Although I haven’t ridden any motorcycle except as a passenger in a long while, I’ve owned at least one for the last thirty years. I’ve kept my “M”-for-motorcycle (duh) license current, although all that means here (and probably most states) is answering a few more multiple-choice questions on the written test when that comes around every few years. I’m thinking that it might be time to get one of my current bikes out of mothballs.

It would probably be this one:

The photo is pretty old. I’m somewhere in Nebraska, about 16-17 years ago, and was lucky not to fall asleep while riding because was that ever a boring stretch of road. My husband took it with a cheap point-n-shoot 35mm camera while riding alongside me. Since that photo was taken, the bike (1989 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Hugger) got a different seat, a larger windshield, and really cool big-bike looking floorboards.

I really enjoyed riding, but things have changed out there since I last rode on a regular basis, and changed a huge amount since I learned to ride way back when I was twenty-something, immortal in my own mind, and too stupid to realize that maybe learning to ride a motorcycle on the side streets around the City of Chicago was not the best setup for a safe and happy experience. It was actually very happy. I am positive it was not safe in any way.

Distracted drivers scare the hell out of me. I know that horrible incidents like the nail polish killer are probably not as common as I fear. But jagoffs like that are still out there, and the roads are way more crowded than they were even a few years ago. And there are so many more distractions to keep drivers from paying attention to what should be their real task at hand: getting down the road and not hurting themselves or anyone or anything else.

There were not all that many women who rode their own motorcycles when I first learned to ride, but I was light years away from being a trendsetter. Other women did that years before and in much better style than I ever would have. Plus, I didn’t want to be a trendsetter anyway. I didn’t learn to ride because it empowered me or made me feel free, and certainly not because a Harley is like a giant vibrator. Yes, women have actually written statements similar to the previous words, for publication no less, and I’m sorry, it just grossed me out. If you wrote that, please do not sit on my bike ever, thank you very much.

I just thought that riding a motorcycle looked like fun. Also, when I was 22, I had enough money to pay cash for a decent small motorcycle, but would have had to get a loan for a decent car. That’s it. No big statement, no grrrl power crap. I just thought it would be a fun way to get around that would not saddle me with loan payments.

I’m actually amazed how, and how much, motorcycles are marketed to women these days. I guess that’s okay. Some of the changes are really great, if you are talking about how it is easier to get good quality riding gear in small sizes, or accessories that can safely lower a bike, or make the clutch pull lighter. Some are just stupid, like just making things pink. Pink should probably be a color choice (for someone else, not me), but it should not be my only choice for something being marketed to women.

Since I don’t have a sidecar, and don’t really feel comfortable about adding one to a bike as small as a Sportster (yeah, I know they make them, go back to the part where I don’t personally feel comfortable about it), it would cut into time for the dogs. That’s the only downside I see so far. We’ll revisit this whole motorcycle question. On a day like today, so nice and sunny, seems like the answer is obvious!

(NaBloPoMo | May ‘09: 20 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 116 of 274)