A wonderful ride and great group of people

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I had updated my blog. Today Deb & I rode down to Florence to attend our first Motor Maids meeting. It was a pretty chilly when we left home but by the time we headed home it was a tad warm.

The ride was uneventful and we arrived in Florence early. So we decided to stop at the local Circle K, get something to drink and pass a little time before our scheduled lunch. We finished up our drinks and went to gas up so we wouldn't have to do it afterwards. In the process of putting my key in the ignition, it jumped right out of my hand and down into the engine of my bike. Wouldn't you know it? Out in the middle of nowhere, well, not really nowhere but Florence is a very small town.

I can't see the key anywhere. Deb ran down the street to the NAPA to get a telescoping magnet thing but that didn't work. I ended up having to loosen the cover over the clutch to get it out. In the end it was a good thing we got there so early, by the time we got my key out and to the lunch we were only about 10 minutes late.

The women there were an interesting group, several from Tucson, a pair from the Grand Canyon area, another pair from Mesa and Deb & I. One of the women there has been a member of Motor Maids for over 50 years. Listening to their stories was a real treat.

Anyway, we had a great time and a great ride.

Weekend Ride & Party

We left Saturday morning around 7:00 AM to meet Chelli for a "day ride" to Sierra Vista, to help Jackie unload, then Tombstone for lunch, then home. A bit much for a "day ride" we really should have planned better and anticipated needing to spend the night someplace. South of Tucson we got a bit chilly then when we got close to Sierra and it started to rain. We didn't get to Sierra Vista until after 1:00 and spent a great deal of time at Golden Corral eating and getting warm. We helped unload Jackie's trailer by then it was too late to head to Tombstone, not to mention we were still wet and cold. The fine rain continued to fall.


Chelli elected to leave her bike because she and Drew didn't have rain gear and ride home in the car. Deb & I headed back toward home but ended up staying the night in Tucson. Because it was a "day trip" Deb & I didn't bring our cpap machines, but we a room any way. I took some benadryl and we took turns telling each other to roll over. This morning we got up to a beautiful sunny morning with temps in the 70's, got a little breakfast and headed home. This trip was the opposite of the one down, where we ran into a huge dust storms.


It was great to get the new bike out for her maiden voyage, we did 300 miles on Saturday and another 139 on Sunday for a total of 439.2 miles.


Got home around 1:00 PM, had three hours before the boy's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. The party was a huge success all the way around. Thanks to everyone who joined us and help celebrate. It was also a great opportunity for us to meet some of Amanda's friends we had been hearing about for months. After a couple of hours of intense sound, stimulation and play time the family finally headed towards home...exhausted...and looking forward to enjoying some peace and quiet.

Hard Headed Me Does Something New

I've always been pretty hard headed and motorcycling has not been any different. I've always ridden standard bikes, upright seating, lots of plastic and very little chrome. The seating position kept my feet under me and my arms close to my sides. Sitting on a cruiser always with my feet out in front of me and my arms spread apart always made me feel out of control.

Standard motorcycles can be great around town and for short trips. Unfortunately, unless you go up to a large sport touring bike, they aren't very comfortable on long trips. Knowing I didn't want a large top heavy touring bike, I started looking at ways to make my Bonneville more comfortable for the touring we are planning in the next year or so. For years, my friends and partner had been saying "you need to try a cruiser". But noooooooo..........

After our return from Durango a couple weeks ago, Deb again suggested a cruiser as being more comfortable. This time, I must have been more more receptive to the idea because I started looking at them and sitting on them and ..... hey, this wasn't so bad after all. It's different but just a matter of getting use to it.... maybe. In my head I could feel the shift as I started to consider this as a real possibility.

We were planning to visit a local dealership where I could ride a couple of bikes I had seen online. But before we took the bikes anywhere they really needed to be washed since they still bore the road grime from our trip to Keystone. I was home early so I decided to go out and get things started. In order to do that I had to move Debbie's Mean Streak first. In the past I had been intimidated by the bike and had never moved it. There's a first time for everything, so I threw my leg over the seat, stood her up and cautiously started to back her out of the garage. Whoa.....this is much easier than I thought.....easier than the Bonnie even. I think it was in that moment that I knew the wind of change was truly blowing.

Saturday we head over to the dealership where I had identified a couple of 1100 cruisers to try out. They were having an grand opening celebration and when we got there the bikes I had in mind were all gone. The sales guy shows me a VTX 750, really sweet already decked out with bags, shield and stuff but I didn't want to go down in size. The other option was a 2007 VTX 1300, a real beauty, bigger than I wanted but I decided to give it a try. I was a little anxious about the size but I knew that if it felt too wrong, I would know immediately and I would just make a quick turn around and bring it back. I wasn't quite ready for the "yeah....yeah" feeling of knowing it was right. I took the bike down the street a few miles, pulled into a parking lot to turn around and headed back to the dealership.

Debbie did exactly what she was supposed to do, by making sure that I wasn't acting in haste and that the I really felt comfortable and good about the bike. That's one of the reasons I love her, she always looks out for me. When it was all said and done, we said farewell to the Bonnie and hello VTX.

I can't wait to start putting miles on her. The different riding position is going to take some getting used to so, I'll be taking it easy for a while. We will be getting to know each other, learning each other, becoming a team.