Motorcylin'

I wanted to write about our newest hobby, motorcycle riding, and also post a few pictures. I've been thinking about riding for a few years now and Ernesto's been wanting to ride forever. His regular mode of transportation is a Ford F250 4-wheel drive diesel truck with a lift kit! (Affectionately named "The Red Dragon.") Last year, when gas prices were really jacked up, he was paying over $4 a gallon for diesel, getting about 13 miles to the gallon and commuting 40 miles one way to work. Yikes!

So we went to the Honda dealer to look at bikes for him and I decided then, "Hey, I want my own bike, too!" So he got a beautiful blue Honda VTX1300 and mine is a grey/black Honda Aero Shadow 750. The bikes are "retro" style and average about 45 miles/gallon.

We immediately enrolled in a two-day motorcycle riding class, mostly because I had never drove a bike before. Taking the class enabled us to get our motorcycle licenses.

Next thing we did was join a motorcycle organization called Star Touring & Riding and we are in Chapter 393 in Chandler. We're met some interesting characters and have really enjoyed the group rides so far. They schedule about two per month, all over the State of Arizona, and we're going on the ride to Las Vegas in March!


Here is a picture of some of the Ladies of Star on our New Year's Day ride:

Here is our member photo for the Star website:


Recently we took a day trip to Superior, Globe, Miami, Roosevelt Lake and Fountain Hills with my friend Kathy and her husband Randy and a few of their buddies, fellow DPS officers. What great stories they told at breakfast.

Here's Kathy and I:


A few shots from the back of the bike (my vantage point):


We've got the leather jackets, vests, boots, and chaps and are now collecting patches for our vests. Although I love to ride my own bike, I am afraid to ride in a group and I need more practice and confidence as a rider! It's pretty easy to jump on the back of Nesto's bike and go. He's an excellent and safe driver.

But I think my goal is to be like her: