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I have been looking forward to this day for 9 months and 21 days. I have been looking forward to her finally sitting on my bike, wrapping her arms around my waist, and saying "I’m ready". Of course, I am talking about the first ride with my girlfriend.
I think I need to rewind and give you a bit of history first. When Katie and I started dating, I knew she wouldn’t ride with me until it was warmer (that was in November, and I still rode through till Christmas, but it was pretty chilly). Her mom had a rule that she couldn’t ride with me until she moved out. She knew that riding was dangerous, and even though she knew I was a safe rider, she did not trust the cars around me. Who can?
I figured that come the spring, I would try to get Katie used to the idea of riding, and maybe get her out on a few quick trips, to the store or something like that. I tried having her try my helmet on, as it is actually a small, and squeezes my face just a bit too much. I figured she could have that one, and I would buy a new one. She wouldn’t. She refused to try it on. I had no idea at the time, but after a bit of prodding, I found out that she was claustrophobic. When she finally did agree to trying it on, she got it down to her eyes before she tore it off. Yep, Claustrophobic.
Dang, what am I gonna do about that? I really wanted her to wear a full faced helmet. Oh well, it didn’t really matter, seeing as she wouldn’t be riding for a very long time.
Then my bike blew up
Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about Katie riding with me any time soon... Except I just got a new bike. A Craigslist special 85 FJ1100 for $500. I haven’t registered or insured it yet, as I have been working on making it road ready, but as of last night, it was running well, and except for a bad alternator which I have on the way, the bike is ready to ride.
I was working on the bike in the driveway when Katie came over. I started putting my tools away, and I asked her if she would just sit on it with me. I wanted her to feel how a motorcycle feels not moving. I have been trying to ease Katie into the whole riding thing, so when she finally goes on a ride with me, she isn’t taking EVERYTHING in at once. First the helmet, then sitting on the bike, then sitting on the bike while it is running, then actually riding. She hesitated, then, with a look of determination, threw her leg over, and put her feet on the pegs. I let her sit there for a minute, and when I could tell she was comfortable, I asked if I could start the bike and ride it into the garage (a whopping 15 feet). Surprisingly, she agreed, and we slowly moved into the mess I call a garage.
When she got off, I started looking at her for feedback. Was she scared? Did she like it? Would she ever get on again? She had that look that said, “I have something to say, but I’m not sure how to say it.” I asked if she liked it, and she said yes. Keep in mind the “trip” was a total of 15 feet from my driveway to my garage. I asked her if she wanted to try riding up the street, and again she said yes, after we go to dinner. But she still had that look on her face. Finally, she blurted out, “can we ride to dinner?”
My jaw dropped. Here was this girl who, as of 2 days ago, couldn’t bear the thought of putting a full faced helmet on, or sit on a parked motorcycle, and now she was asking to ride across town (on an uninsured/unregistered bike)??? I couldn’t believe it. Painfully, I explained to her that no, we couldn’t take the bike, because it was Labor Day weekend, and every person with a badge was on the lookout. Not to mention, the plate I DID have didn’t have a current inspection sticker. The last thing I wanted to do was lose the bike before we got to ride it legally.
We took the car to dinner, came back home, and I dug out my gear, and found a jacket for her. It was our goal for her to wear the half helmet, and I would wear the full face. I put the half helmet on Katie’s head, and started laughing. She looked ridiculous. The helmet was WAY too big for her, and she knew it. We decided that she had to wear the full face. Once she got the chin down over her eyes, she was absolutely fine. The helmet fit her perfectly, so I wore my half helmet.
I pulled the bike out of the garage, and fired it up. I love the way this machine sounds. I am used to my stock 4-2 on my GS750, and I work with open piped Harleys. This pipe, a Vance and Hines 4-1, is louder than stock, and growls like a beast down low, and up top it screams! But it is not as obnoxious as some of the bikes I work with.
Our first goal was to go up the street, turn around, and come back down. I already talked to her about what she is supposed to do as a passenger, and that she is the boss. If she wants to stop, we stop. I told her that if she wants to stop, to slap my leg. If she didn’t want to stop after that, we were going to ride down the street (in the other direction) to the local Rite-aide to get ice cream.
Stopping at the store, all you could see was the smile beaming off her face. She loved it! I was so happy, I could barely hold it in. She kept telling me that she wanted to ride with me, but she wasn’t ready. I always just figured she didn’t want to ride, but she didn’t want to upset me. I was afraid that I would go through life riding by myself. As much as that would have stunk, I loved this woman, and I wasn’t going to throw her away for a motorcycle.
When we dropped the ice cream off at the house, I wanted to make sure she was having fun, which she was. We went back out, just riding the side streets around my house (I didn’t want to get out where there was a higher chance of meeting a LEO). We rode until I could tell the battery was about done (remember the bad alternator?), and practically before we parked the bike, Katie was asking when we could ride again.
So in the course of a day, I went from having a girlfriend who wanted nothing to do with the bike, to having (hopefully) a lifelong riding partner!
I think I need to rewind and give you a bit of history first. When Katie and I started dating, I knew she wouldn’t ride with me until it was warmer (that was in November, and I still rode through till Christmas, but it was pretty chilly). Her mom had a rule that she couldn’t ride with me until she moved out. She knew that riding was dangerous, and even though she knew I was a safe rider, she did not trust the cars around me. Who can?
I figured that come the spring, I would try to get Katie used to the idea of riding, and maybe get her out on a few quick trips, to the store or something like that. I tried having her try my helmet on, as it is actually a small, and squeezes my face just a bit too much. I figured she could have that one, and I would buy a new one. She wouldn’t. She refused to try it on. I had no idea at the time, but after a bit of prodding, I found out that she was claustrophobic. When she finally did agree to trying it on, she got it down to her eyes before she tore it off. Yep, Claustrophobic.
Dang, what am I gonna do about that? I really wanted her to wear a full faced helmet. Oh well, it didn’t really matter, seeing as she wouldn’t be riding for a very long time.
Then my bike blew up
Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about Katie riding with me any time soon... Except I just got a new bike. A Craigslist special 85 FJ1100 for $500. I haven’t registered or insured it yet, as I have been working on making it road ready, but as of last night, it was running well, and except for a bad alternator which I have on the way, the bike is ready to ride.
I was working on the bike in the driveway when Katie came over. I started putting my tools away, and I asked her if she would just sit on it with me. I wanted her to feel how a motorcycle feels not moving. I have been trying to ease Katie into the whole riding thing, so when she finally goes on a ride with me, she isn’t taking EVERYTHING in at once. First the helmet, then sitting on the bike, then sitting on the bike while it is running, then actually riding. She hesitated, then, with a look of determination, threw her leg over, and put her feet on the pegs. I let her sit there for a minute, and when I could tell she was comfortable, I asked if I could start the bike and ride it into the garage (a whopping 15 feet). Surprisingly, she agreed, and we slowly moved into the mess I call a garage.
When she got off, I started looking at her for feedback. Was she scared? Did she like it? Would she ever get on again? She had that look that said, “I have something to say, but I’m not sure how to say it.” I asked if she liked it, and she said yes. Keep in mind the “trip” was a total of 15 feet from my driveway to my garage. I asked her if she wanted to try riding up the street, and again she said yes, after we go to dinner. But she still had that look on her face. Finally, she blurted out, “can we ride to dinner?”
My jaw dropped. Here was this girl who, as of 2 days ago, couldn’t bear the thought of putting a full faced helmet on, or sit on a parked motorcycle, and now she was asking to ride across town (on an uninsured/unregistered bike)??? I couldn’t believe it. Painfully, I explained to her that no, we couldn’t take the bike, because it was Labor Day weekend, and every person with a badge was on the lookout. Not to mention, the plate I DID have didn’t have a current inspection sticker. The last thing I wanted to do was lose the bike before we got to ride it legally.
We took the car to dinner, came back home, and I dug out my gear, and found a jacket for her. It was our goal for her to wear the half helmet, and I would wear the full face. I put the half helmet on Katie’s head, and started laughing. She looked ridiculous. The helmet was WAY too big for her, and she knew it. We decided that she had to wear the full face. Once she got the chin down over her eyes, she was absolutely fine. The helmet fit her perfectly, so I wore my half helmet.
I pulled the bike out of the garage, and fired it up. I love the way this machine sounds. I am used to my stock 4-2 on my GS750, and I work with open piped Harleys. This pipe, a Vance and Hines 4-1, is louder than stock, and growls like a beast down low, and up top it screams! But it is not as obnoxious as some of the bikes I work with.
Our first goal was to go up the street, turn around, and come back down. I already talked to her about what she is supposed to do as a passenger, and that she is the boss. If she wants to stop, we stop. I told her that if she wants to stop, to slap my leg. If she didn’t want to stop after that, we were going to ride down the street (in the other direction) to the local Rite-aide to get ice cream.
Stopping at the store, all you could see was the smile beaming off her face. She loved it! I was so happy, I could barely hold it in. She kept telling me that she wanted to ride with me, but she wasn’t ready. I always just figured she didn’t want to ride, but she didn’t want to upset me. I was afraid that I would go through life riding by myself. As much as that would have stunk, I loved this woman, and I wasn’t going to throw her away for a motorcycle.
When we dropped the ice cream off at the house, I wanted to make sure she was having fun, which she was. We went back out, just riding the side streets around my house (I didn’t want to get out where there was a higher chance of meeting a LEO). We rode until I could tell the battery was about done (remember the bad alternator?), and practically before we parked the bike, Katie was asking when we could ride again.
So in the course of a day, I went from having a girlfriend who wanted nothing to do with the bike, to having (hopefully) a lifelong riding partner!
wife makes son afraid. I am a daily rider and consider myself safe so its encouraging to read your situation.
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