I just don't know yet.

For the first times in months I rode.  For the first time since the accident, I was on the back of a bike.


A woman in my community is selling her former husband's Honda Silver wing.  She is asking a fair price for it and Sue prompted me to go and take a look.    Sue knows how much I enjoyed riding and owning a bike.  The owner told me the year but I don't remember exactly.  I think it was within five years old and she had a tad over 17K on her.

In didn't take me long to grab an old helmet and a borrowed set of gloves to take her for a test spin.  I'm not sure why I consider motorcycles women, but to me they are.

So I started her up and she didn't roar to life, she didn't have the "oomph" that Kimmie did despite being a bigger engine.   Of course, she was also a bigger, heavier bike than my old Xciting and that matters.

I rode her around a bit, through some local twistie's I know of on a back road, I opened her up slightly on a straightway and I did feel comfortable, despite wearing none on my safety gear except a pair of borrowed gloves and an old helmet I picked up somewhere along the way.

It felt.....odd.  I don't know what I expected, taking her gingerly through a turn.  Where was the excitement?  Where was the feeling of awe?  Of being on the edge?  The tires seemed a little squirrel'y but they were brand new, still having the nubs on them and the bike had sat for about a month  so the pressure was probably off.   I took my time and was careful.

I knew I was also probably gun shy too.

There were things I like, the former owner had put a Givi windshield on it and that would come in handy on the cooler days or in the rain as the wind and rain where whipped around me and not into my chest as with Kimmie.   The storage was nice, and the previous owner had placed a pretty decent, but now great top box on it.  All the storage departments locked with a singe key.  He really did take good care of the bike and it had undergone a full maintenance review about 1000 miles ago.

Maybe it's just the fact that I never really cared for the looks of a Honda Silver Wing.  Maybe I'm still afraid, still touchy after the accident. Truthfully Sue and I can afford the bike and still have a good chunk of change left over, so I can't say "I can't afford it."

I just don't know if I'm ready yet.  Maybe I never will be.  Maybe this is just not the bike for me.  I just don't know yet.

A question of....

This morning I woke up and Facebook told me that I bought a new Suzuki 4 years ago today.  Which I know is wrong because this very blog states that I bought Kimmie in February 2013.

I guess it's alternate facts for the reality we now live in.

Happier Times

So I owned Kimmie for just under four years.  I've been wondering if and when I'll be getting back on a bike.  A local place near me has a Honda NC700  which as my five to ten regular readers know I've had my eye on for some time.

I've not stopped in to ask about it, I've not climbed up on it...for the very same reasons I've stated before.  I made a promise.  That does not mean that I'm not tempted to.  Sue asked me about that the other day...and I told her my reasons again.

It's not fear of crashing or dying.  It's fear of losing those I love and care for.  It's not a subtle difference.  Still though when you see the biker across the way lean into that curve, a tree lined avenue where your transported back to when your a kid and you stick both arms up and out....your flying.

Riding a motorcycle they say is freedom, and I disagree.  It's about feeling connected to the road, the earth, the weather.  It's that mindfulness you have as you lean and feel the bike react under you....that being on the edge.  It's knowing that letting your mind wander....even for a second or two can result in an accident.

That's what happened to me.

I'm healing.  The accident itself was not that bad.  My gear did it's job.  My head is still attached and functioning.  My scabs are healed and other than a little pink area you would never know that I suffered some road rash.

My wrists took the worst of it, and the strength is coming back in each of them stronger than it was before.  I still have my Fox gloves..they didn't even rip and I have every intent to never buy cheap gear again...if I ever do ride again. 

Truthfully I think I will.  Just not now.  I want to heal, I want to get my small half-assed financial business off the ground first.  As of February 1, 2017  I can hang my shingle in the window so to speak  I am doing this in addition to my regular 9 - 5 job.  So no more Saturday afternoons off for a while.

No, I'm not going to start up a financial or insurance blog (although you can visit the website here).  I am planning a website but you have to get approval from the various carries and that takes forever and a day.  I'll link it when the time comes if your really that interested.   I have to smile however.  I worked in banking for over 10 years, then got sick of it during the Depression.

I literally argued with my boss over what we were doing and why it was going to end in chaos.  It did, I lost a 65K a year job and then spent the next five years pursuing my first love.  While my time at 3M was good, it ended badly as well.   Maybe...just maybe I'm better off working for myself!

Recently Sue and I picked up another delivery route which is under a 12 month contract, I was ready to let that small end of the business die but that contract alone makes our business twice as profitable.

I have 12 months of car payments on two cars and the largest debt I have is gone.  I will be 51 years old and completely debt free, at least till I need a new car.  My retirement plans may be moved up five years if this continues.

So its a question of time...and if there is any more bounce in this old bumble.