Why and how did I get back into riding? First you have to understand my previous riding. My dad approached me with the idea of getting a Honda 450 to commute to college after I had "borrowed" his Honda Mini-trail 70 for much of my senior year at CVHS and when I got started at Glendale CC. Picture a 6'3" basketball player riding to GCC on a bike not much bigger than a mini-bike. I thought you might like an opportunity to smile. I ended up with a new Honda 500CB, four cylinder motorcycle. Smooth, quiet (relatively), 50+ MPG, and I went all over the place on it. Once my parents left me (a subject for another story that involves my dad taking a job in the bay area and me staying at CSUN) it became the only way I had to get around for some time, rain or shine, flooded streets to CSUN, and a few long trips here and there. This may bring a smile to LCPC folks; I rode up to Bass Lake during a Junior High camp that my mom was an adult advisor for and, Bass Lake being the place she grew up, I went to visit Grandpa and Grandma Matt and help out with the camp. I gave rides to the kids around the camp as a free time activity. Wonder how that would sit with session these days?
I gave up the bike and riding shortly after we got married and thought that was the end of it. Now and again I would consider riding but was just too busy to follow through and it didn't fit the life we had. Then about 6 years ago I received a motorcycle calendar with bikes from my era on it from my most awesome wife. I looked at bikes every day that I worked in my cubical for a year as it hung right next to my Dilbert strip. As the year closed down I looked more closely at bikes and riding and seriously wondered if I could get back to it or even if I would like it again. I devised a plan that started with me going to the CMSP (California Motorcycle Safety Program) even though I still had a valid M1 rating. I don't know why they never took it away but you could blame it on both Democratic and Republican Governors and State Legislators, they all had their shots and that's as political as I'm likely to get here. The 1st evening of the program, a Friday, we were asked to get into groups and pick a group name. We had the older guys with one younger man and I was senior in our little group; the young guy was outvoted and we became the "Wild Hogs" after the recently released movie but he didn't seem to mind. We all went through later that evening showing our license and when the instructor saw my M1 he asked why I was in the class. I told him it had been 25 or so years since I last rode and that I wanted to re-enter motorcycling the right way and maybe even see if it weren't for me after all; good answer. Day two was an all day thing, half on bikes which were a collection of 250cc motors, and half in the classroom. About 30 minutes or so into the riding I pulled up to one instructor to wait for the next maneuver and he looked at me and said with a big grin "You're having too much fun!" and to that I replied with a plaintive whine "Does it shooooow?" I knew then that I wanted to be riding, it really felt right.
Step two of my process was to rent a bike for a couple of days to thoroughly test out the gut feeling about it even though it was probably a foregone conclusion; read here that I already bought a riding jacket. I rented a Honda Shadow, 750cc model, from Eagle Rentals in L. A., rode around the streets for a bit to get the feel of the bike and then hit PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) to go up to Santa Barbara to see my daughter, son-in-law, and pretty new granddaughter. It's still one of my favorite rides and I like to stop at Point Magu to look out over the wetlands to the ocean; it’s beautiful almost any day of the year. After going through the construction zones between Eagle Rentals and Santa Monica I hit PCH just above the pier and within a few minutes of cruising north I found that this felt completely natural to me and I knew then that I wanted to be a rider again; almost as if I should be a rider again. Don't get me wrong here. I did not let my guard down and ride willy-nilly down the road without a care in the world. On the contrary, staying alert to the drivers around me, the drivers in the long view ahead of me, the pavement and road conditions that I'm coming up on are all a part of the ride for me, part of the challenge, and part of what I like to excel at while riding. Really, this should be a part of how we move about no matter the means or circumstances. Friends, be vigilant in all that you do.
Step three of the process was to plot a course to being a motorcycle owner again which I have accomplished but that is a post for another time. If you've read this far then I'd like to have you consider something; have you ever left something good behind and wonder about it for a long time afterwards? Have you considered this activity and wondered if it could be a good part of your life and who you are; if you could somehow find the pace of it again and have it enhance who you are and the way you travel through life? If you have, then I encourage you not to stop considering it just yet but instead give it a 30,000 foot view and see how it looks from way above and if it still holds the old allure then bring it a little closer and see if it might actually fit within the greater view of where you want to go. If it's not then it may be time to let go or put it way up on the shelf for another time and place. If so, then get real close and dip your toe in to see if you like it and if you do, keeping it in perspective of the larger you and all that defines you (read here, loved ones, spiritual health, etc.) plot a course for your return and always stay alert.
My friend, keep the iron side up wherever you are heading, however you are traveling because unless you travel around in a rubber ball then the rubber is best on the road and the iron best in a reasonably vertical fashion. Be safe, be well, and let me know how the road goes for you.
I gave up the bike and riding shortly after we got married and thought that was the end of it. Now and again I would consider riding but was just too busy to follow through and it didn't fit the life we had. Then about 6 years ago I received a motorcycle calendar with bikes from my era on it from my most awesome wife. I looked at bikes every day that I worked in my cubical for a year as it hung right next to my Dilbert strip. As the year closed down I looked more closely at bikes and riding and seriously wondered if I could get back to it or even if I would like it again. I devised a plan that started with me going to the CMSP (California Motorcycle Safety Program) even though I still had a valid M1 rating. I don't know why they never took it away but you could blame it on both Democratic and Republican Governors and State Legislators, they all had their shots and that's as political as I'm likely to get here. The 1st evening of the program, a Friday, we were asked to get into groups and pick a group name. We had the older guys with one younger man and I was senior in our little group; the young guy was outvoted and we became the "Wild Hogs" after the recently released movie but he didn't seem to mind. We all went through later that evening showing our license and when the instructor saw my M1 he asked why I was in the class. I told him it had been 25 or so years since I last rode and that I wanted to re-enter motorcycling the right way and maybe even see if it weren't for me after all; good answer. Day two was an all day thing, half on bikes which were a collection of 250cc motors, and half in the classroom. About 30 minutes or so into the riding I pulled up to one instructor to wait for the next maneuver and he looked at me and said with a big grin "You're having too much fun!" and to that I replied with a plaintive whine "Does it shooooow?" I knew then that I wanted to be riding, it really felt right.
Step two of my process was to rent a bike for a couple of days to thoroughly test out the gut feeling about it even though it was probably a foregone conclusion; read here that I already bought a riding jacket. I rented a Honda Shadow, 750cc model, from Eagle Rentals in L. A., rode around the streets for a bit to get the feel of the bike and then hit PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) to go up to Santa Barbara to see my daughter, son-in-law, and pretty new granddaughter. It's still one of my favorite rides and I like to stop at Point Magu to look out over the wetlands to the ocean; it’s beautiful almost any day of the year. After going through the construction zones between Eagle Rentals and Santa Monica I hit PCH just above the pier and within a few minutes of cruising north I found that this felt completely natural to me and I knew then that I wanted to be a rider again; almost as if I should be a rider again. Don't get me wrong here. I did not let my guard down and ride willy-nilly down the road without a care in the world. On the contrary, staying alert to the drivers around me, the drivers in the long view ahead of me, the pavement and road conditions that I'm coming up on are all a part of the ride for me, part of the challenge, and part of what I like to excel at while riding. Really, this should be a part of how we move about no matter the means or circumstances. Friends, be vigilant in all that you do.
Step three of the process was to plot a course to being a motorcycle owner again which I have accomplished but that is a post for another time. If you've read this far then I'd like to have you consider something; have you ever left something good behind and wonder about it for a long time afterwards? Have you considered this activity and wondered if it could be a good part of your life and who you are; if you could somehow find the pace of it again and have it enhance who you are and the way you travel through life? If you have, then I encourage you not to stop considering it just yet but instead give it a 30,000 foot view and see how it looks from way above and if it still holds the old allure then bring it a little closer and see if it might actually fit within the greater view of where you want to go. If it's not then it may be time to let go or put it way up on the shelf for another time and place. If so, then get real close and dip your toe in to see if you like it and if you do, keeping it in perspective of the larger you and all that defines you (read here, loved ones, spiritual health, etc.) plot a course for your return and always stay alert.
My friend, keep the iron side up wherever you are heading, however you are traveling because unless you travel around in a rubber ball then the rubber is best on the road and the iron best in a reasonably vertical fashion. Be safe, be well, and let me know how the road goes for you.
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