Category: Motorcycles

Posted on

Not so Easy Rider – MSF Training Class

MSF

It seems that even over the July 4th holiday I still can’t get away from CUNY. Well, I have to place a caveat on that statement because I wasn’t really doing anything CUNY related. In truth, I spent most of the weekend at Lehman College taking a basic rider class sponsored by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF).

Everyone close to me knows that I have been thinking about buying a motorcycle for a few years. I had a bike briefly during my freshman year at Colorado College and loved it. I rode it for a few months until common sense, and fear of pissing off my basketball coach, got the better of me. I stopped riding Continue reading “Not so Easy Rider – MSF Training Class”

Posted on

2013 NYC Motorcycle Show

2013motorcycleshow

I went with my wife to the NY City Motorcycle show at the Jacob Javits Center yesterday to pick out a bike for her next Route 66 trip. She and a few of her girlfriends did the trip last year while she was on sabbatical. The girls chronicled their entire journey from NYC to Las Vegas on Route66Explororer.com. She had so much fun on the trip that she now wants me to join her next time, and for us to do the journey by motorcycle. She got the idea for the cross country bike trek after our joint Groupon motorcycle class a few months back.

She got so inspired by the class that she went ahead and got her motorcycle license without me. I was kinda pissed off that she went without me, but I couldn’t blame her too much since my schedule during this last year on the tenure track has been so crazy that I haven’t able to set aside the time to take the MSF rider course. The entire time we were looking at bikes at the Javits Center the only thing going through my mind was that as soon as this tenure crap is done I have to get my license.

We spent more than a few hours looking around at the show. I am really loving the Honda Fury, but she fell am in love with the Suzuki Boulevard. The Fury is way too much bike for me since I will just be getting back into the riding groove. I am looking something a bit more practical like the Kawasaki KLR 650.

 

Posted on

Lone wolves ride alone!

1015644_384215461680449_411950486_o

A few months back my wife and I signed up for an introductory motorcycle class. We have been doing all of these semi-adventurous things as a way to celebrate her promotion to full Professor and her year long sabbatical. Over the past year we have gotten NRA Certified for Pistols, taken up Thai style cooking, started practicing archery. I am proud to say that she just got her motorcycle license after a 2-day intense course at the Motorcycle Safety School (MSS) at Lehman College. I wasn’t able to join her because of my work schedule, which is sad because we always have a lot of fun together doing this type stuff.  The good thing is that she is no longer opposed to me getting a bike. Plus she is now talking about wanting to travel down Route 66 on 2 wheels for our next big vacation trip. Personally I would rather ride through Europe, but we have time to figure all that out. I still have to get my license.

 

Posted on

Rollin’ with Wifey

Despite the middle age cliche, I have been thinking about getting a bike for some time now. So a few weeks back I purchased a set of introductory lessons offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) for my wife and I. The course was purchased via one of those Groupon type sites to which I have become addicted. I could tell that wife was a bit nervous about me climbing on one of those, as my mother calls them, “two wheeled death machines”. And while my girl would never outwardly say anything to try to prevent me from doing something I really wanted to pursue, I thought that reducing her anxiety as much as possible would be a nice thing to do . So I signed her up to take the class with me so that she could see that motorcycles can be relatively safe when operated properly.

Surprisingly enough, the wife had a blast. Me on the other hand, I struggled all day with the tiny little bike they had us riding. I stand 6’2″ and a half of all legs and weigh around 220lbs. The miniature Suzuki 250cc cruisers had my knees up by my head. I could barely move my legs enough to switch gears. The instructor then got slightly pissed at me for sitting way back on the passenger seat in order to fit more comfortably on the bike.

My first time on a motorcycle in 25 years and I kinda sucked at it.
Midlife crisis – 1. James – 0.

Posted on

Y’all are Stressin’ me

I gotta chime back in and address some of the concerns my friends have recently voiced. I must at admit I am a bit shocked at some of their comments regarding me getting a motorcycle. I have thought long and hard about this. Getting a bike, i.e. Midlife crisis or whatever, for me isn’t about proving anything to anyone else. It is about doing some of the things that you always wanted to do….while you are able to do them and enjoy them safely. With that said, there are more than a few reasons why buying a bike at this point in my Continue reading “Y’all are Stressin’ me”

Posted on

2010 NYC International Motorcycle Show

In order to dull the pain of getting rid of the Batmobile, and to hopefully head off any impeding mid-life crisis, I have decided to a buy a motorcycle. In researching cycle options I thought it would be prudent to check out the annual NYC International Motorcycle Show and see what was out there. The show is held every year at the Javits Center. I hadn’t gone to the show for a few years and was eager to see the new models.

I was shocked to see how many different brands and style of bikes are available today. The Javits center was packed with vendors from nearly every motorcycle maker and third party accessory company. I saw a bunch of attractive protective gear with reinforced Kevlar and Nomex material that looked straight out of the comic books. It caught me off guard because I remember when jeans and a leather jacket was considered sufficient gear.

Both my wife and my moms are opposed to me getting a cycle, as well Continue reading “2010 NYC International Motorcycle Show”

Posted on

Playing with the Christmas Presents

Despite the economic downturn, this Christmas was pretty good for me and the family. We had a set amount of money that we agreed not to go beyond for gifts this year. Then each of us placed on the family list one thing that we  really wanted. The one thing,or should I say the one gift, that would make our Christmas spectacular. I wanted a Kindle, Ski wanted a Northface jacket, Tita wanted a digital camera, and J wanted a motorcycle. Luckily, we were all able to get what we wanted. And most importantly, we had a great time playing and spending time together over the holidays.

I really love my wife and kids.