It Finally Happened

My motorcycle is named "Boule" (Bully). I've had Boule for almost seven weeks now and we have logged just over 2,000 miles together.

I told my wife the other day that "It finally happened". When I first started riding, I was not comfortable with such a big bike. Yeah, yeah, 800cc is not a big bike. But, if your first bike was 250cc and a shade over 300 lbs, the 800cc at 650lbs is pretty big.

Boule and I have had our moments. I'm ashamed to say it, but I have dropped him four times; twice coming out of our driveway, once in the garage, and once on the street at a stop sign. The lesson I have learned is that the slower a motorcycle goes, the more dangerous it is. Motorcycles require momentum to stay upright. They can fall very quickly, especially if you get off of it without putting the kickstand down!

Yet we have put up with each other. Boule has taught me much more than I have taught him. We've ridden, and ridden, and ridden and seldom really go anywhere except in a big circle. It's kind of like life. We leave the house, do what we have to do....shop, work, church......and then return home. I do hope that Boule and I will be able to take a trip soon where we spend a night or two on the road before returning home. It will take some planning because my wife will not ride with me.

Back to what I said earlier, "It finally happened". One day this past week I realized it. Riding Boule became extremely pleasurable. You see, Boule and I have bonded. We are as one when we are going down the road, making turns, and stopping and starting. Oh I still have to concentrate on what I am asking the bike to do, what gear I am in, and what's ahead, beside, and behind me. But when it comes to making a turn or taking a curve, or reacting to a bad road condition, Boule and I just hang together and make it a smooth event. It's a comfortable feeling.

Yep, it finally happened.