When I Write about Riding

In the 11 years that I have been writing this column I know of exactly two people who have read every single one; my mom and my friend, Scott. I know for sure that Scott has read them all because it happened this past winter. He was telling me how surprised he was to learn that I wrote for the paper and that he wanted to read more of my writing. After a quick conversation about all of the ways he could access past pieces online, I offered to let him take my scrapbooks. I have this old-fashioned habit of carefully clipping out my column each time it is published in the paper and then placing it in a scrapbook. I have kept them all. So Scott took Volume 1 of “The Flip Side: Life After 40”, and then two weeks later, Volume 2. He was very complimentary of my writing, but inquired as to why I don’t write more about riding my motorcycle. The answer to that question is simple, yet complicated. I actually do write about riding my motorcycle. Those pieces just never seem to make it to my laptop. One of the most peaceful things I do in my life is ride my motorcycle. And as I ride, I compose. I think about how lucky I am to be able to ride around Northern Michigan anytime I want, all summer long with the beautiful blues of the lakeshores to my right and the stunning views of the rolling hills to my left. I smell the amazing scent of the Lilacs in June and marvel that I can hear the spring peepers above the rumble of my motor. I write and write and write words which will never see print because when I come to a stop and swing my leg back over my bike, what I was sure I’d never forget, gets lost in the lunches with friends, shopping downtown, bike nights, and festivals. What started as a hobby that my husband introduced me to as a passenger soon became my love also as a solo rider. However, as the years go by and I have a few more close calls, get a little more fearful, see yet another driver stopped at an intersection looking down at his phone, I think that maybe it’s time to sell the bike. But selling the bike would not only mean a loss of the enjoyment I get from riding, but it would also mean the many hours of writing that take place without my fingers ever touching the keyboard would end too. So Scott, you may not see many columns about riding, but you can know for certain that they are being written.

Biker or Bicyclist? That is the question.

      Ever since I had to give up running, I've been looking for a form of exercise that I can do, other than just walking. I bought a rowing machine this last winter that has sat unused in the basement. I had every intention of rowing, until my son took the TV with him to college. I mean, I can't be expected to row without an episode of “Fixer Upper” to distract me, can I? Tom has been bicycling now for about 2 years and absolutely loves it. Recently, he was asking me if I'd like to take up the sport with him. Up until about a year ago I owned a bike. I don't really remember, other than my college years, a time in my life when I didn't have a bike. Banana seat, ten speed with the loop handlebars, 20 speed mountain bike, those were my go-to rides. I grew up on a bicycle and it was my main mode of transportation until I got my drivers licence. Some of my best scars come from bike riding. My most memorable wipe-out was an unfortunate incident involving a skateboard balanced on the handlebars, and a gravel road.

       These days I'm not as interested in riding no-handed from my best friends driveway to my own, but to get in a good workout. When Tom took me for a ride with me on his other bike, he took me on his normal route, which is about 14 miles total and I'm not gonna lie, it just about killed me. But I still knew that I had found what I was looking for. So Tom went on the hunt for a “new” bike for me and two days later I was on the bike trail on my very own bike. And I don't think I have to tell you the most exciting part, all of the accessories I'm going to be able to get! On my first ride I was thinking to myself about all of the things I would need:

• A bell
• A rear view mirror
• A super-cool helmet
• Biking shorts with the spongy butt-padding
• Fingerless gloves
• A helmet
• And shoes (duh!)

Many of the items on this list are a lot like the things I need and use for motorcycling. So I come to one problem. Am I a biker who bikes? A motorcycle rider who bicycles? Regardless, I don't have to be a runner to get a good workout. I just had to return to my biking roots.

Just Like Riding a Bike...Be Specific

Have you ever heard the old saying, “It’s just like riding a bike!” which means that hypothetically, once you learn to ride a bicycle, you never un-learn. No matter how old you are you can just jump back on one and go. Notice I said “BI-cycle”. I did that on purpose because I don’t want you to confuse bike, the pedal kind, with bike, the motorcycle kind. I’m here to tell you there definitely is a difference. For me there is anyway.

            I grew up riding motorcycles. We had dirt bikes at our home in Grand Ledge where we rode them around the neighborhood and through the motorcross track that some of the guys made in a field behind our house. We also had dirtbikes at our family’s summer property in Grayling. We would ride those through the sandy fire trails near Camp Grayling. It was a blast! I never got to be an expert rider by any means. When the guys in our neighborhood would go flying over the jumps on the motorcross track I would putt around them. But I could hold my own.

            Fast forward to about 5 years ago. I had been on the back of Tom’s bike for about 10 years and got the bug to ride again. Basically, I was feeling a little sick of staring at the back of his helmet. My friend and I decided to take the basic rider course offered down at Ferris State in Big Rapids. It was a weekend course where we got reacquainted with the bikes and earned our cycle endorsements.  I have to admit that I was pretty rusty. OK, really rusty. It was like learning all over again. It seemed like when Tom got a motorcycle after 15 years, he just jumped on and off he went. Me? Not so much. I did have fun chuckling about a lady who said she only rode her motorcycle up and down her driveway. Ha! That wouldn’t be me. I was now “street legal” and had that little CY on my license to prove it. Shortly after that class we bought my VW Bug and the dream of owning my very own motorcycle was shelved.

            Here we are in 2015. The bug is gone and I’m the proud owner of a Harley-Davidson Sportster. I stood there and stared at it and wondered, “What was I thinking? I can’t ride that thing!” I actually had it delivered because I was afraied to drive it home. Here’s where we return to the “Just like riding a bike” saying. It wasn’t. First I watched the first ½ hour Tom’s “Ride Like a Pro” video to refresh my memory. 

            Lesson 1: Practice the friction-zone (a brake/clutch drill)

With my boots, jeans, leather coat, helmet, shatter-proof sunglasses and gloves, I got on my bike and started it up. Then I proceeded slowly-slowly down the driveway. Then I pushed-turned it around and went…back up the driveway…just like the lady from my class. It took me almost a week to get out of the neighborhood. But with lots of encouragement from Tom and some good-natured ribbing from our friend Dave, I made it around Lake Charlevoix on my maiden voyage. Just like riding a bike? No, not in the slightest. But fun? Oh heck yeah. Maybe you’ll see me out there. I’ll be the one cruisin’ into my 50’s on 2 wheels.

Look Twice!

Dealing with impatient summer drivers is extremely frustrating to me. Nobody wants to get stuck in traffic, especially when dealing with the bridge in Charlevoix.   If you are a regular reader of this column you might be aware of the fact that my husband Tom and I are motorcycle enthusiasts. One of our favorite things to do on a summer evening is to ride around Lake Charlevoix or just go to downtown Charlevoix or any other neighboring town to “flake out” in the grass and listen to the band. One such night we were on our way out of Charlevoix and found that the bridge was up. We were waiting to turn right on to Bridge Street and joked “Hey! We’re going to be the first ones across the bridge!” We know that even if we weren’t that someone would let us in and we would eventually get across. As we waited a large Super-Duty pick-up came out from behind us and went around us on to Bridge street, in front of the waiting traffic. We were shocked to say the least. I thought he must have been in a hurry to do something like that. I looked behind us and saw a smaller car and figured that at least he had the courtesy not to do the same thing. But just as the bridge was going down I noticed that this car, a silver Chevy Cruze, followed the pick-up’s lead, went right around us, and squeezed between the truck and our motorcycle! Just to get across the bridge before anyone else! When you live in Northern Michigan in the summer you get to see drivers do a lot of aggressive, stupid things in order to get ahead of everyone else. But what people seem to forget when they are squeezing between cars and motorcycles is that while cars are surrounded by metal, we on motorcycles are not. When you are in a big doggone hurry and hit a car you dent up someone’s fender. When you are in that same doggone hurry and hit a motorcycle, someone gets killed. Every summer I hear stories of people on motorcycles who have collisions with cars. Sometimes those accidents are the fault of the rider, but sometimes they are not.   If a person takes the extra time to look a second time for that motorcycle, maybe an accident can be avoided. I’m guilty of being in too big of a rush and seeing a car right in my rearview mirror after I’ve pulled into an intersection. It honestly freaks me out. I want to ask that guy in the silver car if it really would have killed him to be patient and wait 1 or 2 more minutes to get across the bridge. And the answer is no, it wouldn’t have killed him, but his impatience could have killed me.

The Best Date Nights are on Two Wheels

This photo was taken summer of 2008

I’d like to say that our motorcycle saved our marriage, but in reality it wasn’t bad to begin with. After we moved down here from the Sault, Tom fulfilled his dream of getting back into motorcycling. I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but wasn’t going to say that he couldn’t get one. The first bike was a Honda Shadow and he loved it. I really had no interest in riding on it and was frankly scared of hitting a bump and being thrown off the back. When he did coerce me into riding I was scared for my life the entire time. I really avoided going. At that time our kids were young and we were at the point in our marriage where they took up more time than our relationship. We didn’t spend much time together as a couple and we definitely didn’t have a designated “date night.” But he persisted. I didn’t know why he wanted me on the back of that thing, but he just did. As I got more comfortable riding on the bike, our rides became more frequent and our relationship got stronger. Date night became a regular from the time the temperature got up to around 60 in May until the temperature got down to around 60 in October. We were so excited when the boys were old enough to not need a sitter. We were able to go that much more. Our trips together have been to motorcycle rallies within our state and to places like Milwaukee and Sturgis, SD. Just this past July we took a trip to the U.P. together. We think nothing of riding up to Mackinac City for dinner.  We no longer have the Honda. My husband has since upgraded to a Harley-Davidson which he has completely modified. The bike has 40,000 miles on it, most of those miles we have ridden together. These days we mostly just ride around the lake and then “flake-out” in the grass of East Park in Charlevoix with some ice cream. We often ride with friends who enjoy riding as much as we do. People ask me if I’m going to get my own bike. I could I suppose. I have my endorsement. I don’t know if I want to give up sitting on the back with my arms around my best guy. There is something different about being together on a motorcycle that I think brings couples closer. I know it did for us. So did a motorcycle fix a broken marriage? No, it just made a good marriage great.

Published September, 2011