my children will cooperate so that I can actually watch 90 minutes**** of uninterrupted television...

*Yes, I know, Psalm 118:24 is referring to the glorious day of the Lord. My intent is not to be blasphemous. Truly, truly, I have the utmost for the Highest.

**You know their beef is over a DOG, right?!! Makes me LMAO every time I think about it. Kurt Sutter is genius!

***And by HUGE reward, I mean GI-NORMOUS, People! Watching an episode of SOA AT HIS HOUSE! That means watching SOA WITH Otto and Gemma! Hello?! Do you understand the awesomeness of this?!!! Spread the word so that the numbers meet his criteria! See his blog for info: http://sutterink.blogspot.com/2011/08/season-4-premier-challengepromise_30.html

****If you are a SOA fan, you should have DirecTV. It plays (in SoCal) at 7pm, 8:30pm and 10 pm.

posted from Bloggeroid

Pepperlicious

2011-09-04T03:06:00.001-07:00

posted from Bloggeroid

Peppercini

2011-08-21T10:29:00.001-07:00

Peppercini needs a beanie!

posted from Bloggeroid

Betty is BACK!

2011-08-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

After nearly a month at Sweetwater Harley Service Center, Betty is finally on the open road again this morning.

I had intended to write a scathing review of the service center at Sweetwater, because it took nearly a month to fix my husband's motorcycle. But truthfully, now that we have the bike back, I don't hate them so much.

And they gave us a military discount on the parts, so we saved over $100!

I would recommend that if you choose to use Sweetwater Harley's service center, that you make every effort to be crystal clear in your expectations. And hopefully Sweetwater Harley's service center will be crystal clear in what they can accomplish.

One of My Most Favorite Photographs

2011-06-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

Public Apology

2011-06-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

My sincerest of apologies to anyone I offended with a post I made last month. I am greatly sorry that my message came across as disrespectful.

As a person who expresses myself through writing, I expect that not everyone will agree with what I post. However, I never ever desire to be hurtful.

As requested, I have removed the post. Again, I am so sorry.

Daelen's First Picnic

2011-05-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Took Baby Dae (aka Peppercini) to his first biker picnic yesterday. It was hosted by the Urban Empire MC. Daelen was introduced to all the Aces, and of course everyone thought he was adorable :)

Yesterday was also the Royal Aces' Annual Memorial Ride for Fallen Aces.

All the guys who live in South County rode up to North County to meet up with the LA Aces. Then all the Aces rode south to Dennis Allen Park for the Urban Empire picnic. Then everyone rode north to LA for the Deuces dance. According to my husband, it was a great day :)

PS Learned yesterday that a non-Ace (I.E. me) cannot wear an Ace T-shirt that has the Royal Aces patch on it.

Motorcycle Clubs at Aces' Picnic

2011-02-13T08:23:00.001-08:00

BIG BIG BIG thanks to all the motorcycle and social clubs that came out to support the Royal Aces of San Diego at our Annual Picnic! (I believe it was the 24th Annual. It was Pepper's first.)

I tried to take pictures of as many patches as I could, with the intent of showing them off on my blog. Unfortunately, there are over fifty, and I am not presently interested in sitting at the computer for three hours loading pictures.

These clubs are listed in NO particular order, other than the order I took their pictures in!

Black Sabbath
New Breed Black Sabbath
Ebony Rider
Chosen Few
Unconditional Riders
LA Rattlers
Magic Wheels
Rare Breed
Dahuru
Black Hawks
RoughBreed Riderz
Clown Show
Zodiacs
Liberty Riders
Top Dawg Riders
Final Option
Deuces
Flaming Knights
First Four
Hub City Riders
Buffalo Soldiers Ninth and Tenth Calvary
Buffalo Soldiers
Great Kings of Africa
Brothers of the Sun
Twisted
Family
110 to the End
Solid
Wolf Pack Ridaz
4 Horsemen
Hawg Riders
Kings of Cali
As One
Blue Flames
Silver Star
Choppers
Head Hunters
Ruff Ryders
Downaz Rydaz
Rolling Queens
Stilettos and Chrome
Divided Time
Endangered Species
Magnificent 7
Wolf Pack
Hogg Life
Iron Essence
Ghetto Fabulous
Ghetto Boyz
The Jet Set
Original Route 66
DNZ619
Steel Twistin'
And one more club whose letters I cannot read:

Please note: Some of these clubs had multiple chapters present. I was not able to keep tally of all that. Maybe next year :)

Social Clubs:
Heart 2 Heart Compton Social Club
Lady Zodiacs
Sisters of the Sun
Children of the Sun
Lovely Ones
Legends
First Ladyz
Hi Desert Diamonds
Charlie's Angels
Lady Dragonfly's

Thanks again to everyone who came out!

I was able to get a video of when the Deuces rolled in...

Aces Picnic

2011-02-12T14:12:00.001-08:00

Going on now off Market St. Come on out!!

posted from Bloggeroid

Royal Aces Travel to Las Vegas

2011-01-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

The end of January, Chris and I traveled to Las Vegas.

The Aces go to Vegas every January for brother club The Deuces' annual dance.

Being 7 months pregnant, I was not interested in staying home alone all weekend, so I called my friend Kim and had her join me in the Frontier for the road trip.

Chris, however, road Betty all the way there.

He did not ride Betty home, though. We put her in the back of the truck. Not because she was broken, but because my bright idea to walk from Circus Circus to the Bellagio meant we didn't actually leave Vegas on Sunday until 3 pm...

The coolest part about the whole trip was when Chris got to ride the Strip in a pack of bikes. Seriously. WAY cool! Unfortunately, I was in truck behind the pack, so I couldn't take a photo. Gerrie (property of "Taz") was able to take a photo on the way back to the hotel. "Pepper" is in the rear :)

An Old Photo - 1000 thoughts

2011-01-12T20:57:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this photo from September 2009.

Not many photos exist of me on Chris's bike.

I haven't seen a pic of me pre-pregnancy for a long time.

Hagen hasn't been around for over a year.

Chris's bike looks NOTHING like that.

Christmas with the Aces

2010-12-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, we got together with "Pepper's" club brothers to share a little holiday cheer.

I made a deeeeelicious ham!

For some reason, Salt wanted his BFF Pepper to be his Secret Santa. So, Chris did him a favor and sold his bike ;)

FOR SALE: 2009 HD Rocker
Low Miles, Great Shape
Owner Can't Ride in the Cold :(
$20K or best offer. Call and ask for James

A Birthday Has Passed

2010-11-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

A year ago, Our Two-Wheeled Adventure was ramblin' down the road.

My ramblin', however, came to screeching halt when I chose to let my husband start working on turning the Rebel into a Bagger.

I did do a LOT of cross-country travels in our Nissan Frontier and by airplane.

And because I am "in the family way," my husband is pretty adamant that I stay off my motorcycle at least until the little biker is born!

And so, as my 32nd birthday came and went, I couldn't help but notice the great difference in our lives compared to the start of year 31 - most of it with Rattle Can ;).

Betty (and Chris) Nov 2009

Betty (and Chris) Nov 2010

The Royal Aces Motorcycle Club of San Diego

2010-10-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

You may not remember, but one time, I wrote about the Roughnecks...yeah, that was a disaster.

So, when the Royal Aces came up last Spring, I did NOT write anything. Fortunately, my superstitious behavior worked, because Chris is in!

6 October 2010, Chris was officially voted into the Royal Aces MCSD.

His road name is Pepper. Why? Because James is Salt :)

Pepper got his patches (and official title of "Secretary") the following Friday at a ceremony with the National President in Los Angeles.

Congratulations, Baby!!!!

Biker Wars

2010-09-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry I don't have much time for blogging...been busy volunteering at my son's school.

This morning, I did see an article of interest. Actually, the comments on the article were pretty interesting too!

ATF Thwarts Another War

Sturgis 2010

2010-08-08T08:59:00.001-07:00

As part of Road Trip #932 from Cali to MN back to Cali, Mom and I drove through Sturgis, hoping to show Brytin a million motorcycles. Our plan was foiled. First, because we spent too much time in Mitchell.

Second of all, because we spent way too much time in Wall.

Then we stopped and looked at the river.

And we saw some really cool clouds in Rapid City.

My mom, who went to the rally every year from like 1980 to 2005, showed me around. (I went there once as a child, but mostly remember stuff outside of Sturgis.)

I bought Chris and my dad a T-shirt, and a gift for James and Johnny. Mom and I each got a pin. Brytin, unfortunately, slept through the whole thing :(

SOA Season 3

2010-08-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

Septemeber 7 ! ! !

Season 2 will be available on DVD Aug 31.

Honolulu Harley Davidson

2010-07-27T02:35:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know, my summer has been chock-full of activity. (And none of it has been on a motorcycle!)

My mom came to visit in June. The Navy sent my husband away for the summer. My son went to Missouri for the summer. Mom and I went on a five-day road trip around Cali. At the last minute, I ditched my plans to go to Minnesota to have an amazing adventure in Hawaii. And in about 12 hours, I will be leaving my comfortable empty home to drive to Missouri to pick up Brytin.

But before I left, I wanted you to know that Chris and I found the Harley-Davidson store in Waikiki :)

Hollister, California

2010-07-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

During my California Adventure with my mother, I made a pit stop in Hollister for all my biker friends.

Johnny's Bar and Grill, is apparently where the motorcycle rider chose to ride his motorcycle through the bar after tiring of the "ordinary motorcycle thrills." According to Melissa Good Taste, the bar has some good food, too.

Why is Hollister considered the birthplace of the American biker? For the whole story, I recommend Chapter 3 of the book One Percenter by Dave Nichols. But the short is sweet is that some 4000 bikers had ridden into town for a race weekend put on by the AMA over July 4, 1947. Apparently, SOME bikers decided to get a little too rowdy for the sleepy town. The incident was sensationalized in newspapers across the country and then exploded when Life magazine ran a photo of the incident.

Though not a Life Magazine cover, the photo of a random drunk sitting on a motorcycle sparked a nationwide change in the way bikers were viewed and the way bikers behaved. I recently read an excellent blog regarding the "Shot Seen 'Round the World."

To read more about this posed photograph, I recommend this Boozefighter history web page.

Side note regarding Boozefighters: there is a difference between the Boozefighters of today and the "Original Boozefighters" established in the 1940s. Any individual that has done some research can clearly differentiate between the two and will always differentiate by offering the "Original Boozefighters" the more honorary title. Unfortunately, the Boozefighters of today do not seem to recognize said difference.

Because of the American public's negative response to these surly bikers, the AMA issued a press release that claimed that the individuals who caused the trouble in Hollister were only "one percent" of the motorcycle enthusiasts in the country. The letter continued to say that 99 precent of those who enjoyed the sport of motorcycling were good, clean, God-fearing, hard-working American citizens. Thus the term "One percenter" became a "badge of honor for the bikers who felt disenfranchised by society." (One Percenter page 92)

I wonder why the incident in Angel's Camp, California ten years later didn't get as much press? After a lot of digging, I was able to find the text of a 1957 article from American Motorcyclist. The writer was hell-bent (pun intended) on convincing the reader that any AMA rider was an upstanding citizen. The opposing view, from a Hell's Angel, makes sure the reader knows that AMA riders are just as shady as Angels, but they choose to hide their rebellious spirit. Case in point: my one and only helmet sticker reads, "Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult."

Busted!

2010-06-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

27 Outlaws Indicted

SOA Updates

2010-06-02T07:01:00.001-07:00

In case you didn't know, Kurt Sutter has a blog. Check out his sporadic updates HERE.

He also has a FB Page that he updates a little more often.

If you are on twitter, he microblogs often. I am not, so I do not have a link for you.

And, as always, there is the actual FX website

I have briefly mentioned SOA in my blog, also.

Did I mention Chris and I saw the leader of the Mayans roaming the streets of LA?!

For Me

2010-04-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

Because I get my love of motorcycles from my mom, because Chris has always desired to teach his son all he knows and apply that knowledge towards building a vehicle together, and because I know that both my husband and my son WANT to do things that make me happy...For 1,000 reasons more than my limited writing skills can describe, this was my favorite moment in the history of our two-wheeled adventure.

Eventually, this huge grey fender will be painted and installed on the rear of my bike. We got the fender at the Long Beach Swap Meet for $10. Very soon, my bike will be the bagger I've always wanted :)

Fishtails

2010-03-30T01:32:00.001-07:00

This is totally selfish, but whatever, because it's my blog - I do what I WANT!

Tons of cool stuff has happened and been experienced on our two-wheeled adventure over the last couple months, but I am finally posting a blog, because MY bike has been customized :)

Sarah is so beautiful!

Chris has been bugging me for months now to "upgrade" to a bigger engine motorcycle. For whatever reason, I am just not interested. I don't want to spend thousands on a bike I won't be as comfortable on. Sure, it'd be nice to go a little faster from the line, but I don't NEED to, and I also hugely appreciate the excellent fuel efficiency of my Rebel.

So, I told him I would rather make the Rebel into a motorcycle I that looks like my mom's than spend thousands to get a bike like my mom's. I have always loved my mom's bagger with it's exhaust and apes...It's everything I would want in a motorcycle.

So, I have set out to make a Rebel bagger. My husband, who LOVES to modify motorcycles, was all in. The first step was the fishtail exhaust. It was tricky, but my husband succeeded :)

Part-way through the process, we started the engine and were a little disappointed in the dirt bike like sound, but when it was all said and done, Sarah's sound was no longer lawnmower or dirt bike. She has a full, even, throaty sound that I love.

HUGE Bravo Zulu to my darling husband and his friends, James and Martin, for the wonderful work on my bike!

Whoa! Where did January go?

2010-02-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that more than a month has passed since I last posted! So many awesome things have happened. I promise I will update you soon. Look for posts about Cycle Saturdays (pronounced Si-ckle), a bobbed Betty, my first "crash" and hopefully a really well-written editorial on the joys of winter riding. Oh! And a puppy named, "Jax."

140 MPH Chase Ends When Sport Bike Runs Out of Gas

2009-12-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

And another imbecile for the record books...

Hot Mess!

2009-12-30T08:30:00.001-08:00

This lady, from Minnesota, and currently under arrest in Sturgis, South Dakota has broken a record that she probably shouldn't be too proud of...She shattered records for Blood Alcohol Count in South Dakota, and nearly broke the U.S. record!

Her BAC was .708 - HOLY SCHNICKEYS! The U.S. record is .72. SO CLOSE!

Marguerite Engle

The article from the Rapid City Journal, where we discover that the previous record in South Dakota was a mere .53. Way to go, Marguerite!!

Brytin, the Photographer

2009-12-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

Black Out

2009-12-21T08:15:00.000-08:00

Betty is in what Chris is calling the "Blackout" phase.

As you can see in The Evolution of Betty post, the bike was not so black in September. Every time I turn around, he is painting something on his bike black. Let me see if I can make a complete list of everything he has painted (not necessarily in chronological order).

Right side (exhaust side):
Fork
Trees
Blinkers (Front and Rear)
Exhaust (he actually bought that black)
Heat Shields
Air cleaner cover
Strut
Rail on the rear fender
Top of the engine
And the stripe under the seat is now red.

Left side (Which I call the "B" side):
Forks
Trees
Blinkers
Horn Cover
Strut
Rail on the rear fender
Top of the engine
Belt Cover
Derby Cover (he painted black and then later added a red "B")

I think that is everything. I am sure Chris will let me know if I missed something ;)

1730 (PST) Apparently, posting a photo of Betty on the Internet is inspiration for Chris to paint something...As I type, he is painting the spokes on his front wheel...Pictures to follow...

Because Every Biker Needs a Pick-up Truck

2009-12-17T13:00:00.001-08:00

Broussard's Bike Betty

2009-12-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

When Chris got the 3B's bell, I thought it stood for Mrs. B, Mr. B, and Bikes. As it turns out, it stands for Broussard's Bike, Betty!

Roughnecks MC San Diego

2009-12-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

He has finally done it! Chris has put in an application to prospect with a Motorcycle Club.

Remember I said it all started with a documentary on the Hells Angels? Well, it has been a long saga of researching clubs, starting clubs, and not picking clubs ever since.

Truthfully, over the last 11 months, we have talked about so many clubs, I do not even know which came first.

(I know there was a brief hang-around period with the VFW MC in Lemon Grove there are even pictures to prove it). I know there was serious headway in starting the Irons Spades until a riding club in MN took the name. So then the Iron Spades became the Unseen (also sometimes referred to as USHRFIST). And then there was a Boozefighter phase.

Discouraged with other peoples' clubs, the guys got serious about starting their own club. They researched, they wrote some by-laws, they had the center patch and the top rocker all worked out. And then they found out how much it would cost to actually get the patches made. Estimates were anywhere from $500 to $2000 for just ten patches!

Enter stage left: Roughnecks MC. Out of nowhere, Jason suggested to Chris and James that they check out the Roughnecks, a group of public servants that ride together whenever they get an opportunity.

Chris and James attended their December meeting, had a Q&A session with the President and the Sargent-at-Arms.

And today, the guys emailed their packets to prospect to the President.

It will be approximately six months before they are eligible to be full-patch members. I'll keep you posted!

UPDATE: The boys are in :) Their first official meeting will be January 7. At this meeting, they will receive their "Prospect" patches!!

HSC85 Christmas Party

2009-12-06T23:56:00.000-08:00

We all got cleaned up and went over to the Christmas Party for the guys' squadron. Ko did not attend :(

Martin put on his fancy belt and clean boots :)

Even James put on a button-up shirt - Tommy Hilfiger, no less! Fox donned a tie (Four-in-Hand knot courtesy of Chris, of course).

So, Chris and I were taking photos of ourselves, and Fox decided he wanted a photo of him and his "date." While James was preoccupied, Fox took the camera from me and tried to snap a photo of the two of them. Apparently, in the process, Fox put his hand on James' back and startled him. The end result? A photo of Fox's hair. LOL

Fox, Martin, Chris and James

James got a little drunk and might have been taken advantage of...

Fox wanted to be "cool" like his co-worker B.

The evening ended with a hilarious spoof on "Dick in a Box" by none other than funnyman James T. Slabaugh.

The sexiest man in the whole wide world

Have you seen Betty lately?

2009-12-06T10:35:00.001-08:00

She's had some cosmetic work done recently.

Cook's Corner 11/28/09

2009-11-30T18:33:00.000-08:00

We finally convinced Martin to join us on a run up to Cook's Corner. Unfortunately, it was raining. Never deterred by weather, Chris, James, Martin and I hopped in the Pony and made our way up there.

Because of the cold and rain, nothing was doing at Cook's on Sunday. We did have a great lunch though.

We checked into an excellent motel, the Irvine Suites, and then headed out to Big Shots for some billiards.

Martin got to go to a bar!

Who has a better butt?!

We woke up Sunday to gorgeous weather, so we took Martin back to Cook's. There were more bikes there than on Saturday, but unfortunately Martin had to work that afternoon, so we had to jam out.

I did get a couple photos of some old bikes.

All-in-all, excellent road trip!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving this year! We invited over some friends, and I cooked my first ever Thanksgiving meal.

All the guys showed up around 2 pm and quickly started customizing James' bike. (Apparently, Chris' need to paint whatever he can does not stop with his own bike...)

BEFORE It takes a lot of blue tape to spray paint the headlight, blinkers and tail lights on a motorcycle. But how many bikers DOES it take to put the tape on?!

The Rocker didn't actually get finished until the next day, because James had to buy green paint for the grenade-like starter. This next picture I took was approximately 2 seconds too late. James unveiled the green horn cover and all four guys had a look on their face like, "Wow. That is the coolest thing ever."

AFTER
Finally, around 5:30 dinner was ready. Ko made gravy and helped me set out all the food. The gravy was FABULOUS, by the way.

Chris carved the turkey.

James and John ate.

Me? I just looked good ;)

Lisa showed up and we taught Martin how to play Blackjack.

Mike and Channing showed up and played poker with us. I'm not sure why, but I don't seem to have a photo of my ChaCha :( She was SUPER cute in her polka dot dress and her brown hair!

And then around 1 AM, the lap dances started. What's Thanksgiving without a lap dance, right?!!

SOA

2009-11-17T18:11:00.001-08:00

I must admit, I am counting down the minutes for Sons of Anarchy to start tonight. According to the Season 2 Production Blog, "...Opie finds out the true circumstances that led to Donna's death and seeks both revenge and reconciliation."

HOLY SCHNICKEYS!

Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T15:25:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what active duty military personnel do on Veteran's Day?

They wash their motorcycles, of course!

They practice looking tough...

They relearn the basics.

They discuss the finer things in life.

And finally, for your viewing pleasure, Ladies and Gentleman, The Metrics!!

Guardian Bell

2009-11-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

Legend has it that Evil Road spirits have been latching themselves on to motorcycles for as long as there have been bikes on the road. These Evil Road Spirits are responsible for mechanical problems and bad luck along a journey.

Legend goes on to say that by attaching a small bell onto your bike, the Evil Road spirits will become trapped inside the bell where the constant ringing drives them insane, making them lose their grip until they fall to the ground. (Ever wonder where potholes come from?)

Legend also has it that the mystery of the Guardian Bell carries twice as much power when it is purchased by a friend or loved one and given as a gift. Show someone how much you care. Offer them a defense against the Evil Road spirits! Give a guardian bell and share the Legend of Good Luck it offers to a motorcycle and its rider!

I love being a Navy wife, so Chris bought me a Navy bell.

In the biker world, the 3 Bs stand for Bikes, Boobs and Beer. I like to think that Chris's 3 Bs are Mrs. B, Mr. B, and Bikes :)

Chris bought James a grenade-like bell. First because James has a grenade-shaped starter and second because James' job is with ordnance.

Our First Overnighter

2009-11-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday Dear Bad Ass...Happy Birthday to ME!!

For my birthday weekend, we took our bikes on their first “overnighter.” (No, the bikes sleeping at the clubhouse does not count!)

When we traveled to Cook's Corner the Sunday prior, we were on a very tight schedule, so I was not comfortable riding my motorcycle up there. Chris and James rode their Harleys and I drove the Pony. This plan worked for me for at least three reasons:

1. I got to smoke during the 90-minute car ride to Lake Forest.
2. I got to sing the whole way to Cook’s Corner.
3. I got to turn on the heat on the way home ;)

Though I could see the benefits in not riding my motorcycle to Orange County, I did, however, still want to ride to the most awesome biker bar in Southern California. The guys agreed that if James enjoyed Cook’s then we would all return the following weekend (for what I like to call the “The First Ever Birthday Run”).

Chris suggested we stay in a hotel close to Cook’s on Saturday night so we would not have to ride home in the cold dark night. I definitely liked that idea!

The Birthday Run almost didn’t happen. First, Chris contracted the H1N1 virus. His temperature was almost 104 degrees when Medical sent him home Wednesday! Thankfully, his wife is an excellent nurse and even though he wasn’t feeling 100 percent, he felt good enough to ride his bike. (It probably helped that he had not even seen his motorcycle in three days…he was going through withdrawals!)

Second, we woke up to cloudy skies and 55 degrees. Brrrrr! That did NOT sound like a super happy awesomely fun birthday run. Truthfully, I would have been cool if James had said it was too cold or if Chris had said he did not feel up to the ride. Thankfully, the boys still wanted to go.

Unfortunately, Martin and Ko did not go :( Apparently, they had had a rough week at work…regardless of their personal circumstances, I was a little peeved that they were ditching me on my birthday. (But maybe, that was their payback for me taking forever to post pictures of their new bikes on the blog. Touché!)

Chris led, I rode in the middle and James covered my ass. Unfortunately for him that meant almost getting an eye taken out by the visor that flew off my helmet at 75 MPH. That also meant rarely getting into sixth gear and almost rear-ending me when Chris made a sudden turn and I did not know what to do. I made Chris buy James lunch for his patience.

Not only does Cook’s Corner have live music, an on-site biker accessory store, lots of motorcycles to ogle, and MCs to discover, but they also have really good food!

Some of the Motorcycle Clubs we have seen at Cook’s Corner include:

Eagles of Capistrano
Ruff Riders
Vagos
Hessians
Pasadena MC
HOG Chapters
Flaming Knights
Devil Dolls

(If you want to see Angels, you have to go to Hell's Kitchen.)

We took the 94 West from the Clubhouse and hopped onto the 805 North. The 805, by the way, is a horrible ride on a motorcycle. I recommend avoiding it.

In Solano Beach, we jumped on the PCH to enjoy the ocean views. We enjoyed a leisurely ride all the way to Oceanside where we stopped to put gas in my cute little bike. We hopped back on the 5, but then had to stop at the rest stop just outside of Oceanside because the gas station’s restroom was out of order.

A lady on a Harley pulled up behind us and we had a nice little chat about the joys of riding. She suggested we try the S2 from Ocotillo Wells to Julian. We suggested she check out Cook’s Corner and went on our way.

We took the 5 North all the way to El Toro Road. Originally we had planned to pick up the PCH again in Dana Point, but the coast was much cooler than the 5, so I was not really interested anymore.

One of the coolest moments of my 31st year (so far) was while heading inland on El Toro Road in Lake Forest, California. I have not been to Cook’s Corner enough to have all the landmarks memorized, but there is a point where you go over a little hill and suddenly - BAM! - there are all these bikes lined up in the distance.

Truly, my heart skipped a beat - I fucking made it! Me and my cute little 250 rode 94 miles successfully! If I wasn’t so scared to take my hands off the handlebars, I totally would have pumped my fist in the air!

And then, I almost dumped my bike. LOL. Thankfully, my bike is so small and light; I can always catch it before it actually falls.

We arrived at Cook’s around 1 p.m. and hung out for about 3.5 hours. One of the first things we noticed is that foundation seems to work like Velcro for road grime. My face was almost completely black!

Unfortunately, while we were there, an accident occurred. A line of bikes was waiting to make a left turn into Cook’s. A Jeep Cherokee, going northbound on El Toro at 50 MPH somehow crossed the double yellow and hit the first bike head on…how in the world it happened, I will never know. How it is that the only casualty was the front-end of one bike, is a true miracle.

The coolest part was to see every single biker at Cook’s Corner rush on to the street the minute we heard brakes squeal. One guy was particularly overzealous at making sure whoever was driving the four-wheeled vehicle did not leave the scene. Thankfully, he calmed down a little when a woman stepped out of the driver’s side of the Jeep.

Though my heart was broken for the 60ish man who had to have his bike towed away from Cook’s Corner, I must admit, I also felt bad for the lady who hit him…It must have been a horrible experience for her. A suburban Orange County blonde in a pale blue velvet sweat suit in front of a biker bar…Seriously, if you accidentally hit a motorcycle, do not do it when 150 bikers are standing around.

I bought a Crampbuster contraption to test out and Chris bought me a guardian bell to hang on my bike. The boys also picked up more spikes, and I bought my first sticker, “Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.”

We saw a lot of great bikes, including the Captain America from Easy Rider. I would have taken more pictures, but we didn’t feel “cool” being touristy. This guy didn't seem to mind though. We also saw a guy do a wheelie!

Around 4:30 we rolled out to check-in to the nearest hotel. We found a Marriott about two miles away off Glenn Ranch Road. After checking in, we decided to go play pool at Big Shots on El Toro. We played pool for five hours! Bikes, billiards, laughs and Atomic Dog by George Clinton (the extended version even) - seriously, that is the best birthday Saturday a girl could ask for!!

I fell asleep Saturday wondering what cool adventures Sunday would bring, and I was not disappointed.

Chris and I did not pack anything for this trip, because we weren’t sure if the saddlebags we bought for my bike would really work. Waking up in the morning with no toiletries or change of clothes makes it really easy to determine what few items would have made my life easier Sunday morning. On our next overnighter, Chris and I plan to bring:

Deodorant (Travel-Size for each of us)
Toothpaste (I can use my finger to brush, but I need the cleaning agent!)
Q-Tips (I NEED to get the water out of my ears.)
Comb (I also need to get the snarls out of my hair.)
Lotion (For massages after a loooooong ride!)
T-Shirt (I refused to return to Cook’s on Sunday, because I was in the same shirt.)

We met up with James around 10 am, and headed out to find breakfast. The nearest Denny’s was in the perfect location - on El Toro right before the 5! I tried a new dish they have - a Grand Slamwich. It was SO delicious. I don’t normally try new food, but this sandwich was definitely awesome!

During breakfast, we realized we hadn’t taken any pictures yesterday (except for the Captain America bike at Cook’s). I suggested stopping at the View Point on the 5 just north of the rest stop. The guys agreed, so off we went in search of an excellent ocean view to showcase our motorcycles.

Unfortunately, when we got to the view point, the asphalt was actually much farther from the ocean than I remembered and the sky was hazy. And then, a big dumb AT&T semi pulled up in front of us blocking our entire ocean view. Doubly unfortunate were the two cups of coffee and large orange juice I had drunk at breakfast. There was not a restroom at the view point, so I had to get back on my bike and ride 3 miles before relieving myself.

I figured out on that first long ride of the day that my uber-tight full-fingered gloves help with the circulation in my fingers. Who knew?!

From the rest stop, we decided to take the 5 South to the 76 where we would try to find Renegade Classics, a biker store advertised in the Quick Throttle magazine. From the time we got to the 76, it took us approximately 45 minutes to find that store. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful so all the back and forth and U-turns and stops for map checks weren’t too much hassle. Next time, I’ll make sure James actually puts the address in his GPS rather than just the street name…

During this leg of the trip, I finally got my Crampbuster in the correct position on my throttle and was able to use it. Love it! Highly recommend it.

We found Renegade Classics, and it turned out pretty cool. Not surprisingly, my husband bought ANOTHER helmet. That brings the total to seven! (One of the helmets we did have was offloaded to Mr. John Martin.)

We left Renegade and decided to take the PCH from Oceanside. The sun was starting to go down, so we got some awesome views while traveling along the ocean. We stopped around Encinitas and took a couple pictures. It was a little difficult with the sun and the traffic, but we managed.
Why are we laughing? Because a sweaty jogger in an A-Shirt and tiny running shorts offered to take a picture!

After the pictures, we got on the 5 and headed home. The ride from Encinitas to Lemon Grove was MUCH colder than I expected. It was actually the first time on the whole trip that I got cold.

Somehow I ended up in the lead on the way home and barreled down the 5 to the 94 East as fast as my little bike would carry me. When we got to the exit for the clubhouse, I was so relieved; I traveled about 30 MPH the rest of the way to James’ house.

Interesting side note: it took me eight months to get 200 miles on my odometer. I doubled that this weekend :D

Chris decided he wanted to barbecue, so while he went and picked up Brytin, James and I went to Albertson’s and bought steaks. We also rented a couple movies from Blockbuster - Gran Torino being the one I demanded James watch. He didn’t like it so much, but he did enjoy Stepbrothers.

We finally got home from our first overnighter late Sunday/early Monday and fell asleep. What a great trip!! I can’t wait until the next Motorcycle Adventure!
P.S.
My bike finally has a name. Ladies and Gentleman, meet Sarah

Chris’ bike is named Betty

James’ is named Charlene

Martin’s bike is named Cherry.

Ko is still working on his. I think it should be Chelsea (because Cherry and Chelsea are fraternal twins).

Cook's Corner

2009-11-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

Chris and I took James up to Cook's Corner in Trabuco Canyon. Since I was in the Mustang, I decided to take a few pictures on the way...

Have I Introduced Ko?

2009-10-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

The Not-Yet Operational Club has a new prospect - Ko. He also works with Chris, James and Martin.

When he joined the group, he did not have a motorcycle. He had never ridden a motorcycle. He had no idea what kind of motorcycle he wanted. The guys all took him to a Harley dealership to have him sit on those. He liked them, but was not yet convinced.

The day that San Diego House of Motorcycles had their Fall Expo, Chris, James and I rode our bikes over there. It was the first time our bikes had been back to the place we bought them. Ray, our salesman, was there with some unfortunate news - it was his last day. Though I am excited for him to start his new adventure in asphalt, I was sad to see him go.

Ko was too busy watching television to hurry up and get to SDHM to sit on some metric bikes. While waiting, Mr. John Martin managed to find a VStar 1100 that he totally adored. After calling his mom for financial advice, he decided to go for it. James and Martin went to Jason's and picked up Martin's Sportster so that Ray could give him a trade-in offer.

As it turns out, the problem Martin was having with second gear on his Sportster would cost about $2500 to fix, so his trade-in value was a little less than he paid for it, but he still got a sweet deal on an awesome bike.

Ko finally showed up and found another VStar 1100 that he liked. His was a different color than Martin's and had none of the customization. It was a great deal for a first-timer. Ko checked out every other bike in the store, but settled on the VStar.

After about six hours of financing haggling for the two bikes, we finally loaded them on the truck and headed back to the clubhouse.

Unfortunately, on the way there, Martin's bike tipped over :( However, the dent in his tank honestly looks like it belongs there. If only we could figure out how to make an identical one on the other side...

Chris bought another helmet and another jacket. I bought saddle bags.

The boys did some customizing to their new bikes. Martin removed the pad from his sissy bar, and Ko removed his passenger seat. Martin, James and Chris took a victory lap around the block, and then called it a night.

We then met up on Sunday so the boys could ride their new motorcycles.

As always, Martin can be found washing his motorcycle.

The guy who didn't get a new bike this weekend.

Teaching Ko the basics.

Stabling the horse.

Oh! Remember Mr. Happy?

Well, give him some throaty exhaust and he turns into Mr. BadAss!

DareDevilz BC

2009-10-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

I’ll save you all the details that I put on Brytin's blog, and just show you the pictures of a really bad ass biker :)

John the Revelator

2009-10-03T17:46:00.001-07:00

For lyrics to "John the Revelator" (my FAVORITE Sons of Anarchy song), click here.

Don't know what Sons of Anarchy is? Check it out - NOW!

Times Like These

2009-09-29T21:10:00.001-07:00

He is the sexiest man in the whole wide world!

Times Like These - Foo Fighters

Is there such a thing as TOO much violence?

2009-09-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

A blogger writes about Sons of Anarchy, and attests that the storyline has gone out of control with violence. Do you agree?

MotorcycleBlog.net

You're never gonna believe this!

2009-09-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

No helmet, no socks, NO PANTS!

Click here for information regarding Florida biker arrested for DUI...

Turn Up the Volume!

2009-09-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

Chris's exhaust came in Monday

Brytin got to help him "fix" the bike :)

He decided not to put the heat shields back on; he used exhaust wrap instead.

Down with the baffle!

Betty

A Street Bob: The Evolution of Betty

2009-09-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

March 2009 - Original

April, 2009 - For his birthday, Chris got the Bare Bones seat by La Pera. He also tilted his handlebars back a smidge.

June 2009 - He removed the emblem from his tank.

July 2009 - He fabricated a side-mount plate holder so he could move his license plate from the rear fender.

Sept 2009 - He removed the reflectors in the front and rear and removed the front fender.

He still has more he wants to do, but for now, he is satisfied.

The Prospect: A Day in the Life of the Not-Yet-Operational MC

2009-09-10T17:36:00.001-07:00

The bikers Chris rides with – James and Jason – are friends he met at work. They are good guys. They have been riding motorcycles for a long time and have helped Chris become an excellent motorcycle rider.

The guys have talked about starting a Motorcycle Club (MC) for months, but have not yet got anything up and running. (I will talk about their stint with the VFW MC in another post.) Even though the Unseen Scorned Hawks Riding their Forsaken Iron Spades Together (USHRFIST) is not yet operational, the guys did manage to obtain a prospect – Mr. Martin.

He bought his 1200 Sportster a couple weeks ago. Ever since, we have had a lot of fun helping him learn how to ride it. First he rode around in the small parking lot at Jason’s apartment. Then this past Saturday we took him to a (mostly) empty large parking lot.

Chris had the (un)pleasure of being the one to ride Martin’s Sportster from Jason’s house to the Mervyn’s parking lot (approximately five miles). Apparently, a Sportster is a lot different than Chris’s Street Bob…he stalled it, he got passed by Jason, and he could not stop complaining about how it controls. BUT! He did get the opportunity to wear his new helmet. That’s right! We now have 7 helmets!

We had Martin weave around the barriers in the lot and make some turns (previously he had only ridden in straight lines and then walked the bike through a U-Turn). He got pretty comfortable with those tasks (and only almost got hit by a car once or twice). Two-year-old Hagen was on cue with his “Uh oh” every time Martin drove past us.

We wrapped it up for the night and agreed to meet at James’ house the next morning.

SIDE NOTE: Somehow, James the Hermit avoided the 45-minute conversation we got trapped in with his neighbor – a black woman named Sheniqua (or something ghetto-fabulous like that), who was a born-again Christian with a psychology degree. Literally, she spent 45 minutes psycho-analyzing my husband while telling us all about the miracles God has performed in her life and making sure we all KNOW she wears the pants in her marriage.

Eventually we all arrived at the “club house” Sunday morning. The guys chatted for a while and then adjusted the gear shifters on both my bike and Martin’s bike. Chris, James and Jason wanted Martin to work on his emergency stop. A little rough at first, but after the third of fourth attempt, he got the hang of it.

Apparently bored out of his mind, James suddenly decided to come blazing out of his garage with his Harley Rocker. Loud as all get-out with his after-market Vance and Hines Big Radius 2-in-2 exhaust, I was worried that he would piss off his neighbors. Even more worried that they would call the cops, I ran out in the street flailing his helmet and sunglasses.

And suddenly, they all mounted their horses and decided to take Martin around the block. I am pretty sure it was a cool moment for all of them. (Finally adding Dudley to their group makes them official, right?)

Jason left to go work on his 13-window VW bus, and the rest of us returned to the vacant parking lot. I worked on my right turns – who knew right turns were more difficult than left ones? I did not, until James said something, and I realized I was making all left turns. So, I forced myself to go round and round and round a barrier clockwise until I was dizzy. I did improve my right turns, but I am sure I looked like an idiot.

Speaking of looking like an idiot, Chris got on my Honda Rebel to try out a course he had set up of figure 8s. I do not know if the pictures accurately portray the reality, but he truly looked like a circus act running figure 8s on my 250cc motorcycle. (Did anyone see the episode of Sons of Anarchy where Half-Sack rode a mini-bike to tail the deputy?)

We spent a couple hours running drills in the parking lot. Martin actually got much much better at making turns than that first night in Jason’s driveway when he almost drove through a garage door.

When we were all tired of running circles around cones and trees, we took all the bikes back to James’ house. Martin really wanted to wash his bike, but James did not have a hose. After contemplating the repercussions of stealing Sheniqua’s hose, Chris hopped on the Bob and disappeared. He returned about 20 minutes later with a hose wrapped around his handlebars.

I voted that the Prospect should have to clean my bike, but Chris (aka The Prez, Eddie Zero or DJ Easydick) said that Martin is a full-patch member now, so we have to go back to picking on Squidward. So, I made The Prez wash my bike. Just kidding. He volunteered – Thank you, Baby!

Martin bought us pizza and then spent three hours washing and polishing his bike. I am not exaggerating. Three hours.

Meanwhile, I took a nap (which I was so very cruelly awakened from), and Chris did a bunch of random customization on his bike. He removed the reflectors from his forks; he removed the reflectors from his rear fender and then removed the front fender. Call me crazy, but don’t fenders and reflectors serve a purpose?!

Jason ditched us to work on the Iceman Charger bus. The rest of us watched the final five episodes of Season One of Sons of Anarchy. Season Two started Sept 8! Woo hoo!

Not as exciting as a cross-country trip, but yet a totally awesome day in the life!

Our Bikes Chose Us

2009-09-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

We did a LOT of research before we purchased the motorcycles we have. Our ideas and plans changed 1,000 times. Neither of us had our motorcycle endorsements yet and so test-driving was not an option, but we certainly sat on a lot of bikes. We talked to a lot of different salesmen at a lot of different stores.
I needed a bike that was low to the ground and lightweight. Chris wanted a Harley, but had heard somewhere that a Sportster was a girl bike, so Harleys were a bit out of our price range. The first bike he wanted was an HD Rocker. He likes the chopper look. Then, he found a website that sold kits to turn almost any bike into a chopper. http://www.chopper-kit-usa.com/ He spent weeks looking at those websites and pictures and talking about all the things he wanted to do.

Meanwhile, because my bike would no doubt be less expensive, we started really looking (figuring Chris could also ride it a bit to gain experience before settling on what bike he wanted). My first choice was a Honda Rebel 250. It is so lightweight, that I can kind of manhandle it if something goes awry on the road. It is so low to the ground, that I can touch both feet flat on the floor. The motor is small enough that I won’t be scared by its power and yet strong enough to keep up with bigger cruisers. Plus, they are very inexpensive.

We went to San Diego House of Motorcycles to check one out. http://www.houseofmotorcycles.com/ Convinced that I would quickly grow out of the Rebel, the salesman convinced me to sit on a Suzuki Savage, and I liked it. Chris and I went home to research our options in the 600cc range.

I very much love the look of the Yamaha VStar Classic. It looks a lot like my mom’s bike (well, it’s at least white with big fenders). The next time we went to San Diego House of Motorcycles, I sat on one…I think it’s beautiful, but it felt too big for me. At that time, I hadn’t ridden a motorcycle in over a decade, and most of my memories were of NOT enjoying the actual driving of the motorcycle – it’s scary, it’s complicated, it’s dangerous…I much preferred being a passenger.

The next bike I sat on was the Honda Shadow Aero. It was PERFECT (except for that particular bike’s paint scheme). It was not too big; it was super easy for me to maneuver. I loved it! I wanted it! We drove to a different bike shop that had an Aero for a little less – I hated it. I do not know if the handlebars were different or my mindset was different or what, but I hated the exact same bike at a different store. I cannot even remember the store’s name because I hated that Aero so much!

Chris, on the other hand, was falling in love with Yamaha’s Raider (rival to the HD rocker) at that store. I tore Chris away from the Raider and made him take me back to SDHM. I needed to know if my mind was playing tricks – did I want the Aero or not?! When we got to the store, I made a beeline for “my” Aero, and suddenly I was NOT sold on it. It felt big, awkward, I knew I was just nervous, but I did not want to buy a bike that made me nervous.

While I was hemming and hawing over the Aero, Chris found a totally custom GORGEOUS Raider. He LOVED it. I loved it. Unfortunately, used non-Harleys were more difficult for us to get financed. Ray Bilbrey, our most awesome salesman, presented Chris with two options:
1. A new glossy black (non-custom) Raider
2. A 2008 matte black Harley Dyna Street Bob
For Chris, the choice was almost instantaneous. He felt like it was destiny that there was a matte black Harley at this metric bike shop.

So, March 7, 2009, we bought a 2009 Honda Rebel and a 2008 Harley FXDB (Street Bob). We still did not have our endorsements, so the bikes were delivered the next day. It was such an awesome moment at the Broussard house when the delivery truck pulled up with our bikes on the back!

We spent the afternoon sitting on them (while Channing took photos).

The only time I’ll ever sit behind Chris (he has since removed the passenger seat from his bike).

Isn’t my bike the cutest?!!

Both of us are very happy with our final choices.

Our First Ride

2009-08-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

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!

Helmets For Sale!

2009-08-23T23:17:00.000-07:00

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 Catalyst for the Two-Wheeled Adventure

2009-08-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

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…

Leroy's New Ride

2009-08-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

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

Biker Chick Eats Pavement

2009-08-20T20:46:00.001-07:00

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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