Moving On Up

Changed wheels today.  Bittersweet ordeal, that.

They say you should keep the old bike, because of the fondness and affinity that truly does develop between rider and machine.  Alas, the grim practical realities of financing, room in the garage, and how many bikes can a guy have really, make it a trade-off world.  I am gonna miss that bike, just like my Suzuki GT750 and those great Honda Trail 90's back in the day.....

So today we rode the 2003 Yamaha VStar 1100 Silverado for our last ride.  Didn't realize the other sunny day last week that the swing out west to Sloan's Ridge was to be last on that bike.  That bike was outstanding, and for 10 years loomed large in my world.  These pages are full of only some of the adventures.  Places seen, people met, wonderful moments out in some obscure spot just in the breeze and in the zone.

While we are sad to see the Silverado go, it's with full awareness that we had originally purchased it to just see.  Just to see if we'd be riders again after 25 years without a motorcycle.  Just to see if we could handle the realities of traffic in a cell phone, texting, Tokyo drift world.  Just to see if the bugs still were as good as youthful remembrance made them out to be.  The answer came back, yes, we are ready to stay bikers, to embrace the risks and revel in the rewards.  Yes, it's time to step up and level up our game.

So, the Silverado, for ten years, did the good work, keeping the dream alive, and never showing any jealosy knowing that the Royal Star Venture was the one we longed for.  10 years of waiting, 10 years of checking, 10 years of looking at other bikes and wondering.  Followed by 4 short days of shopping and there you are.

Today we brought the new bike home.  One short ride, cold and rain preventing more than the puny 16 miles to home.  The bike looks, rides, and feels great.  Yes, it was sad leaving the other bike, but that was tempered by the Christmas-morning glee in unwrapping this new toy.  Looking forward to new travels, and also going by the same old favorite places, and getting those pictures again for the very first time on the new Venture.

First things first, once home, were putting on the bell my sister Cheryl  bestowed upon my first bike, and also getting the chrome license plate holder from my friend Steve, on as well.  One does admit to harboring certain superstitions, and there's no harm in honoring relationships and goodwill.