Motorcycling in the DNA? A father/son thing!

I got a little ahead of myself in telling the story of my reimmersion into motorcycling -- so let me divert back to an earlier time for this posting.

When I decided to get back into motorcycling after a quarter century absence from the hobby/sport/past time, everyone I talked to recommended that I take the training class set up by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. The classes are intended for everyone -- even a person who has never ridden a motorcycle -- and include both classroom and practical experience (on motorcycles provided in the class). Initially I thought it would be a waste of my time -- as I felt I already KNEW how to ride. Therefore, I proceeded to get my motorcycle endorsement on my license without benefit of the class (one can either just test for the endorsement at DMV or take the class and receive the endorsement as part of successful completion of the class). I chose to just take the test and I passed but I must say it was more challenging than I expected and it was clear that there were some techniques, particularly slow speed turns, that I didn't know how to do.

In thinking about the taking the class, I hit upon an idea of finding out whether my son Neal might be interested in taking the class with me. As I recall, my oldest daughter exhibited no interest and my youngest wasn't of driving age -- so I'd like to think that it wasn't just a sexist decision to expose Neal to the opportunity to learn to ride a motorcycle. I do remember Deb and I having some serious conversations about the risks/dangers and the wisdom, or lack thereof, in exposing Neal to the opportunity.

Neal was interested and we enrolled in the beginner's class together. As mentioned, the class assumes no prior knowlege or experience with a motorcycle. In Neal's case, he had not even driven a car that required shifting -- so the class was going to be his first exposure to the use of a clutch and shifting (yes, I do feel this is an area that I failed my kids in that we only owned automatic transmission vehicles during their lives. If I had it to do over again, I'd definitely either own or rent a stick for training the kids). Anyway, after some classroom instruction, the practical part starts with classmates pushing each other on the motorcycles (engines off) to get used to the controls -- and progresses slowly to riding/shifting etc. It was a little like watching Neal take his first steps 19 years earlier, or watch him learn to ride a bicycle -- only much more frightening -- but Neal was quickly mastering the motorcycle and did an outstanding job in the class. I too learned plenty from the class -- and now understand and repeat to all who have never taken the class (no matter what their experience), that they should take the class.

Neal emerged from the class with his endorsement but I perceived that the ST1100 wouldn't be a good starter bike to get his first road experience. Therefore, we found what I consider to be one of the most perfect starter bikes -- a used Kawasaki Ninja 250. It was a 1990 model but in great condition with low miles. On June 20, 2001, we paid $1500 for it.

In the summers of 2001 and 2002, Neal and I enjoyed several wonderful motorcycle rides -- including some overnight rides. Destinations included the San Juan Islands, Winthrop, Astoria, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Baker among other fun trips. We even camped off the motorcycles on the trip to Lopez Island/San Juans for two nights -- but I quickly learned that camping and motorcycling didn't mix for me (too much gear/protective clothing to protect, too little storage space, and just too problematic -- it's the last time I've tried camping while riding -- it's too nice to get a cheap sleep and ride feeling refreshed and clean).

Two wonderful summers of fun on two wheels -- but with Neal's marriage and relocation plans (moving to continue school in southern California) in 2003, I sold the Ninja in May 2003 for $1750 (I'd put new tires on it -- and it was still a bargain for another new rider).

I like to think that my passion for motorcycling got passed on to Neal -- and that's probably the case because he and his wife purchased their own more powerful Ninja during the first years of their marriage -- while going to school in Riverside. Thankfully they were smarter than Deb and I and had full protective gear for their rides -- and didn't ride with a hiked up mini-skirt!

Granny's "Bucket List" Modification

As soon as we purchased the Goldwing in March 2002, we immediately began putting the miles on with longer trips around the Olympic Penninsula and down the coast to Newport, Oregon and to other Northwest locations. During the riding season (when I have the option, I'm definitely a fair weather rider!) that year, we put plenty of miles on the new Goldwing. Little did we know that the "motorcycle across the USA" plan would drastically change that winter.

I don't remember the precise date, but I still remember Debi and Ben calling us that winter (probably in December 2002) to announce the anticipated arrival of our first grand child in June 2003. Immediately upon hanging up the phone from this conversation, Deb said "Noel, I hope you won't mind if I don't ride the motorcycle anymore." Her comment was somewhat unexpected because she had never complained about motorcycling. She had been completely supportive of getting back into motorcycling and moving up to the Goldwing. However, her changed attitude was also completely understandable because I knew of her powerful passion for being a mom -- which would naturally flow to being a "Grand" mom. She was clear in her thoughts and expressions -- she was not expecting me to give up motorcycling. She just didn't want to take the risks anymore now that she knew that she would soon be a "Granny" (the name she called her grandmothers -- and which would become her name when Amelia arrived in June 2003).

To be sure, the "across the USA" trip after retirement had already been moved off the expectations for the summer of 2003 even before this announcement as I picked my anticipated retirement at the end July, followed by Neal and Anna's wedding just a few days later. Instead, I began planning for a 3 week - 4400 mile solo trip to California as my "retirement gift to myself." That was accomplished and some of the original web/blog site about that trip is still available at:http://ntog.weebly.com/mototrip-2003.html

And, as you can guess from the fact that I am now writing this in 2009, this "across the USA" trip just kept getting pushed further down the "bucket list." I still rode the Goldwing plenty and took several trips including long ones (3 more to California and to Idaho and Montana). A couple of the blogs for those motorcycle trips are here:
http://backroadrider.blogspot.com/
http://ntog.weebly.com/mototrip-2005.html

As I write this, the Goldwing sits with some 44,000 miles -- except for just a few put on by my son, Neal -- the rest I've put on in the 7 years we've had it.

The intervening years have been filled with plenty of other travel including a 10,000 mile rail trip Deb and I did in October 2008 around the USA (blog: http://traintripping.blogspot.com/), and trips to Europe in 2005 and 2006 (Deb and I together) and to Switzerland in 2007 (I made with my dad - blog: http://someo.blogspot.com/).

However, finally this year, events and opportunities have aligned in a way that it appears (so far) that the "across the USA motorcycle trip" may finally get moved into the "completed" category on my ever changing, sometimes modified -- bucket list.

Moving Up To The "Best" Long Distance Touring Bike

The passion for motorcycling intensified daily with the purchase of the Honda ST1100 in 2000 as Deb and I continued to make regular day trips and overnight trips every chance we got. It wasn't long before we had explored most of the scenic backroads within a day or two of the Seattle area, started regular subscriptions to a few motorcycle magazines produced primarily for the "touring" or "sport-touring" motorcyclist and were attending the area motorcycle shows. Going out for coffee on a weekend morning meant motorcycling at least 35 miles in some direction or another to explore new roads and find new coffee shops -- and usually ended up with more than 100 miles added to the ST.

I can't say enough good things about the ST1100 (now produced as an ST1300) and I got very involved in learning all I could about the large, cohesive, worldwide community of ST1100 riders (the same bike is called the Pan American in Europe). I even began a collection of electronic photos of all the modifications created for the ST1100 (known in the community as "farkles.") One of the first web sites I created was to display these various photos complete with owner/email links to the owners of the ST's in the photos. Eventually I got in touch with the creator of the largest ST-focused web site (residing in Finland) and arranged for my "farkle" photos to become part of his massive web site (http://www.st1100.org/) .

Now the ST has frequently been the motorcycle of choice of long distance riders, including a subset of more than 35,000 riders that refer to themselves as "ironbutts" where the easiest level of acceptance into the group is by traveling 1000 miles in 24 hours...and every summer there is an intense competition to win a the ultimate USA recognition by traveling 11,000 miles in 11 days (see http://www.ironbutt.com/) . However, in the very stratified world of motorcycles and motorcycle riders -- it is not among the few motorcycle models that are considered premier for "luxury" long distance riding particularly when wanting to ride "two-up" (with a passenger). Therefore, it wasn't long before Deb and I were looking at the luxury long distance rides that at the time included only two: Honda Goldwing 1500 and BMW LT1200. And when Honda smartly produced an all-new Honda Goldwing 1800 in 2001 that performed like a higher powered ST1100 and Deb considered the rear seating on the new Goldwing superior to the BMW -- we began thinking about how our plan to ride across the USA would be more comfortable on a new "Wing." In our own rationalization, we also plotted that if we were going to take this cross-country motorcycle tour when I retired in 2003, we should get the new Wing in 2002 so that we could be

totally familiar with it. And that's what we did.

In March 2002 we traded our ST1100 in for a new, 2002 Honda Goldwing GL1800A (the A being for the $1000 optional ABS brakes). And when 2002 colors changed the regular deep blue to a blue that looked purple in the sunlight, we changed our interest in blue and purchased the color we thought would best add to the safety on the road -- the very visible yellow.

[Our 2002 Honda Goldwing GL1800A]

Renewing the Dream in 2000

I/we loved motorcycling in the 1970's -- and had only experienced a couple of frightening experiences (in 1971 I t-boned a car that had pulled out from a stop sign without seeing me -- doing damage to the motorcycle but no damage to me; and, in 1974 Deb and I had our motorcycle grind to a stop when our security chain got tangled with our tire on a major freeway near the Pentagon at night. We both escaped unscathed but the event still gives me scared feelings when I think of the alternate outcomes that we were lucky enough to avoid). But as "way leads on to way" (Robert Frost's "Less Traveled Road") -- I can honestly say that we never really even thought about getting another motorcycle until some 25 years had passed and oldest two kids were in college and our youngest was about 14. It happened rather serendiptiously when one of my subordinates mentioned that she had a motorcycle. I still remember thinking that there was no reason why I couldn't/shouldn't have a motorcycle -- and soon the passion was reborn. Before long I arranged a day-long rental of a motorcycle where I spent the day on backroads over Mt. Rainier -- and began preparations to get the needed helmets/gear and license endorsement -- and a motorcycle.

Now, my co-worker and other colleagues that had motorcycles all had Harley Davidson motorcycles -- but I never developed a passion for these "cruiser" type -- loud pipe motorcycles. I'm not sure I fully understand it nor can I adequately explain it -- but I was just never enthused with the Harley/cruiser bikes perhaps because I was entirely motivated by the desire for longer distance motorcycling not the most common calling of Harley/cruiser riders. In any event, I almost immediately focused on the shaft-driven (rather than belt and/or chain driven) motorcycles -- and ended up negotiating the purchase of a Honda ST1100 -- whose long distance prowess is legendary among long distance motorcyclists. The one I purchased in 2000 was a 1995 -- and with low miles and impeccable condition, it cost $8000.
[Deb and I on our 1995 Honda ST1100 in 2001]

Deb was onboard with the idea of getting back into motorcycling -- and we rode together (complete with a communications intercom between our helmets) every chance we got in all directions from our home east of Seattle -- including overnight trips when we could. The passion was definitely reborn. Deb and I also restarted talking about the long forgotten motorcycle trip across the USA -- now a retirement "bucket list" item.

Background - A "Bucket List" Item from the 1970's

My first exposure to motorcycling was facilitated by a dear priest friend (now deceased) who financed the purchase of my first motorcycle the summer after I graduated high school in 1969. At the time I was committed to working at his parish (St. Francis, Seaside, CA) for the summer -- and he indulged me by providing the $300 needed to purchase a small "street" motorcycle - a used Yamaha 100 purchased from my Uncle Joe, then a Yamaha dealer in Paso Robles.
[This photo is of one similar to the one I owned.]

I took no classes -- and had no experience on a motorcycle -- and just learned by doing -- and quickly fell in love with the freedom that motorcycle gave me. A year or so later I sold that motorcycle to my next younger brother when my interests turned toward the new 1970 VW bug that I bought.

Fast forward to 1973 during the first year of married life when Deb and I decided to purchase a used street motorcycle -- a Yamaha 350. I don't remember the cost -- but I believe it may have been around $400 or $450. Because we owned a car, this motorcycle was strictly for recreation -- but we had such fun on it that we rode it lots both for fun and for commutting. We still laugh about the many times that Deb would hike up her then-popular mini-skirt to climb on the back and we'd ride into the heavily secured CIA Headquarters in McLean, VA where Deb worked.

[Our 1972 Datsun 240Z, 1972 Yamaha 350 & Deb circa 1973)
We kept that motorcycle until around October 1974 when I was transferred to Atlanta -- and it got too complicated/expensive to move two vehicles.

The desire to have a motorcycle never arose again until 25 years later -- but in the intervening years we would sometimes comment on our hope that someday we might get to ride a motorcycle across the USA. I think it would be fair to characterize this wistful thinking/commenting as the formulation of a "bucket list" goal -- though I don't ever remember using the "bucket list" term until after watching the 2007 movie called "The Bucket List" with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.