I can't believe its taken me 38 years to realize that riding solo on a motorcycle is the most amazing feeling I have ever experienced (well, one of the most anyway).

I started in Febuary with the MSF course. Puttered around the neighborhood until Myrtle Beach Bike Week - where I was callously thrown to the wolves by my hubby to either "shit or get off the pot" and actually RIDE the bike that I absolutely HAD to have. Then back home again, puttering even more around the local town streets......

Well today I decided I had the cajones to do a road trip. Biker Style. Our destination was Columbia SC via Highway 1 - basically a back road the whole way. Scenic, quaint, cute, to a spot about 70 miles away. Chump change. But lordy was it F'N HOT!!!! 92 and rising. And me in jeans and boots (just in case of road rash)........ sooooooo not cool!!! (did I mention it was F'N hot?????????? )

SO - my hubby says to me as we are heading home..... "You feeling like you can handle I-20? I'll take it easy and we'll go at your pace but its hot, and I wanna get home". Yeh. Ok. FINE. I can't be a candyass my whole life. I know!!! I mean, if I want to enjoy bike rides and so forth I have to actually venture past the 55mph mark so lets go for it...........

Man I gotta tell ya - something about that road just hit right today and I was having a BLAST!!!!!!! My needle went as high as 85mph (ok well maybe 82 but thats still F'N QUICK for me and my Sporty). At one point I BLEW past my hubby like a bat out of hell and I could swear I saw his jaw drop when I rounded him!! (yeh so he might say I am exaggerating a bit but I assure you, that is EXACTLY how it happened!)

38 years to find this feeling.........man what a RUSH!!!!!!!!

Shitty Day #5362

So. Another completely shitty day. Maybe I should elaborate.

I hate my job. I know, I know. Who doesn't, right??? Well while those other people are hating their jobs in silence, I feel the need to post it here. On my blog. For the whole world to see. And I don't care.

So after a completely shitty day - the kind where it takes every ounce of stregnth and energy not to walk in your boss's office and tell her she can shove it where the sun don't shine - I head home for a night of evil thoughts of kicking small children and animals and somehow finding a perverse pleasure in that thought.

Ok. So maybe I wouldn't kick small animals. But the kids - well, thats another story.

So I stop at the corner gas station for some ice and milk so that I can finish off the White Russians I started last night but woosed out on and fell asleep. On my way out to the ice, a man I have never met, will probably never see again, just out of the blue said "I just want to compliment you. You are an absolutely gorgeous lady and I just wanted to tell you that".

????????????? Not only is this guy drinking in the middle of the day but he said that not as a pick up line or a "come hither" line; he merely said it, then turned and walked away.

Maybe he could see in my demeanor or facial expressions that I was having a bad day. Maybe he just learned that it's a "good deed" to compliment someone in a way that would make them feel GOOD, whether it was honest or not as I would have no way of knowing. But for whatever reason, it felt good to hear it. And for about 5 minutes, the bad day I had kind of drifted away.

Unfortuantly its about an hour later so those warm fuzzies are all gone. Good thing the memory is still there. And with any luck, that and White Russians will get me through tomorrow.

My bum has no memory......

.....and its feeling the pain to prove it!

Its been approximately seven months since I have ridden my beloved Bianchi. Seven months to gain back ten of the pounds I had lost; seven months for my gawd awful saddle bags to rear their ugly "heads" and decorate me in a very unflattering fashion.Again. I can't believe that the saddle on my bike was ever comfortable but sadly I do remember thinking it was actually skooshy. Surely I was delusional. The only way my bike seat could ever be skooshy is if I were to strap memory foam in triplicate to the damn thing and then encase it in a down pillow for good measure.......

BUT (no pun intended) I will not quit. Besides, at some point my ass should lose all feeling and riding will once again be a piece of cake that I look forward to and actually plan for.

hhhmmmm......cake..........Lordy this is going to be a long month.

Myrtle Beach Bike Week

It's just around the corner. We had hoped that by the time it rolled around I would be ready and competant to ride confidently and independantly on my Sporty.

But the 'rents paid us a visit from Maine. Stayed about 3 weeks. Loved having them - it's always a joy having time. But no ride time with them here so the time between the MSF class and when I could actually start practicing riding was wasted, and I am not sure what knowledge the class taught me was lost in the interim.

Then my better half decided to "re-build" his already built bike. Involved lots of shop time. And being as I am such a newbie we didn't feel it wise for me to ride anywhere other than our subdivision unless he was with me. So yet again, almost another month lost as our subdivision is very small and I didn't want to totally piss off our neighbors by riding round and round repeatedly.

Finally, we get both bikes home and running simultaneously. Go for a weekend ride and it was awesome! Scarry as hell as part of it was on a highway and the wind was very new to me as was all the traffic. And the speed (max was 53 but average was 45 - I think I pissed some cagers off a bit). But thoroughly enjoyed the ride nonetheless.

Then - bright idea - let's put my hubby's Nighttrain stock dragbars on my Sportster! Since he changed his out, and the drag bars are definately hotter than my stock Longhorn bars, we went for it. Looks GREAT but the stance of the bike is completely altered. End result - I am no longer familiar with the feel of the bike's handling since all my ride time was with the stock bars. I'm more streched out, which is what I wanted, and wrists do not sit the same, so its resulting in me giving throttle when I don't want to. Almost had an accident because of it really.

We went out for a ride. The day was beautiful and I was feeling pretty confident after the previous ride where I did so well, highway included. But on the first long stretch of road we encountered, it seemed like the bike was accelerating even when I tried to slow it down (was on a steep hill). Result - I panicked - turned right onto the first side road I could at wayyyy to high of a speed (this was after I cleared the hill and still did not seem to slow down). Thank God no car was coming my direction as I was wayyyy wide and took up the whole road; plus it was kind of gravelly so the fact that I stayed upright and able to stop without mishap was potentially a miracle.

That messed with my psyche. And its still messing with my psyche.

Pics of My Ride

First "bike" Ride

Today, for the very first time, I went on a REAL motorcycle ride. About 25 miles worth that was not confined to my subdivison or a high school parking lot. Some of it was actually on a 4 lane highway!

I feel like I did ok. My husband rode behind me to offer interferance should it be needed and as well to watch how I handled and if I needed any pointers. My max speed was between 50-53 but for me that was fast!!!! I was not expecting the wind factor so I kept it mostly around 45. Thats when I decided I should probably head back home for town roads since the speed limit for the highway I ended up on was 55 and most people exceed that. I did not want to be a hinderance or a statistic.

I had two instances that tested my reflexes. One was a squirrel who ran out in front of me. In my SUV I would usually swerve or slow so as not to risk hurting the squirrel. On the bike I figured better him than me and kept going (he got out of the way just in the nick of time). The second instance was when a truck turned in front of me into his driveway. He practically stopped right in front of me so he could get his mail!! The only thing I did wrong there was not downshift when I slowed and I should have. Lesson learned I hope.

Oh, and its 82 and sunny and GORGEOUS today!! So - YEA!!! And yeh, it was a blast.

I've been off the wagon. Not dieting; not bike riding; drinking wine a little too often. Have not gained much of the weight back; no where near my goal. Winter ruined things with dark setting early and cold weather. Then the in-laws came for their annual visit. Real hard to stay on the wagon when they have goodies all throughout the kitchen. Will power lasts only so long.

Now its time to get back on the wagon. Its like starting all over again. So far I've started my diet this time around 4 times. Tomorrow I am going for 5.

Keep your fingers crossed for me............

Update on My Boss

So she finally got a second opinion. GREAT NEWS - the cancer has NOT spread to her throat. They believe it is isolated in her breasts. As well, they claim she is Stage 3(b) (daring even to hope a high 2) and NOT Stage 4.

Chemo wrecks her. Her hair started falling out so she shaved the rest and bought a wig. It actually looks very close to her real hair. I can't imagine what it takes to get up everyday and go through the daily routine so many take for granted. I am not convinced that I would have her determination or courage.

She believes God is her reason. Her reason for the cancer as well as her reason for beating it. I don't know what I believe; I just know that she is an inspiration for hope and courage and faith.