The Comely Passenger Comes To Stay

Don't expect to see me in a tie again any time soon.

I could have remained a bachelor for the rest of my days and life would have been a lot less complicated than it is when one is married but somehow having no one to lose meant I had nothing much at all but a head full of memories and no one with whom to share them. 2006 marks my 40th year of riding bikes and in those forty years I've ridden a lot of miles alone, been to a lot of events alone, and stood on many a scenic outlook alone wishing there was someone with whom to share the view and the memory.

Debbie, AKA the Comely Passenger, turned out to be a very interesting woman, too interesting to let slip out of my life. I was attracted to her red head personality, firm opinions on things that mattered, and her willingness to at least try motorcycling even if it wasn't on her list of stuff to do in this lifetime or any lifetime. It's a little unclear what she sees in me but she fell for me in return and I'm not one to question the hand of God or just her taste in men. In the Bible, in the Old Testament, God allowed a man's donkey to speak to it's owner. If He could allow a donkey to speak He apparently was also able let me say things that mattered to the sweet red head. Thank you, God.

So now, as of December the 17th, 2005, I have a lovely wife to compliment the back seat of my ST1300. I believe she qualifies as the ultimate farkle, better even than a GPS or heated jacket. This is a good thing to me but not without its challenges. I've really not ridden all that much with a passenger so chauffeuring the big ST around two-up has required me to be more attentive to the little details of maneuvering, especially at low speed. The ST lacks the easy maneuverability of the Aprilia Caponord (a small understatement) so not doing something ungraceful and expensive at low speed has been dicey once or twice.

Deb has been a trooper about getting used to riding. Biking at it's best is not all that comfortable this side of Goldwing so I've done what I can to equip Deb to be at least semi-comfortable. Still, no one develops an iron butt in a few rides or discovers right off that the fun really does outweigh the discomfort. Despite the strangeness of the garb, the burden of having her ears and hair pulled with each on/off of the helmet, and being just plain nervous about riding, she was the one who suggested we go for a ride this past Sunday afternoon. You have to love a woman like that. We rode up to Saguaro Lake, a lovely ride mostly, and enjoyed some strawberry shortcake at the restaurant that overlooks the lake. I've ridden to the lake many times, fed the ducks, taken pictures, but somehow missed the strawberry shortcake. The excellent new company made the stop perfect.

Moto-wife in training

One of the little differences or quirks we've (I've) discovered is that Debbie gets cold on the bike at anything under 70° even with her new leather jacket. I'd bought her a nice double layer Joe Rocket winter jacket with extra wind flaps, a double collar, and so on. That one has turned out to be her jacket when it's merely cold outside, i.e. over 70°. So another visit to Chaparral Motorsports during a recent trip to California garnered her a new leather jacket and some fringed chaps. Now, fringed chaps are not exactly de rigor as sport touring attire but she was smitten by them and she is an artist by trade and temperament so she's entitled to break the rules of proper bike/rider costuming. Shucks, I did that myself years ago when I persisted in wearing a full helmet when I rode my Harley. There's a real rebel spirit for you. On our ride yesterday the leather jacket and chaps were pronounced over the rider/passenger intercom as "a good investment." Indeed!

So for the bitterly cold weather (under 65°) she's using my old heated vest under the leather jacket now. It's kind of weird because I'll be riding in my Tourmaster jacket with the liner taken out and all the zipper vents open to stay cool and she'll be behind me bundled up like it's below zero. No matter, as long as she's happy, I'm happy and I seem to be very happy these days.