11-30-2021, 08:49 AM
This might be the year that I actually offer as Mrs. Gone's Christmas present, enrollment in a Basic Rider Course.
We've been watching the most recent season of Itchy Boots on YouTube. If you're not familiar with her, she's a Dutch woman who rides solo through different parts of the world. Her GoPro and drone footage editing skills, along with the in-depth look at the locations she visits makes her videos very engaging. She just wrapped up a six month trip through Africa.
My wife has made very casual comments about wanting to ride someday. But, she's been mentioning it more. Last week, when I came home from work on the Bonneville, I found her sitting on the CB in the garage, playing with the switches on the handlebars.
"Whatcha doin' there, hun?" "Oh, I just wanted to see how it felt to sit on your bike. It's pretty neat!" I showed her what all of the switches and controls are, and how to pull in the clutch and flip through the gears.
This past Saturday morning, we found ourselves near the big Orange County Cars and Coffee, in a part of town we're rarely in at that time. We stopped to look at everything, and she walked to the motorcycles, not the cars. She honed in on an Africa Twin, saying it looked a lot like the bike Itchy was riding. "You're right, hun, but this is much larger." (Itchy was riding a CRF 250) She was enthralled with the way it looked.
The owner walked up, and we chatted a bit. He had been on several touring trips with the bike, and mentioned how much he liked the DCT. My wife asked what that meant, and he pointed to the handlebar. "See, there's no clutch. You can shift it, but it's pretty much an automatic."
"Automatic?... Isn't that cheating?"
We've been watching the most recent season of Itchy Boots on YouTube. If you're not familiar with her, she's a Dutch woman who rides solo through different parts of the world. Her GoPro and drone footage editing skills, along with the in-depth look at the locations she visits makes her videos very engaging. She just wrapped up a six month trip through Africa.
My wife has made very casual comments about wanting to ride someday. But, she's been mentioning it more. Last week, when I came home from work on the Bonneville, I found her sitting on the CB in the garage, playing with the switches on the handlebars.
"Whatcha doin' there, hun?" "Oh, I just wanted to see how it felt to sit on your bike. It's pretty neat!" I showed her what all of the switches and controls are, and how to pull in the clutch and flip through the gears.
This past Saturday morning, we found ourselves near the big Orange County Cars and Coffee, in a part of town we're rarely in at that time. We stopped to look at everything, and she walked to the motorcycles, not the cars. She honed in on an Africa Twin, saying it looked a lot like the bike Itchy was riding. "You're right, hun, but this is much larger." (Itchy was riding a CRF 250) She was enthralled with the way it looked.
The owner walked up, and we chatted a bit. He had been on several touring trips with the bike, and mentioned how much he liked the DCT. My wife asked what that meant, and he pointed to the handlebar. "See, there's no clutch. You can shift it, but it's pretty much an automatic."
"Automatic?... Isn't that cheating?"
, I will check it out.