Our history....
Our history begins many years ago. I'll try to get through it quickly, but at our age....
Chris, my WingMan, was born in 1964. He was just a boy who was getting a hardship license when he first got the bug. His first bike was a new 1978 Yamaha DT 100. He rode it around 2 years before getting his drivers license. He was a big boy on a small bike because of the laws at the time. But that didn't squash his new love. As his young years rolled on, he owned both dirt and street bikes.
1978 Yamaha DT 100
1983 Honda XR 350
1980's model Suzuki RM 125
1982 Yamaha Virago 750 bought new from a dealer in 1986 (what a great find!)
1978 Honda CX 500 bought in as box of parts that he put back together
1983 Yamaha YZ 250
1988 Yamaha YZ 250
I was born in 1970. My experiences with motorcycles were minimum. My brother had a dirt bike, and at a young age I got burned by the exhaust pipe while riding with him. I lost all interest in motorcycles at that point. I had an uncle, cousins, second cousins, etc that raced motorcross. My parents rarely took us to watch them and complained about the motorcycles at family reunions. Pity. Now that I look back, I really wish we had been more involved.
When I met WingMan in 1990, he was having fun on the '88 YZ 250. I thought they were loud and smelly. Okay, so my past shaped my perception in a negative way. I went with him and watched while he rode on trails and small tracks. He took me to the AMA Supercross which was even louder and smellier. I did my "duty" as a supportive girlfriend/wife. ~roll eyes~ We got married a year after meeting. A really smart move on my part. Unfortunately, a year later, he hurt himself and ended up being laid off from his job. Like many young couples, we had gotten ourselves over extended for only one income and had to start selling things. Yep. His beautiful YZ 250 was sold. He mourned, I celebrated. I was so naive and selfish.
Unplanned, we started having children a year after his job loss. Buying another motorcycle was put on the back burner...FOR YEARS. WingMan talked about wanting a Honda Goldwing off and on. But as the years rolled by with us focused on raising our family and building our business, we developed other interests different than we had as young people.
Last year, our second born son met a sweet young lady that lives 70-ish miles from us. He owned 2004 Chevy Silverado. Needless to say, gas consumption was killing him with his big ol' truck. He started talking motorcycles. I was unsure how wise that would be. After all, it's dangerous! There's that past perception rearing it's ugly head again. I have to admit, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was time to get WingMan back on a bike. He'd kept his motorcycle endorsement on his drivers license all this time. He has worked hard for our family. He gave up all his hobbies. We could even let Dylan borrow the motorcycle to visit his girl! All great reasons to add some fun back into his life.
After bringing it up to WingMan, he started looking at motorcycles online. It didn't take long for us to find an excellent deal on a 2004 Honda VTX 1300. *I* was even excited for him! So in April of 2015, we became the proud owners of a motorcycle after 23 years. After he reacquainted himself with riding, I got my opportunity to ride on the back. I was so scared and excited at the same time.
All it took was one ride. One ride and I. WAS. HOOKED.
My life changed that day. OUR life changed that day. We really enjoy each others company. We have a great marriage. But we were needing a way to reconnect and this was perfect for us. I'll pick up the story from there next time. My goal is to keep a journal of our adventures. If you held on this long, thanks for reading.
~Renee, ALadyRider2016
Chris, my WingMan, was born in 1964. He was just a boy who was getting a hardship license when he first got the bug. His first bike was a new 1978 Yamaha DT 100. He rode it around 2 years before getting his drivers license. He was a big boy on a small bike because of the laws at the time. But that didn't squash his new love. As his young years rolled on, he owned both dirt and street bikes.
1978 Yamaha DT 100
1983 Honda XR 350
1980's model Suzuki RM 125
1982 Yamaha Virago 750 bought new from a dealer in 1986 (what a great find!)
1978 Honda CX 500 bought in as box of parts that he put back together
1983 Yamaha YZ 250
1988 Yamaha YZ 250
I was born in 1970. My experiences with motorcycles were minimum. My brother had a dirt bike, and at a young age I got burned by the exhaust pipe while riding with him. I lost all interest in motorcycles at that point. I had an uncle, cousins, second cousins, etc that raced motorcross. My parents rarely took us to watch them and complained about the motorcycles at family reunions. Pity. Now that I look back, I really wish we had been more involved.
When I met WingMan in 1990, he was having fun on the '88 YZ 250. I thought they were loud and smelly. Okay, so my past shaped my perception in a negative way. I went with him and watched while he rode on trails and small tracks. He took me to the AMA Supercross which was even louder and smellier. I did my "duty" as a supportive girlfriend/wife. ~roll eyes~ We got married a year after meeting. A really smart move on my part. Unfortunately, a year later, he hurt himself and ended up being laid off from his job. Like many young couples, we had gotten ourselves over extended for only one income and had to start selling things. Yep. His beautiful YZ 250 was sold. He mourned, I celebrated. I was so naive and selfish.
Unplanned, we started having children a year after his job loss. Buying another motorcycle was put on the back burner...FOR YEARS. WingMan talked about wanting a Honda Goldwing off and on. But as the years rolled by with us focused on raising our family and building our business, we developed other interests different than we had as young people.
Last year, our second born son met a sweet young lady that lives 70-ish miles from us. He owned 2004 Chevy Silverado. Needless to say, gas consumption was killing him with his big ol' truck. He started talking motorcycles. I was unsure how wise that would be. After all, it's dangerous! There's that past perception rearing it's ugly head again. I have to admit, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was time to get WingMan back on a bike. He'd kept his motorcycle endorsement on his drivers license all this time. He has worked hard for our family. He gave up all his hobbies. We could even let Dylan borrow the motorcycle to visit his girl! All great reasons to add some fun back into his life.
After bringing it up to WingMan, he started looking at motorcycles online. It didn't take long for us to find an excellent deal on a 2004 Honda VTX 1300. *I* was even excited for him! So in April of 2015, we became the proud owners of a motorcycle after 23 years. After he reacquainted himself with riding, I got my opportunity to ride on the back. I was so scared and excited at the same time.
All it took was one ride. One ride and I. WAS. HOOKED.
My life changed that day. OUR life changed that day. We really enjoy each others company. We have a great marriage. But we were needing a way to reconnect and this was perfect for us. I'll pick up the story from there next time. My goal is to keep a journal of our adventures. If you held on this long, thanks for reading.
~Renee, ALadyRider2016
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