Leaning Harder

I haven’t had much to say lately. Or perhaps more accurately, haven’t made the effort to get in touch with how I’m feeling. The weather has been nice lately and I want to be outdoors. I’ve spent time tuning up my bicycle and riding it. And I’ve spent time wrenching and riding my motorcycle. It’s the motorcycle that takes me away from my journal, my sketchpad and my computer.
When I first bought the motorcycle in June of 2006 I had no idea what I was getting into. My oldest son, Ben, bought a nice little Honda CB450. I really didn’t want him out riding a motorcycle while I was sitting at home, so I bought a little Honda CL350. I thought Ben and I could knock around Indiana a little on the weekends and maybe do an overnighter now and then. There’s much more I could say, but I’ll save it for another time. Long story short: Ben traded up to a Yamaha XS650 hotrod kinda bike and I could never get the 350 to run right so I sold it and used the money to buy a ’77 Goldwing off a neighbors front porch. Several hundred dollars and 30,000 miles later and all I want to do is ride that bike. I’ve been to the Upper Peninsula on it. Been to Niagara Falls and across Ontario to Windsor and Detroit. Been to Knoxville, Tennessee and beyond several times and all over Indiana. I sometimes get up before dawn and ride a couple hours before work.
One thing I know and sometimes loathe about myself is that I am addicted to security. I’ve taken very few risks in 50 years of life. I haven’t missed a bi-weekly paycheck since I was 15 years old. I had a motorcycle once before when I was in my 20s but soon concluded that I was not a “motorcycle kinda guy” so I sold it.
Ben and I took a motorcycle safety course together when he first got his bike and I learned about leaning into curves. When you are going into a curve on a motorcycle they say you should slow down as you enter and accelerate as you come out of the curve. You should never hit the brakes in a curve. If you get scared you lean harder. If you hit the brakes you will probably crash, but if you lean harder and roll on the throttle you’ll probably be fine. That really captures my attention. I’ve never yet come to that moment of truth where I had to instantly forsake panic for risk, but I am increasingly confident that I will.