I Ride a Motorcycle

When I was 18 years old I bought my first motorcycle. My grandma said when you become an adult you may get a motorcycle. To my grandmother it was when you became 18 years old. On that early spring day I laid down the cash and bought a 2004 black Yamaha V-star 1100 Classic. I remember sitting on that bike and firing her up that day. It was a feeling of pure joy and excitement. That bike and I went everywhere. My grandma gave me a leather jacket that belonged to my father. I would zip up that leather jacket, pull on my gloves, and put that helmet on. I'd sit on that bike and fire her up until she became warm enough to idle smoothly. That first summer I road that bike everywhere. I felt invincible, fearless, and relaxed. I felt like such a badass and that I had achieved a new level of cool. I never felt like there was anything I couldn't overcome or didn't immediately float off my shoulders the moment I hit that road.

A lot has changed since those days. I still have that bike and each year I can't wait for the day that it gets warm enough for me to sit on my bike and ride her again. I can't help but go back to that first summer. Not a care in the world and a feeling of being free. When I ride that bike it brings me back to that same feeling my hands on those wide handle bars, that wind pushing against me, and my ass firmly planted on that leather seat with the tear in it that my grandma swore she could stitch up (She was wrong). I think about the times we had to take off the carburetor because it was gummed up and you have to listen to my grandpa tell me it's because I put that cheap BP gas in it. I never knew what my grandpa had against BP but he hated them. But I would endure my grandpa's lecture as we rebuilt that carburetor. Since then things have changed my grandma has passed away, my bike has a new seat, and the miles have went way up. But that bike is still their and still a constant reminder of memories past.