Edited 2/1/14: So, I just realized that the video for this now longer works....so sad, it was incredibly funny!
Today Dave rode my baby over to the parking lot of Harley Davidson for me. We figured since they were closed today and they have a huge parking lot it would be a great place for me to practice riding. Poor Dave was a nervous wreck! He was white faced and sweating before I even got on the bike. He said, "I think maybe someone else should teach you how to ride. I don't think I can do this." I have never seen him like that before. I almost said never mind. But I couldn't. I am going to take the riders course as soon as I can, but in the meantime I need to get acquainted with my girl. Even if I never got my feet off the ground today, I just needed to do something. Well, I got my feet off the ground. It felt so good. I think I did okay for my first ride. There were a couple of times that could have gotten hairy, but I just remembered Dave telling me never to panic. So I talked to myself (a lot) and stayed as calm as I could, and with the help of my beautiful baby girl, managed to keep the rubber on the road.
When Dave finally stopped shaking he managed to get some videos and pictures, which he made into a little video for me. I just watched the video and laughed my ass off at myself. You'll notice towards the first part where I am trying to push off on the bike with my foot. Not a good thing, but it looks funny!
Thanks Dave....for the video, for being so wonderful today, and for introducing me to motorcycles and helping me to where I am today! It never would have happened without you!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Unnamed baby girl
The most exciting laundry day EVER!
Last night Dave and I were talking about all the different runs that would be taking place today. There were three that I knew of and they were all either leaving from, or returning to, Monterey County Harley Davidson. I asked Dave which run he would be going on, and he said that he hadn't really talked to anyone so he wasn't sure what he was going to be doing. Well, I knew exactly what I would be doing....laundry. Or at least the was the plan.
This morning I woke up motivated to get something done. I had just started my laundry and Wolf showed up at Dave's house. He had just been over to the Harley dealership and said it was crazy. All sorts of bikes, people, all that jazz. Immediately Riley asked, "Mom can I go with Dave?" I wasn't really sure what Dave even had planned so I told Riley to ask him, and Dave said ok. Then Dave asked if I wanted to go. HMM...I've kind of been avoiding the dealership. One reason is, I get depressed every time I find a bike I like, and realize I just can't afford it right now, and the other reason is that I feel like the sales guys down there think that I'm just yanking them around every time I go in. That and the fact that I did have a plan to do laundry, I think I'll stay home. But then Wolf said those four little words that always get me, "They had food there." Count me in!
So Dave, Riley and Wolf all geared up and headed off. I got in my car and rolled down the window and stuck my head out to feel the wind in my face. Aww, to be on a bike right now.
Once we got to the dealership, Tom, one of the finance guys grabbed me and said, "Bec, I just took this bike in trade last night, and it is just YOU!" Reluctantly I followed him over to a beautiful fire red pearl Sportster 883. Now, a lot of you may know that I had recently decided against a Sportster, but this one was real "purdy". Tom said, "Come on, sit on her." So I did. To me sitting on a bike is a lot like a first kiss with a new flame, either you feel it, or you don't. I felt it alright. Now why was it that I decided a Sportster wouldn't be right for me...I don't even remember. It felt so good, looked so good. And then Tom told me how much they were asking for her and I had to say, "What was that?" It is a 2004 with barely over 2,000 miles. The man who owned her, bought her in Germany while he was stationed there, and mostly drove around post. When he was deployed he would lock her up in storage. His wife recently decided she wanted to ride with him so he traded in for a bigger bike.
Tom asked what I thought, and I wasn't really sure what to say. I hadn't planned on buying a bike today, but I really liked her, and the price was so great. I knew that if I waited, she would surely be gone. Tom asked Dave if he wanted to go for a test ride for me. I looked and Dave and said, "Would you please?" That is when Dave said, "Wow, you're serious aren't you?"
Dave took her out and tested her for me. I have to say that he looked really funny on the Sportster, after being so used to seeing him on his Street Glide. When he came back he said that she would be a good bike for me. He said she handled really well, and went fast. I won't say how fast, because I would like to make sure that the dealership will allow Dave to test ride bikes in the future.
Tom worked up some numbers for me, came out and told me how much down and my monthly payments and said, "So?"
I said, "Let me go and get my purse."
The paperwork was relatively quick, because they had already been working with me on credit apps and all that stuff, so just sign here, initial here, and that was that!
To make a long story short, (too late) I am the proud new owner of a Fire Red Pearl, 2004 Harley Davidson Sportster 883. Yeah for me!
I will post pictures up later today, it is late and I'm very tired. But I was just really excited and didn't want to wait to share the good news with all my friends! :)
This morning I woke up motivated to get something done. I had just started my laundry and Wolf showed up at Dave's house. He had just been over to the Harley dealership and said it was crazy. All sorts of bikes, people, all that jazz. Immediately Riley asked, "Mom can I go with Dave?" I wasn't really sure what Dave even had planned so I told Riley to ask him, and Dave said ok. Then Dave asked if I wanted to go. HMM...I've kind of been avoiding the dealership. One reason is, I get depressed every time I find a bike I like, and realize I just can't afford it right now, and the other reason is that I feel like the sales guys down there think that I'm just yanking them around every time I go in. That and the fact that I did have a plan to do laundry, I think I'll stay home. But then Wolf said those four little words that always get me, "They had food there." Count me in!
So Dave, Riley and Wolf all geared up and headed off. I got in my car and rolled down the window and stuck my head out to feel the wind in my face. Aww, to be on a bike right now.
Once we got to the dealership, Tom, one of the finance guys grabbed me and said, "Bec, I just took this bike in trade last night, and it is just YOU!" Reluctantly I followed him over to a beautiful fire red pearl Sportster 883. Now, a lot of you may know that I had recently decided against a Sportster, but this one was real "purdy". Tom said, "Come on, sit on her." So I did. To me sitting on a bike is a lot like a first kiss with a new flame, either you feel it, or you don't. I felt it alright. Now why was it that I decided a Sportster wouldn't be right for me...I don't even remember. It felt so good, looked so good. And then Tom told me how much they were asking for her and I had to say, "What was that?" It is a 2004 with barely over 2,000 miles. The man who owned her, bought her in Germany while he was stationed there, and mostly drove around post. When he was deployed he would lock her up in storage. His wife recently decided she wanted to ride with him so he traded in for a bigger bike.
Tom asked what I thought, and I wasn't really sure what to say. I hadn't planned on buying a bike today, but I really liked her, and the price was so great. I knew that if I waited, she would surely be gone. Tom asked Dave if he wanted to go for a test ride for me. I looked and Dave and said, "Would you please?" That is when Dave said, "Wow, you're serious aren't you?"
Dave took her out and tested her for me. I have to say that he looked really funny on the Sportster, after being so used to seeing him on his Street Glide. When he came back he said that she would be a good bike for me. He said she handled really well, and went fast. I won't say how fast, because I would like to make sure that the dealership will allow Dave to test ride bikes in the future.
Tom worked up some numbers for me, came out and told me how much down and my monthly payments and said, "So?"
I said, "Let me go and get my purse."
The paperwork was relatively quick, because they had already been working with me on credit apps and all that stuff, so just sign here, initial here, and that was that!
To make a long story short, (too late) I am the proud new owner of a Fire Red Pearl, 2004 Harley Davidson Sportster 883. Yeah for me!
I will post pictures up later today, it is late and I'm very tired. But I was just really excited and didn't want to wait to share the good news with all my friends! :)
Friday, August 22, 2008
Happy Friday! Go out and screw!
It's the summer of 1957 and Harold goes to pick up his date, Peggy Sue. Harold's a pretty hip guy with his own car and a duck tail hairdo. When he goes to the front door, Peggy Sue's mother answers and invites him in. 'Peggy Sue's not ready yet, so why don't you have a seat?' she says. That's cool. Peggy Sue's mother asks Harold what they're planning to do. Harold replies politely that they will probably just go to the malt shop or to a drive in movie. Peggy Sue's mother responds, 'Why don't you kids go out and screw? I hear all the kids are doing it.' Naturally this comes as quite a surprise to Harold and he says 'Wha...aaat? ''Yeah,' says Peggy Sue's mother, 'We know Peggy Sue really likes to screw; why, she'd screw all night if we let her!' Harold's eyes light up and he smiles from ear to ear. Immediately, he has revised the plans for the evening. A few minutes later, Peggy Sue comes downstairs in her little poodle skirt with her saddle shoes, and announces that she's ready to go. Almost breathless with anticipation, Harold escorts his date out the front door while Mom is saying,'Have a good Evening kids,' with a small wink for Harold. About 20 minutes later, a thoroughly disheveled Peggy Sue rushes back into the house, slams the door behind her and screams at her mother:
'It's The Twist, Mother! The Twist! It's called The Twist!'
'It's The Twist, Mother! The Twist! It's called The Twist!'
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Catching my breath!
It has been a busy few weeks for me. Besides the normal stuff, like work and all that crap, I was trying to fit in as much riding with Dave as I could get before Riley came home. We had some really fun rides, and I will have to post about them later, but since my boy finally came home after being gone for sooooo long (7 weeks) I decided I need to post about that first. 
The next thing he showed me was this huge bag of popcorn that his aunt got him from the movie theater she delivers to. Thanks Aunt Cathy!
Riley came home last Tuesday. Yeah! I missed him so much, as most of you know. Dave went with me to pick him up and I probably drove him crazy with my excitement during the hour and a half drive. The first thing Riley did when I saw him was show me this ugly bruise on his leg. When I looked at it I could tell that it was already getting better, so I could only imagine how bad it looked to start. I asked him how he did it and he told me that he crashed a quad. Wow, my boy, only 8 and already has a wreck out of the way. Apparently when they taught him how to ride it, they failed to show him how to brake, so he used the next best thing....the garage door. Thankfully he hit the frame, and didn't go through the door completely, and he was wearing a helmet, so I feel okay.
After Riley came home we only had one week to try to get all his school stuff, and to try to have a little bit of end of summer fun. Dave and I took Riley and one of his friends to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It was a lot of fun spending time with my two favorite people, and I was so proud of Riley for going on rides that he normally wouldn't. I think maybe the quad accident toughened him up a little bit. LOL.
Well, today Riley started fourth grade. He was not happy about going back to school. Don't let the picture fool you, this was after I told him to act excited. Maybe you can see his smart-ass side here. I think he might get that from me. But he had a great first day, and he likes his teacher (so far). 
So now it's back to normal, which for me is not normal at all, it's utter chaos. But when my boy is here, even chaos is wonderful!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Never run into a burning building!
I have always heard that phrase, and I always thought it was stupid. Duh! Why would I run into a burning building. (Unless of course my child was in there.) Well, tonight I learned that sometimes that is only a metaphor; the building isn't always in flames, sometimes it's just a bad situation.
I was hanging out with Dave at his coffee shop, and we were just getting ready to leave to get some dinner. Dave says, "Turn around and look behind you." I turned around and saw two cops peeking around the corner, when I turned back around I looked down the street and saw six cop cars, and a whole bunch of cops with guns drawn. Most of them had out their big guns, AR-15's I think. I told Dave, "I'm not getting caught in any one's cross hair, I'm going inside." So I promptly sought safety inside the coffee shop.
Once I was inside, I told one of Dave's employees what was going on, and he locked the front door and told all the customers who were sitting next to the windows to move to the back. We were looking out the front and he said, "Doesn't it look like they're pointing their guns right at us?" Yeah it did.
One of the customers insisted that she needed to leave. We told her that she should just stay put because we didn't know what was going on. She insisted, and he let her out the back door that goes into an alley. Next thing I know, he's gone. I decided to poke my head out the back door and see what he was doing. Well, this is where it gets fun. I put my head out the back door and down the alley were about 5 cops, 2 of them pointing their big guns at me. One of them yelled at me to come out of the building. I walk out, and immediately put my hands up before they can even say anything else. I see them frisking Dave's employee and the customer who had just left. At this point I realize that I have my keys in my hand, and I start thinking about how you hear about people who get shot because the cops thought they had a weapon. I calmly tell the cops, "I have keys in my left hand, they're just keys." One of them said ok, and told me to turn around and walk backwards toward the sound of his voice. All of a sudden he says, "SLOW!" Okay, I slow down, I think. Then when I was about half way, I hear the guns click. WTF? What are they doing? Now I'm freaked. I finally get to them and the cop tells me to put my hands behind my back, which of course, I did. He then checks my pockets, and tells me to go behind the building with his partner. His partner told me that a woman had called and said that she was calling from inside the coffee shop and there was a man with a gun. Then he tells me if someone comes out and shots are being fired that I should jump behind the planter box and lay on the ground. I looked at him and said, "Good plan."
While all of this was going on, the police were on the phone with the other employee who was still inside, they instructed her to send the customers out one by one. As each customer comes out, they check them all. Nobody had anything on them, so the cops went in and checked the place out and couldn't find anything. So that was that.
It was crazy. And poor Dave was scarred because I guess right after I ran inside, the cop told him what was going on. He wanted to come in after me, but of course they wouldn't let him. You can get Dave's full perspective over on his blog.
AH, another day in our wonderful city!
I was hanging out with Dave at his coffee shop, and we were just getting ready to leave to get some dinner. Dave says, "Turn around and look behind you." I turned around and saw two cops peeking around the corner, when I turned back around I looked down the street and saw six cop cars, and a whole bunch of cops with guns drawn. Most of them had out their big guns, AR-15's I think. I told Dave, "I'm not getting caught in any one's cross hair, I'm going inside." So I promptly sought safety inside the coffee shop.
Once I was inside, I told one of Dave's employees what was going on, and he locked the front door and told all the customers who were sitting next to the windows to move to the back. We were looking out the front and he said, "Doesn't it look like they're pointing their guns right at us?" Yeah it did.
One of the customers insisted that she needed to leave. We told her that she should just stay put because we didn't know what was going on. She insisted, and he let her out the back door that goes into an alley. Next thing I know, he's gone. I decided to poke my head out the back door and see what he was doing. Well, this is where it gets fun. I put my head out the back door and down the alley were about 5 cops, 2 of them pointing their big guns at me. One of them yelled at me to come out of the building. I walk out, and immediately put my hands up before they can even say anything else. I see them frisking Dave's employee and the customer who had just left. At this point I realize that I have my keys in my hand, and I start thinking about how you hear about people who get shot because the cops thought they had a weapon. I calmly tell the cops, "I have keys in my left hand, they're just keys." One of them said ok, and told me to turn around and walk backwards toward the sound of his voice. All of a sudden he says, "SLOW!" Okay, I slow down, I think. Then when I was about half way, I hear the guns click. WTF? What are they doing? Now I'm freaked. I finally get to them and the cop tells me to put my hands behind my back, which of course, I did. He then checks my pockets, and tells me to go behind the building with his partner. His partner told me that a woman had called and said that she was calling from inside the coffee shop and there was a man with a gun. Then he tells me if someone comes out and shots are being fired that I should jump behind the planter box and lay on the ground. I looked at him and said, "Good plan."
While all of this was going on, the police were on the phone with the other employee who was still inside, they instructed her to send the customers out one by one. As each customer comes out, they check them all. Nobody had anything on them, so the cops went in and checked the place out and couldn't find anything. So that was that.
It was crazy. And poor Dave was scarred because I guess right after I ran inside, the cop told him what was going on. He wanted to come in after me, but of course they wouldn't let him. You can get Dave's full perspective over on his blog.
AH, another day in our wonderful city!
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