HELL'S LITTLE ANGELS

so, i have my bike. and i like it. but there have been a few mishaps already. first, i ran out of gas riding to spanish fork. but as soon as i figured it out i remembered that my bike has a reserve tank; so i only spent a few minutes on the side of the highway.

also, my bike gets about 45 mpg.

later in the week i got a call from the honda dealer letting me know that my license plate came in (yup, i only need/get one). on my way back i rode down center street at 15 mph and hit a screw with my rear tire. im not sure how my front tire missed it, but the outcome would have been the same. karma seems to be holding a grudge. so i had the dealer fix it for me (i know, you are probably thinking "you of all people should know how to change a tire." well, it is a little more complicated on a motorcycle than on a car. you have brakes and shocks and stuff on both sides of the tire. and you cant just prop it up with a jack and expect it to stay still.) they finished it the next day with barely enough time for me to pick it up before they closed.

one thing that any biker can tell you about is the "biker salute." it is pretty simple. whenever you ride past another motorcyclist you make a sloppy peace sign with your left hand. most people will keep their hand on the handle bar, but some will let go and drop their hand to the side to do it. but never, ever do it to someone on a scooter. (in fact you probably shouldnt even mention this to them. i think it is a pretty sore subject. bikers have only recently started accepting bullet bikes (aka crotch rockets). the biker community just isnt ready to accept scooters. i guess they figure once they let scooters in, they have to start letting in riding lawn mowers too. then what? weed whackers? trollies? buggies? minivans?)

well, i tell you this because as i rode through mapleton one day a motorcycle cop rode past me and made the sign. i quickly returned the gesture.

ok, fine. my stories kinda suck so far. nothing incredible has happened yet (although i did ride the alpine loop this weekend. it was just dandy). and i hate leaving a blog without writing something interesting if i can help it. so here is a story of my dad's biker days.

when my dad graduated high school he had a honda 160cc. for those of you who dont know what that means, it is small. very small. scooter small. mine is a 750cc. so, naturally he decided to go on a cross country bike trip with his best friend. his friend's bike was the same size. somewhere in the mid-west they were riding down the highway just minding their own business when they nearly get run off the road by a guy in a convertable sports car (i guess they had those back then). soon after this happened, a pack of hell's angels sped past them and caught up the to sports car. they surrounded the car and started kicking it and spitting at the driver. terrified for his life, the driver picked up speed and left them in the dust.

my dad caught up with the biker gang at a gas station and thanked them and asked them why they did it. one of them said, "we bikers got to stick together."

RAVING RABBIDS

i know i have already written several blogs this week, what with the whole purchasing of a motorcycle and all. but i had the most entertaining dream last night. i mean, this sucker was better than the one i wrote last july about the "portal to hell...and all that jazz."

so the dream starts out with me laying in bed asleep (go figure, sleeping in a dream. does that count as two sleep cycles?) when something wakes me up. i look around and find myself in my own bed but in a different room.

then i see a stuffed bunny on the other side of the room facing directly at me. nothing really special about this bunny in appearance. it is average size and blue in color. but then i notice that when ever i move my head and look at the doll from a different angle the head always faces directly at me.

so i try moving to different sides of my bed to see if my eyes are just playing tricks on me and the head keeps up with my every move. until i actually fall out of bed. it is at this point i see that the head-shifting doll is holding some papers in one hand and a revolver in the other. so i approach the bunny and take the papers from his hand. there are about 5 papers, hand written. almost immediately after taking the papers from the bunny's hand, it raises the revolver to its head and blows its brains out.

and then the alarm clock goes off before i get a chance to read the papers.

JOY RIDE

this is my very first motorcycle ride. i thought you would all like to join in my joy, and bask in my awesomeness.




also, i like this picture of me on the bike. you'll want to see this in high rez.

LONE BIKER OF THE APOCALYPSE

i...umm...bought this today. (for those of you who want to know it is an '07 honda shadow spirit 750, black with red pin-stripe flames.)

and yes, i have a helmet.

PARTNERS BLACKIE AND RED

when i first thought about getting a bike this is what i figured i would get:

the honda rebel. a classic, so they tell me. one of the most reliable starter bikes in the market. the main complaint with this bike is that it is small. so some one my size is about all the weight it can handle. wonder why it has two seats then...

but still, it is supposed to be exactly what im looking for--an in-town commuter bike. and with a price tag of only 3 grand off the lot, its hard not to take it. but i probably wont.

if i go the small/cheap bike route i will probably go with this one:

the yamaha virago. similar to the rebel, but it is longer and wont give you leg cramps. also, it looks pretty.

but salesmen are smooth talkers and im considering a bigger bike. i mean, im not a small person, so its only logical right?

the first big bike i considered was the honda shadow.

just take the rebel and double every thing. especially the engine. the rebel is only 250cc. this bad boy starts at 600cc.

it is wide, heavy, and still a great starter bike. and it has tons of features and accessories.

but it only has 4 gears (dude, even the rebel has 5 gears. what the crap?). and according to consumer reports it has the most uncomfortable stock seat ever made.

so in order to ride on the freeway (which is the main difference between big and small bikes) i would have to upgrade even more to the 750cc model. the shadow spirit. same as the regular shadow, except for the bigger engine and the absolutely necessary fifth gear.

but there is still the seat issue...

so we move on to the yamaha V star. very similar in size and make to the shadow except for a slightly bigger engine (650cc) and it has a fifth gear. as for the seat, it felt very nice.

and it is roughly the same price (a couple hundred more than the shadow, but still under 6 grand).

so i think i have decided on the V star. so now all i have to do is decide between red and black...

oh and the safety course and riding test, yada yada yada. and let's not forget about leather jackets and chaps.

some day, little buddy. some day...