Stormrider51
Active Member
It's probably different for each of us. I'd like to have lived in the time when I could get around on a horse. That's not real practical today but an iron horse is the next best thing. Given a choice between a cage and a bike I'm on the bike unless there is ice on the road.
Then there's the fact that most vehicles are pretty impersonal. Not so with a bike. Especially not so with a Harley. I was just outside adjusting the position and angle of the highway pegs on my FLHTC. It's a case of adjust and go ride. Adjust again. Heck of a thing to have to do on a warm sunny Texas afternoon in December. I think I have them set where I want them but the next long ride will tell. Tomorrow, maybe. I just got the bike last Monday so I'm still very much in the "adjust to fit" phase.
Then there's all the available add-ons that make a bike even more "yours". I'm preaching to the choir here, aren't I? Mine was previously owned by the owner of the dealership I bought it from. It has just about every piece of chrome Harley offers and a Stage 1 kit as well. I'm about chromed-out. Guess I could always get a custom paint job.
Riding my bike is dangerous. I know that. If I have an accident, I lose. It doesn't matter if it's my fault, their fault, or nobody's fault. I still lose. I was a career paramedic. I never saw a bike win a right-of-way contest with a cage. A couple of years ago, after having three close calls in one month with cage drivers who seemed determined to run over me, I quit riding. I'd ridden for 34 years and never been seriously injured. It was time to quit while I was ahead.
Less than a year after I sold the bike I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It was advanced and choking off my left carotid artery. Thanks to a great surgeon and another incredible doctor, I am now cancer-free. I am coming up on one year post-treatment. The outlook is good. Without those docs I'd be dead by now. Every day I live is a gift.
I bought another bike. I'm alive and 56 years old. For 26 years I wore a uniform I was proud of and kept a few people from dying. I've ridden darned near everything with hair or wheels. I've flown some great airplanes and jumped out of a few more. I've loved the finest woman I ever met. All in all, it has been one hell of a ride. Why stop now?
John (Stormrider51)
Then there's the fact that most vehicles are pretty impersonal. Not so with a bike. Especially not so with a Harley. I was just outside adjusting the position and angle of the highway pegs on my FLHTC. It's a case of adjust and go ride. Adjust again. Heck of a thing to have to do on a warm sunny Texas afternoon in December. I think I have them set where I want them but the next long ride will tell. Tomorrow, maybe. I just got the bike last Monday so I'm still very much in the "adjust to fit" phase.
Then there's all the available add-ons that make a bike even more "yours". I'm preaching to the choir here, aren't I? Mine was previously owned by the owner of the dealership I bought it from. It has just about every piece of chrome Harley offers and a Stage 1 kit as well. I'm about chromed-out. Guess I could always get a custom paint job.
Riding my bike is dangerous. I know that. If I have an accident, I lose. It doesn't matter if it's my fault, their fault, or nobody's fault. I still lose. I was a career paramedic. I never saw a bike win a right-of-way contest with a cage. A couple of years ago, after having three close calls in one month with cage drivers who seemed determined to run over me, I quit riding. I'd ridden for 34 years and never been seriously injured. It was time to quit while I was ahead.
Less than a year after I sold the bike I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It was advanced and choking off my left carotid artery. Thanks to a great surgeon and another incredible doctor, I am now cancer-free. I am coming up on one year post-treatment. The outlook is good. Without those docs I'd be dead by now. Every day I live is a gift.
I bought another bike. I'm alive and 56 years old. For 26 years I wore a uniform I was proud of and kept a few people from dying. I've ridden darned near everything with hair or wheels. I've flown some great airplanes and jumped out of a few more. I've loved the finest woman I ever met. All in all, it has been one hell of a ride. Why stop now?
John (Stormrider51)
