Sold My Motorcycle

I knew that it would sell.  It is a strange feeling to watch some of the items that I always wanted to have and now to have them change over to a new owner.  On one hand I would have worried if we had placed the bike into storage for a few years.  Many things can go wrong when a gasoline engine is stored.  Like the fuel lines leaking, carbs getting gummed up, etc.  So, it is liberating to be downsizing and getting rid of just things.  On the other hand, I had always planned to take some longer trips when I had more time.  So finally I decided to sell it and I can always buy another bike at a later date.  No more worries, but…

Yamaha V-Star 1100

Having ridden a motorcycle for many years, I would have to say the main attraction is the feeling of freedom that it offers.  Just being able to come home from a long stressful day at work, gear up, and then go for a short ride to help unwind and relax before dinner.  I would have several of these short evening rides  on different routes that I would have the options to take.

This section of the country has the absolutely best motorcycle riding roads, hands down.  The rural areas of southwest Virginia have very little traffic and all of the back roads are mostly twisty and hilly as they wind their way through the mountains.  The Blue Ridge mountains run through this area with some surprisingly tall mountain peaks.  Mount Rodgers is at 5,700 feet.  The Blue Ridge mountains run from the  Shenandoah National Park, in the northern section, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in the southern section. The Blue Ridge also contains the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile long scenic highway that connects the two parks and is located along the ridge crestlines with the Appalachian Trail.

On the weekends, I would take some longer rides, maybe 3-4 hours or a little longer, and ride with no real destination in mind.  I really never do this in the car.  In an auto it is always about getting from point A to B.  With the bike my favorite ride is to fill up the gas tank, that has a 150 mile range, and just take off into the deep back roads and try to get lost.  Yes, really, I would just keep taking turns until I had absolutely no idea where I was.  Talk about a freeing feeling for a highly structured accountant!  I knew that by continuing to ride that I would eventually meet a slightly larger road and be able to figure out where I was.

Talking about some twisty roads, the Tuggle’s Gap section has switch back roads that almost meets itself on some turns.  This 20 mile section has become a destination for many riders.  It also has a cool little restaurant with an old fashioned motel right at the northern end.

Over the years I was also in a few riding clubs where I would take weekend rides with people that you knew and could trust to ride safely.  Most of my riding was solo, but riding with a group would add another dimension as we would ride in a 4 to 10 bike group.  I’ve also ridden in several large poker runs.  These are usually a charity event that can draw over 200 bikes.  The logistics gets a little complicated with this size of group to ensure that a portion does not get cutoff by stop lights, not to mention the restroom stops.

I would always seem to know a few other people in these large group rides from either work or another riding club.  Living in a small town, you can routinely see several people you know just going to the Kroger or Walmart.

I’ve had 4 different motorcycles over the years.  Let’s see, a Honda 90 trailbike when I was 13 or so, then a Honda 360 twin in 1974.  My wife, Pat, and I would ride this bike all over Indiana in our early married, before children years.  I sold this one in 1984 and then bought a Harley Sportster 883 in about 2004.  A 20 year gap of working and raising a family.  Where does the time go?

And finally, I bought the big Yamaha in 2007 and kept both bikes for awhile. The Yamaha was much more comfortable for the longer rides.  I will miss it in some ways, but by downsizing most of our “stuff” is also very liberating in another way.

We now have a new freedom that comes from leaving my employment of 44 years, getting rid of most of stuff that has accumulated over 44 years of marriage, and moving into a traveling home and starting a new chapter of adventure!

And that is quite a move for a highly structured accountant.

Have a good day.