[thenightwriterblog] The Reverend Mother: I Join a Motorcycle Gang

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Posted by The Reverend Mother:
I Join a Motorcycle Gang
http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1205106492.shtml


   That is, if three a gang does make.
   The thoughtful Night Writer suggested I spend a day at the spa during
   our recent Arizona odyssey. I looked at the price of a day at the spa
   and decided that was ridiculous. Especially since I am the Finance
   Minister at our house. Then he suggested I rent a Harley Davidson. I'm
   not a big fan of Harleys, but I discovered you can rent pretty much
   any kind of bike you want, if you're willing to pay the price. And it
   was about the same price as a day at the spa, but [1]a much better
   value, if you ask me.
   There I was on the beautiful morning of Wednesday last, picking up the
   BMW 1200 RT which I had reserved before leaving MN.

                                BMW 1200 RT

   It's a huge bike, the biggest I have ever ridden, weighing in at 600
   lbs, wet. Did I mention it's a bit top heavy? At one time in my life I
   owned a BMW motorcycle which was probably almost as heavy as this one,
   but it was shorter and had a much lower center of gravity. Does it
   sound like I'm defensive at all? I hopped on this thing after being
   briefed on its various accessories (heated seats, heated hand grips,
   car-like cruise control, vertically adjustable windshield) and
   functions (LED screen that lets one scroll through more information
   than anyone could possibly want to know). The owner and his admin.
   assistant had gone back in the building and, hopefully, weren't
   watching me because I couldn't get the monster upright off its side
   kickstand. Boy, did I feel stupid. Then I realized I had my foot too
   far away from the bike and if I moved it in as close to the bike as I
   could get it, I could gain just enough purchase to shift the bike
   upright. I took off looking, I think, exactly like I knew what I was
   doing.
   I rode around the block and started to get the feel of the bike. I
   could tell it was weighted differently than what I used to ride, but
   other than that it felt like riding a BMW. It felt great. The BMW
   shifting has always sounded a little clunky, and still did with this
   model, so that was normal. I rode out of town on a route that would
   take me into the mountains.

                         [2](Rev.) Motorcycle Mama 

   It was a gorgeous day, about 65 degrees, clear and sunny. Why had that
   couple who had rented a bike just ahead of me put on all that gear?
   Nylon pants over their jeans, heavy jackets, big gloves. Jeeez, it was
   a nice day. I began going up, up, up, into the mountains and, oh my
   goodness, the temperature started going down, down, down. Still, I
   didn't feel cold until my first stop at Jake's Corner Store, after
   riding about 60 miles. I got off the bike and went into the store to
   get coffee and check out the facilities. And I started shivering. I
   hadn't even realized I was cold until I stopped riding. The coffee
   felt really good going down. As I was standing by the bike drinking
   coffee and eating a banana I saw two bikers I had passed earlier at
   some wayside stop pull in. They didn't stay, however, and pulled right
   out and drove away. I noticed, however, they were both riding BMWs. I
   got back on, managed to right the bike, turned on the seat and hand
   heaters, and took off.
   Another thirty or forty miles through the mountains and I came to the
   Roosevelt Dam, where I decide to stop for the view. I took a right
   into the parking lot and, lo and behold, there were the other Beemer
   riders and a few other bikers, as well. Of course, I wanted to look
   very cool as I pulled around gracefully into a spot, positioning
   myself so I would be pointed in the right direction when it was time
   to leave.
   Just as I came to a full stop, however, my balance shifted slightly
   left and ... the bike and I went down. As my (helmeted) head hit the
   pavement the thought ocurred to me to just lay there till I died of
   embarrassment. I didn't think it would take too long. But I heard the
   bike was still running so I leapt up and hit the kill switch. At that
   moment another rider ran up and said "Let me help" and lifted the bike
   up for me. I was mortified. I started chattering about how I hadn't
   ridden, really, for years, and was rusty and anything I could think of
   that would make me look less of an idiot. But he, and his friend who
   also came over, said this could happen to anyone. They were very
   gracious and did their best to make me feel better.
   We began admiring each others' bikes (turns out they were the guys on
   the BMWs) and just talking motorcycles, my recent knowledge of which
   would fill large volumes. We rode together to another view of the dam
   from the other side, and then, because we were going the same
   direction we all rode on in a group. Thus, a gang. Of three. All on
   BMWs. Pretty cool. Especially since I had the biggest bike. If you're
   wondering how intimidating a gang of BMW riders, picture this: "Hello,
   we are Hans, Franz und Eva, and we are here to ... pump you up!"
   We stopped in Superior, AZ for lunch and got to know each other
   better. I found out Leon was a retired ironworker, living in
   Scottsdale and Doug was a Baptist missionary on sabbatical for one
   year from his work in Taiwan. I knew that God had sent them to watch
   over me and I was very glad of that.
   We continued on after lunch, heading back in the general direction of
   Scottsdale where I had rented the bike. At some point, Doug had to
   leave us and head home, but Leon stuck with me all the way to the
   rental agency. When we stopped at a gas station so I could refill the
   tank I actually had to have Leon lift the bike to upright for me
   because the combination of very smooth cement, my very smooth-soled
   boots and a small amount of weariness from riding 200 miles all left
   me unable to raise the machine to vertical.
   Here's a photo of me and my guardian angel and his immaculate (1976, I
   think) BMW 1000.

                       [3]Leon and his bike and me. 

References

   1. file://localhost/var/www/powerblogs/thenightwriterblog/posts/1205106492.html
   2. file://localhost/files/thenightwriterblog-AZ_vacation_photos_011.jpg
   3. file://localhost/files/thenightwriterblog-AZ_vacation_photos_013.jpg