When I was growing up my Dad’s great escape was his Honda Goldwing. He spent every Saturday morning cleaning it and every afternoon off on wonderful adventure. When I was finally big enough to straddle that monster I went on adventures with him.
Turns out they were less of adventures and more of straight lines and highways. Which was still pretty awesome to a kid. I remember being too little to see over his broad shoulders so I had the choice of left or right, but I had to make that choice early, because I was also not allowed to move. This lead me to the knowledge that there are over 3500 dotted yellow lines from Georgetown to Snelgrove.
Fast forward a few years and throw in a dash of awkwardness, with a sprinkle of ‘wanting to fit in’ and you have Melanie with her M1 license. No motorcycle or way of getting one, but she could brag about having her license. It expired after 90days.
Jump ahead to 25 and you have a broken little girl quickly falling in love with a guy whos heart belonged to his SV and the tinge of ‘wanting to fit in’ flairs up. I spent the first summer of our relationship on the back of his bike. I loved it. On our first ride I remember crusing through the escarpement (a collection of windy roads), the warmth of the sun and a late summers breezes cascading over me as I wrapped myself tightly around Richard. I remember thinking ‘This is what I want for the rest of my life.’ In that moment I knew I would marry him, I just had to wait TWO years for him to ask.
At the end of that summer it was made very clear that I needed to get my own bike if I wanted to keep up. I couldn’t have been more excited. We started shopping around and finally in mid Janaury (and probably the coldest day of the year) we brought home my first bike: a Kawasawki Ninja 250.
She was a GREAT starter bike. She didn’t ever rev too high and only kicked me off once (but I blame the braided brake lines and my inexperience NOT her). We stripped her down, washed all of her parts in the tub, checked the fluid levels and changed the brake lines. I rode the snot out of that bike my first season. I ended up getting her BEFORE I even had a license. I got my M1 in February and I did the M1 exit course at Humber College in May. I passed with only a few mistakes.
I think that had to do with my extensive DH training. He would ride the bike to the top of the street (it was a slight hill) and I, in all my gear, would roll down the hill. It was at this point I admitted that I had never owned a bicycle and balancing on two wheels was harder than it looked. Richard told me later he was scared for me; scared that buying everything had been a mistake and maybe, with my lack of balance, riding wasn’t for me.
All of that in the past I had my license and no one could stop me. I took that bike everywhere, I even made the trip up to the Parry Sound Sportbike Rally. The boys (DH and his Dad) always laughed at me. I would be just crusing along with the poor thing pegged at 8000RPM. It would be just screaming! What else could I do? I was trying to keep up with the big boys (and they had weighed me down with all there stuff, aparently only my little bike was equipped with luggage carrying devices. I later learned that was part of my initation. Thanks guys!)
At the end of the season we put the little bike on the market and within 4 days someone was riding her away. I cried. We’d been through SO much.
BUT I had BIGGER things to look forward too. That September we’d found a 2000 SV650s with less than 4000km on it. It was in mint condition with no upgrades. That winter we pulled it apart… right down to the frame. My motor was sitting on blocks in the basement. (I will do a full post on the build later on). We got it all put back together in time to head to the east coast on my FIRST motorcycle trip. It would also be my first time riding on the highway, over the border, in rain, through tornado warnings and snow. We hit sand, mud and construction. We also found some beautiful roads and views. I bonded with my bike that trip… I didn’t have a choice.
Richard has used every birthday, christmas and holiday to surprise me with bike parts and upgrades. We spent evenings in the garage as he teaches me everything he can about motorcycles. I still have a lot to learn, but now you know how I ended up on two wheels. Lots of intros into future blog posts. I will tell you about our garage, my helmet wall and my wedding.
Enjoy the read!
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