Probably Not the Best Idea

Do as I say, not as I do …

I’m on the GW ready to go …. Start it, put it in gear, ease out the clutch and here we go! Did I mention I have very little experience up to this point riding motorcycles … I rode a GW 25 years ago for a few hours …

There were two routes to get home. One was side streets with real twisty roads or Hwy 58 with lots of fast traffic. I realized how heavy this bike is (950lbs!), there was no way I wanted to learn

: Named the GW … where did this name come from? Think “car” movie.

how to ride on a narrow two-lane road with snaking turns. I chose Hwy 58. How bad could it be … get on the highway, get up to speed, ride for 50 miles and presto, be home?
The plan was for Sue to follow me to an empty parking lot so I could practice turning, stopping and starting before we began the journey home. By the time I made to the parking lot I began to think that maybe I’ve bitten off more than I could chew … I spent about 20 minutes starting and stopping, making some turns (wow, this takes a lot of real estate to turn this bus!) and generally trying to get use to this bike.

I made it to Highway 58 with 50 miles to go. Accelerated to 60 miles per hour. This 2008 GL1800 Gold Wing gets to 60 quickly. There I am cruising at 60 with my wife following me. I’m starting to get passed by many big rigs so I sped up so that I was finally keeping up with traffic … 70 miles per hour. The bike was smooth and all was going good.

We made it home and I parked the bike in the garage. I was exhausted! My wrist hurt, my shoulders were sore, my neck was tight … again, probably not the best idea to have ridden the bike home with such little experience. If you get a bike and have no experience, have a seasoned rider get your bike to a safe place like a large empty parking lot and practice. What I did worked out … but, not the brightest idea.

The next day Sue followed me to the to the motorcycle shop to get some work done on the GW. New tires, oil change, front fork seals replaced and battery (the bike had not been ridden in 3 years). It wouldn’t be ready to pick up for about a week. PERFECT!

Had lots to do before I picked up the GW:

Motorcycle safety class in 2 days
The purchase of several items:
- Air compressor
- Tire pressure gauge
- Cleaning materials
- Tire repair kit
- Several other miscellaneous items

The big item I had to purchase was a place to park the GW … a shed of some kind. There would be no room in the garage. The garage had two cars and “stuff”.

Looked at rubber/plastic sheds … no way. That material would warp and melt in the Bakersfield heat. Talked to the local Tuff Shed folks and made a deal with them. These sheds are quality buildings and would fit nicely alongside the house. The Tuff Shed installers came a few days later and installed the Tuff Shed.

All that is left is to do is take the motorcycle safety class and a few days later pick the bike up from being serviced and then the fun will really begin!

Impulsive, obsessive, goal oriented … not sure … but, let’s review what has taken place in a few days ….