07-07-2021, 01:58 AM
So, while my wife and I were on our week-long driving trip up and down California, along with a ton of rented motorhomes, we also saw couples on adventure bikes enjoying the twisty roads.
It's at this time that my wife will throw out the comment "Ya know, it does look fun. Maybe I wouldn't mind riding." She has always said that she'd rather learn to ride her own bike than ride on the back of one of mine. And, since she's been forced, on a very few occaisions, to move one of my bikes around in the garage to get to something, she finds my bikes huge and heavy. So, she'd want something small with a low center of gravity.
I got the sense that this time, she sounded more serious. My mind started swirling, and at our hotel stop that night, I started scouring Craig's for bikes like Rebels. Then, I backed up and thought about it.
I told her that the first thing we should probably do is teach her to drive my car, so she can get the feel of working a clutch on something that won't fall over if she gets nervous. Then, if she's comfortable with that, get her into a basic riding course, which will probably put her on a Rebel or something similar, to see how she does. Plus, she'd be able to get her M1 endorsement without a riding test (per CA regs)
Then, if she's still interested in moving forward with a bike for her. Who knows, maybe this time it will really happen. If she loses interest, It'd be nice to have a small bike parked at my Mom's place to tool around in her area.
It's at this time that my wife will throw out the comment "Ya know, it does look fun. Maybe I wouldn't mind riding." She has always said that she'd rather learn to ride her own bike than ride on the back of one of mine. And, since she's been forced, on a very few occaisions, to move one of my bikes around in the garage to get to something, she finds my bikes huge and heavy. So, she'd want something small with a low center of gravity.
I got the sense that this time, she sounded more serious. My mind started swirling, and at our hotel stop that night, I started scouring Craig's for bikes like Rebels. Then, I backed up and thought about it.
I told her that the first thing we should probably do is teach her to drive my car, so she can get the feel of working a clutch on something that won't fall over if she gets nervous. Then, if she's comfortable with that, get her into a basic riding course, which will probably put her on a Rebel or something similar, to see how she does. Plus, she'd be able to get her M1 endorsement without a riding test (per CA regs)
Then, if she's still interested in moving forward with a bike for her. Who knows, maybe this time it will really happen. If she loses interest, It'd be nice to have a small bike parked at my Mom's place to tool around in her area.