I bought my first motorycyle when I was 16, growing up in a small town in southwest Iowa. My little Suzuki 50 cc caused quite a stir since I was the first kid to get a motorcycle in town.  Prior to my motorcycle, the only other "bike" that the town had to deal with was a Cushman scooter.  I remember my mother telling me that a respected church member had spent the whole afternoon trying to convince her to make me give up the bike because it would threaten my spirituality, destroy me academically, and lead me down a dark road to ruin.   Fortunalely my mother had greater respect for my judgement, and the only thing she asked of me was to drive responsibly.

After graduating from college, I moved to southern California and bought a Honda 350 that I rode for several years. Then one night on a freeway I had to take evasive action twice to avoid getting creamed by drivers who were not paying attention. The events of that night and other near misses convinced me to sell my bike and take up "safer" hobbies such as hang gliding, scuba diving, horseback riding and sea kayaking.

Fast forward to last summer; I had just turned 60, my daugher was leaving to study in Europe for a year, and I got this strong urge to buy a cruiser before I was too old to have a mid life crisis.  I expected my wife to talk me out of it, but she surprised me by encouraging me to get the bike I wanted.  So when this VTX 1300C named Old Yeller followed me home, it got to move in with us!

At first I thought riding the new motorcycle would save me money because the price of gas was so high. I didn't realize I was about to be overwhelmed by the fun factor.  Now I like explorig the back roads of Ventura County, tooling up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, and searching for the perfect hamburger in places that are off the beaten path. I get a kick out of letting Old Yeller tell me where to go.

Riding solo means that I can go as slow or as fast as I want, and I can stop and enjoy the view whenever the urge strikes me.  But it also means there is no one around when I want to share my discoveries.  Likely I will be joining other riders before long.  It would be nice to have someone around to share a laugh, a hamburger and a beer.

Oh, and regarding that admonition about mororcycling down the road to ruin; after all these years I can laugh and say, "Hell No! Life has been good to me."

Occupation:
Aerospace: Environmental Test Engineer

Interests and hobbies:
Exploring back roads.

Favorite bands and musicians:
Jimmy Buffett The Beatles, Playing For Change

Favorite TV shows:
The History Channel

Favorite books, magazines, and writers:
Mark Twain Ken Kesey T. H. White Gary Trudeau Bill Watterson Chris Duff Garrison Keillor

Favorite artists:
Norman Rockwell

Scary stuff:
Religious zealots of all brands

Status:
Married

Looking for:
Friends