Great topic James.
I grew up dirt biking as a kid. But had to stop when I left home and entered the Navy. The dirt bike just wouldn't fit into my sea bag. Once I got out of the Navy, I had friends that road raced who I would go and watch. It ignited a fire inside me to get back on a motorcycle and to try racing. I did and the rest they say is history.
I had been dating lady a few months who after 6 months said that she thought motorcycling was dangerous. I told her that motorcycling was here long before her and would be here long after her. That was the last conversation I can recall having with her. I was determined the next person I dated would get that message right up front. I met my future wife a few months later. Our first date was to the motorcycle show in Seattle. The local road racing club had an booth in the show, and my race bike was one of the bikes on display which I showed her. I knew after the show, that if we saw each other again, there would be no mistake about motorcycles being a part of our lives. That was 20 years ago, and she is still around, and still a full participant. She does have her own Honda CRF150 dirt bike and is a very good rider, although we don't do much dirt biking anymore, mostly street bikes.
I continued to road race until the kids were old enough to ride themselves. Then we decided to pass on the passion for motorcycling to our kids by getting them involved in dirt biking. Motorcycling will always be a part of our lives. Although I did sell the race bike (
Honda RS250r), I did keep the street bike (Kawasaki ZRX1100) and have always had a bike since. I also taught the basic riders course for the MSF for a few years. I don't choose to commute on mine, as the drivers around here are stupid and extremely passive-aggressive towards motorcycles. Not a risk I am willing to take.
We have always tried to take at least one 10-20 day trip for just the two of us to tour around. It is our time alone together and enjoying ourselves. Some years we will do the trip with another couple, but we still do a trip on our own too. We ride 2up most of the time, because I would not enjoy myself if I were always worrying about where is she. For us the best solution is 2up riding. We also started towing a trailer, because we got tired of setting up reservations at hotels, then having the reservations dictate where and when we had to be somewhere. The freedom of having the trailer with our camping gear gives us makes our trips soo much more enjoyable. Now our routes are a general idea of where we are headed, but may change as we ride (and frequently does).
We have music and the ability to talk while we ride. But you know, most of the time we just ride and see the scenery together and say very little. We can go for hours and not say anything, then talk for several hours. For us it is about being together and sharing the moment that is so important. It is funny about how many times we will be lost in our own thoughts and when we say something over the radio to each other, that we both are thinking about the same thing.
To address the risks involved with motorcycling, we do have insurance in place, that would take care of the house, any bills, and each other or the kids should something happen to one or both of us. Our kids are grown with the youngest in college now. But we still maintain our insurance to protect the family. We have always taken the viewpoint that you never know when your time is up, and that we don't want to get old and say, I wish I had...
Many of the kids (and our) fondest memories as a family are from campouts, or race days, or touring where motorcycles were involved. As well as many of our closest friends were introduced through motorcycling.
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