#8. Ride on a Motorcycle
Of all the things I have completed so far…this one has been the coolest!
Joey bought a mot0rcycle a couple of months ago, and told me he would take me for a ride once he got a second helmet. Well, the helmet came in last week! Yay!
We decided to go Sunday afternoon, so he texted me a list of garment requirements: long pants, shoes that lace up, thick jacket (like leather or denim), possibly gloves. It is a lot more difficult than I expected to find clothes that are appropriate for both motorcycling and church-going. I ended up wearing nice jeans and a nice top under my windbreaker. My windbreaker is a semi-rubberized fabric, and was the closest thing I had to leather…I figured it would provide a similar amount of protection should I go flying off the back of the bike. (And once I removed the zip-off hood, it kind of looked motorcycle-y!) I also wore my black wristwarmers…I have always thought they looked kind of hard-core! I also had to realize that my hair, which I had curled and done for Sunday morning worship, was a lost cause…I pony-tailed it. I also had to limit what I was taking with me, since I wouldn’t have a purse. (No knitting…just my cell phone in my jacket’s chest pocket, and my keys/id in Joey’s backpack.)
Joey picked me up at around 3:30, so we would have plenty of time to cruise around before church. He thought it was hilarious that I couldn’t figure out how to fasten the helmet’s chin strap. He asked me how it was that I could knit without looking, but I couldn’t get my own helmet on. (I still don’t see the connection…)
We rode around for about 45 minutes. We went down San Ramon Valley Blvd, and out Dublin Canyon, and around in Schaefer Ranch. There were only two slightly unnerving moments. The first was when we first got on in my apartment’s parking lot, in that second right before we actually started moving. I got very nervous all of a sudden. I shot a quick prayer up that I would survive and actually make it to church. Once we started moving though, I was fine. The second was when we were pulling away from a stop sign. Joey accelerated a little faster than I think he intended, and I got thrown back a bit…I had a good grip though, and caught myself. The ride was a lot of fun. We stuck to country roads and surface streets. We went up hills, we went down hills, we took curves and corners.
After finishing our circuit, we went to the church building. We arrived fairly early, so he treated me to a soda from the gas station convenience store. The only disappointment was that no one had seen me on the bike!
We fixed that after church got out. We went out to the bike, “suited up”, and headed for the post-worship flag football game.
Interesting things I learned while motorcycling:
- A motorcycle will not trigger a left turn arrow…it doesn’t weigh enough. (We ended up having to go straight at one intersection and make a u-turn.)
- Driving a stick shift translates fairly well into motorcycle driving. I could hear/feel when Joey was going to have to shift.
- When you are riding double with someone you get a very good view of the back of their helmet. When you are going fast, the wind makes it hard to turn your head.
- Motorcyclists sort of wave at each other when they pass. Very low key, hand out to the side.
- Riding on a bike makes you feel infinitely cooler than all the sad people stuck in their cars.
- All moms, whether you are their child or not, are opposed to motorcycle riding. The ladies at church were a little disconcerted watching me ride off!
Would I ride on a motorcycle again? Absolutely! (Although I’m not sure I am up to freeway riding yet…)
Would I ever drive one myself? Probably not!
