I've noticed that somethings you wouldn't give a second thought to in the car, really bug my ass on the bike.

For instance, twice now I have been waiting to turn left because of oncoming traffic, when the goof in his car puts two wheels on the shoulder and uses the right side of the lane to drive passed you. That feeling of being trapped between two cars, both moving in opposite directions at 80 kph and any escape route is cut off... I did not like it!! The second time it happened I had deliberately angled the bike in such a way as to cut off 2/3's of the lane. What happens... he flips me the bird while driving by!

But with the bad stuff comes a glowing moment. I had stopped at a light while an elderly gentlemen crossed at the crosswalk. He was easily in his 70's, and he paused, looked at the bike and gave me a nod and a smile that made me certain he was a rider in his day. "Nice bike son." he said. I thanked him, it felt great, something only another rider would understand.

Here are a couple of pics with one being closer but both reflections in my helmet taken by Donna.

May comes around, and with it my first ride into work. It was a treat getting to ride home, but damn cold riding in. The parking area designated for motorcycles at work is getting quite full, and I noticed a brand new black V Star Classic in there in the beginning of the week. Looked real nice!

I went with the wife to the local motorcycle store, Baldwins, on Highway 3 in Dunnville. She has decided that she trusts me enough now to get on the back. We went and bought a new helmet for her, a nice half helmet with silver flames, looks cool. So that night we jumped on and went for a small ride to Grand Erie Bar-B-Que in Byng, just over the river from town. I went for about a 10 minute ride prior to stopping for supper, with a few different roads and a minute or two at 90 kph in order that she could get the feel of the wind. Donna has a history of allergies, and that night we found out that the pollen count was high. We aren't sure if it was the pollen count, or the wind driving it into her head, but she had a beauty of a sinus and allergy attack later on that evening. One of the worst ever! Let's hope it was just the pollen count, or her riding days may be limited.... very limited! Although she did say she enjoyed the ride.
It sure is different with a rider on the back, I can especially notice it in first and second gears... for the half a second that you are in each one! And with the raised passenger seat, they ride higher than the driver, so she is holding on at chest level instead of waist. I imagine as she gets more use to the gearing and riding of the bike there will be less clutching of the jean jacket. But it certainly makes for a better driver, you are trying to be as smooth as possible, avoiding the jerkiness, so they have a fear free ride too. Gives you good practice on fine tuning the downshifting, which is an area in need of practice, and without a tachometer that does take time to get the feel and sound of the engine before shifting down properly...without the rocking or jerking motion!