Went carvin' with dad this weekend

[mcoyote]

My dad only recently got back into riding after 25 years and we

finally got to ride together in his home territory, down in

southern Va (Nelson Co). Beautiful fall colors, crisp, blue skies,

mostly good roads He led me around for about 100 miles of

twists and turns through rolling mountains and valleys (well,

hills anywhere else in the world).

 

He and I only met about a dozen years ago, btw, when I was 18.

As we've aged we've both changed a great deal: I got married

and had kids, his kids went off to school and his marriage ended,

etc. Lotsa water under the bridge. We finally have something in

common beyond our family history, however, and even had a

great, non-argument/reminisce over lunch.

 

Memorable stuff.

 

He says that every so often, when I see him set up a good line

in a turn, it's his old (young) body coming through and taking

over, and sometimes the current body re-asserts itself and he

pulls back, becoming hesitant and fixated. He says that as time

goes by, his original intuition returns more and more.

 

In his day, he had an old BMW slasher, a Kaw Mach III, and a

Triumph Bonnevile, which he fed to a pickup truck going around

an off-camber turn in the very same mountains we were crusing

on Sunday. His current ride is a Suzuki SV650, which he had to

get a "hot pipe" for.

 

He laughingly referred to "going for a ride with the old man" as

"walking the dog" -- i.e., I was having some kind of pity on him.

As the day wore on and we made it through his second and third

'cig break it was clear to both of us that genuine fun was

underway.

 

One of these days I'll convince him to invest in some better

riding pants than doubled-up sweats

[David]

That's really a great story, Michael. Thanks for sharing it.

[russell_bynum]

Great story.

 

When I was 12 (I think), my Dad bought me a dirtbike and taught me to ride. We rode all over the place exploring, jumping creek beds, popping wheelies, and generally having a blast. He's been away from riding for 10 years, but is talking about getting something again. Reading this story makes me realize how great it's going to be sharing a ride with him again.

 

Thanks.

[teecro]

Great story there Mike. Glad you and your Dad found a common interest to help bring youa closer.

 

Maybe some day one of my two boys will hold a job long enough to afford a bike. Work doesn't seem to high on there list of priorities. Ohhwell maybe they will grow up some day.

[RKT]

What a great story Michael. Stick with it and I hope that you and the "ol man" will have more great times together, no matter what the occasion. I give you a lot of credit, but better late than never. I lost my dad last year and I wished that we could have had more time together.

Oh yes, do talk him into getting some proper riding attire!LOL!

[Limecreek]

Thanks Michael for sharing that story with us. I hope that someday, I'll be the old man with my son, now 7, pulling me around the corners.

 

Great story.....

[algover]

Great story, Michael! One that many of us can relate to on one level or another.

 

My father, now gone over 20 years, seemed to have some sort of problem with balance. Never could ride even a mini-bike, let alone a motorcycle - in fact I don't think he ever even rode a bicycle! But he did buy me my first motorcycle, and encouraged my interest. Once, after he was already somewhat disabled (emphysema - he was a life-long smoker) he asked me to take him for a ride on my motorcycle. I bundled him up, and we went for about an hour's ride on the backroads of north San Diego county. He really enjoyed that, and so did I. We probably did 2 - 3 other simlar rides later. The rides were nothing special, but the memories sure are!

 

I hope you can enjoy many more rides with your dad.