I have always been cautious about motorcycles.  I know my friend Mark got tired of me telling him to be careful all the time.  I had been told that there are two kinds of riders, “those that have been in an accident and those who will be”.  So it was difficult to watch my Ru Doggins buy a new Versys.  It was a nice bike and he seemed to really love it.  “The closest to flying a jet and staying on the ground” he says.  His eyes sparkle and his voice is excited every time he talks about it.

So, of course I support anytthing that makes him happy.  We got ready and headed out on our three week tour.  It was going to be fun, a bit scary, and a GREAT adventure.

What he doesn’t tell you in his introduction, is that the RV I was driving was a 38’ diesel with a car being towed behind it.  Big Big HUGE!  That being said, by the end of the trip, I had gotten pretty comfortable driving it.   It did take a while to figure  out how to get in/out of gas pumps and campgrounds though.  I was so good at driving it and setting it up, that I even ended up taking it on a trip by myself… but that is another story.

He also drove through weather that I think was poor judgement.  “So I can sleep next to my lovely wife”, he would tell me as an excuse.  Kind of hard to yell at him for that.  I did make sure his bed was warm and ready before he got there.  The only time it was tough was when I had a lot of rain and traffic and a migraine headache.  That one was tough.

We found out how fun it could be to take our time, stop early, and enjoy the scenery and the people we met.

Okay, now the strange part, I decided it looked like fun, and by the time we made it home, I decided to take a safety course and see if I even like riding…. BIG MISTAKE – I LOVED IT!

Ru dove in and helped me find the perfect bike.  I am vertically challenged and finding a bike that fits is difficult.  I wanted a “Harley” as I love the look.  After trying several bikes, we finally found my gorgeous blue “jewelry”.   I’ll let Ru tell you about that find.

Next…. finding a bike for a vertically challenged person

About 3 1/2 years ago I was once again bitten by the motorcycle bug. I had ridden dirt bikes in my teens, and a variety of Japanese bikes through out my 20s.  After a bit of reading, I was influenced by a Cycle World article talking about a previous “Motorcycle of the Year” winner.  It was the Kawasaki Versys.  The price seemed right, I went and completed a motorcycle safety course and a new 2011 Versys was my new ride.I

The Versys is as its name implies a very versitile bike.  Light, nimble, and an absolute blast to ride.  It was the perfect bike to bring me back into the lifestyle.

I outfitted her with a Corbin seat for some added comfort, SW Moto crash bars, a Yoshi exaust, and life was good.

That summer (2011)  my unbelievably supportive wife agreed to support a 3 week, 1600 mile adventure through Wyoming and Montana.  Wait, it’s better than you think.  Every morning I woke up rolled out of a comfy bed, had a nice breakfast, a quick shower, hopped on the bike and blasted out onto the nearest curvy road I could find.  DD (my loving wife) prepped the RV and hit the interstate.  Around  2 or 3 pm everyday we would find out where each other was, decide on a campground and by 5 or 6 pm I would normally catch up, set up camp and repeat.  However, it set the stage for future events….you probably guessed it DD wanted to start looking at bikes.

Next…  DD’s Jewelry.