The Open Road

A couple posts back, I talked about that seductive temptress, the open road, and how I am but putty in her hands. Have you ever wanted to pack it all up and take off, only to see where the road leads you? I want to do this all. the. time.

But, it got me thinking about a long ago time in my life. A time when I had one of these:


http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Honda_VT500C

That is a picture of my motorcycle. A 1983. . .or was it a 1984 - can't remember. . .Honda 500 Shadow, only mine was Candy Apple Red. It was a loooong time ago, but I loved that thing. I didn't love riding it on the highways around here, as I don't have a death wish, but I loved riding it everywhere else. Unfortunately, it was a victim of divorce negotiations.

I remember once, when we were living in Alexandria VA, I rode it up to the store. It had a small trunk thingie in the back, and I didn't need much, so I took it instead of the big Chevy van (click that link for a blast from the past) that we had at the time. It was a really really hot day. When I put the kickstand down to park it, I watched in slow motion as the kickstand was engulfed in the hot asphalt and the bike slowly sank to the ground. It was graceful and dance-like and I was mesmerized, unable to stop its decent, so I just watched in fascinated horror. Horror because I knew who was going to have to pick it up. ME! I was too embarrassed to ask for help.

But pick it up I did, all by myself, only to go into the store and have some jerk at the checkout counter make an asinine comment about how could a little lady like me ride a motorcycle. There was a brief, awkward silence while thoughts of "Asshole! The little lady just picked up the damn thing." scurried around my brain. But I was polite. Oh yes, I was polite. Such are the expectations of the wife of a future Episcopal priest.

HA! Don't you want to hear THAT story?
No. Another time.

But now that I am doing this whole reinvention thing, I fantasize about getting another motorcycle. I have been seeing the trikes, and I think they would be fun. Plus, they wouldn't fall over. So I looked at a few online.


http://www.chopper-kit.co.uk/images/trike/trike-2.jpg

Holy cow! They cost more than my car did. Then I thought, hmmmm, maybe a sidecar? It would take care of the whole 'not falling over' issue. And I could take a friend.


http://www.californiasidecar.com/img/sidecars_companion_01.jpg


Hell, at this point, I would probably be happy with a moped.


http://kidsonroll.com/admin/images/moped-150_1.jpg


I just want to feel the wind in my face and the bugs in my teeth.


http://www.madeyoulaugh.com/funny_photos/bugs_in_teeth/bugs_in_teeth.jpg

Boy, is my mother going to hate this post.