A Biker's Birthday Wish

What a wonderful week! The hubby and I vacated the usual to spend a few days in the Hocking Hills. So named, we think, due to the twisty roads. With no warning signs it's easy to take a corner too quickly and suddenly you have the urge to hock up your lunch. Even the locals say they just buckle up and pray through the turns. Interesting piece of engineering is all I can say.

Since we had so much stuff to take to the cabin we rented we left the bikes at home. Just as well. As we suspected - we didn't see many bikes in that area and I'm sure I would have bought it at some surprise hairpin. On the return trip we stopped in at the Iron Pony and I got my birthday gifts - a pair of Cortech DX gloves and a Joe Rocket tank bag to hold my stuff. No more bulging pockets for me. My husband got his birthday gift too - a Shoei RF-1100 helmet. The sales gal was knowledgable and really helped us find the right fit. She also is a hard core biker and has me thinking about running an Iron Butt. Could I really cover 1,000 miles in 24 hours? Perhaps this type of endurance riding is for those younger than me and I should just stick with cruising.

Needless to say - we rode the next morning after we got home. We headed out to Mary Yoder's for some breakfast and then shot over to Rt. 528 to head north up to Rt. 307 which is home to many wineries and nice curves. Very enjoyable. We headed south on Rt. 45 to Rt. 6 where we switched bikes. Bob's VTX is slim and tight compared to my Aero. I'm accustomed to my nice foot rests and easy clutch. I am classic-cruiser-spoiled. His bike is edgy, nimble and very very loud. My one panic moment passed quickly when I managed to hook the shifter peg with the edge of my boot since my boot toe was too fat to fit under it as is my habit. That was enough. We switched back in three miles after stopping in Hartsgrove at the Old General Store for a cone - a longtime Bednar Family tradition as we use to take our four kids out there for a summertime treat a couple decades ago.

It's good to go out and it's good to get home. The ride, like the vacation, ended well. Now today as I celebrate the anniversary of my birth I am glad to be a biker. My birthday wishes include safe freedom on the road for all bikers. May the journey always start happy and end well.

Bikin' - not Writin'

Life has an ebb and flow. The flow has been way too fast and full in my life for about a month. So my blogging has been in ebb mode.

I am happy to report that I've been riding quite a bit. My ride times are getting longer and my skills are increasing. Not quite ready for a rally with wheel to wheel clutching & braking but over the road trips I am handling quite well.

On the garage front I can tell you that the labor was intensive and the end-product is still in development but we're getting there. However - no pictures until it's done! So it may be a while. Why is there always a gap between expectations and reality? I suppose so that we can experience hope.

As for our 30th anniversary celebration - it was a delightful weekend topped off with the kids taking us out to dinner where the youngest of the brood showed up as a surprise. He and his girl made a one day trip up from Columbus just to help us celebrate. Look at all those happy faces in that photo. What a wonderful ebb & flow family has been for us.

I hope your hot summer days are filled with good memory-making moments. Don't forget to watch out for that crack seal - it's awful slippery in this heat. Maybe I'll see you on the road - wave if you see my yellow and black Aero go by.

Bikin' Bros

A week from tomorrow my husband and I celebrate 30 years of weddedness. Our marriage has had its moments, seasons and eras. Initiated on a blessed hot day in June 1980 it has gyrated through four children, five houses, countless fiascos and even more good times. All I can say is humor is a lifesaver and it's never too late to try something new.

The newest endeavor in our marriage concluded yesterday - seperate vacations. Well Bob was on vacation. I was home doing two people's work but I've had my share of long weekends visiting my friend Debbie (most recently in Orlando) so he was due.

Bob, his brothers, Skip and William, along with a friend named Gunther rode their bikes to New Hampshire where they shared a very small cabin in a very large mountain range - Twin Mountain KOA in The White Mountains. As I understand the days were filled with hard riding, dodging rain and hitting diners while the evenings were a mix of campfires, stories, excessive snacking and bunking down in sleeping bags. They had a blast.

Not a one of them had a slip, a skid or a breakdown. After a rough highway they would lock down all the loosened parts and feel thankful when the next stretch was smoother. From base camp they road north, east, west and south and even managed a half day at Laconia for the 2010 Bike Week. From what I hear about that stop they saw beads hanging around male necks but didn't see any handed out. Hmmmm. I figure the stories that make it home are filtered but that's one reason we're celebrating 30 rather than dreading 31.

To conclude this post here is a story from the road -

As the band of bros + one rounded a blind curve in a very small smidge of a NH town, a young lady insisted on crossing the street in spite of their impending roar. Her companion, a lanky fellow, was trying to get her to wait but she had a mind that her sashay was more important than any old motorcycle. Gunther, on lead as usual, had to lock up the brakes to avoid the obvious. William in second place, almost hit Gunther. My dearest was next and after quickly assessing the situation brought his bike in close to the heels of the bold young lady who was closing in on her destination. With a squeeze of the clutch and a hard crank on the throttle he gave her the what-for. Bob's pipes are loud. Really loud. I'm thinking that left a lesson in her ears and from Skip's eyewitness report her jump was stellar. Perhaps she'll heed the sound of approaching bikes in the future. It would be awful to stop a bike with your body so I hope she remembers.

If some say that's how bikers get a bad rap - well so be it. Like marriages, we want to keep going for the long haul and not have our lives or the lives of others cut short.

Bike Bay

Today is the day! Today we will see change! Today we clean the garage!

I've invited - nay, commanded - our adult children to come hither and help with the transformation. The goal: a "bay" for the bikes all their own.

Our two-car garage has the space. What it lacks is the will power to stay organized. So today we shall conquer the chaos and create parking space for three motorcycles AND two cars.

I'll post the transformation soon.

It's obvious that the good weather has kept the wheels rolling and the blogging to a minimum. But now with a couple rainy days spent at home on "important stuff" I’m writing again.

There's a buzz starting to build at our house. My better half is taking a bike trip to New Hampshire. It's a boys only trip but that's okay. Someone has to stay home and take care of the poodle. (Poodles + Bikers = Oxymoron)

Bob replaced his 2004 VTX 1300R with a 2006 VTX 1300C last month. This sleeker VTX came with some nice additions like Kuryakyn tail lights and grips along with 3" Hard Chromes. The list of things it needed for a cross country journey though was almost as long as the trip. And don’t get me started on how my rear is not a stock seat situation but seat replacement comes later since my butt is staying home this time.

So it's Memphis Shades and Iron Rider luggage along with a Paladin sissy bar/luggage rack that has kept us hopping websites and ordering stuff at Shadetree in Middlefield (where Bob also found the Throttle Boss he needed) and visiting Iron Pony in Columbus. We're thankful for our mech, Dale, at United Cycle in Concord. He's a good source of recommendations and installations.

All parts are now in our possession and soon Bob'll be making some practice jaunts to get used to the feel of the full luggage combined with the new windshield along with some palming of the throttle. Seems like this vacation worked out well for him and the bike. Maybe I need to plan a trip.