I have found that some of the best, no the most fun skills and activities I have done are the ones that require some type of perishable skill. Painting, sports, shooting, and riding. After a huge wait to get my motorcycle and get back on the road I have found that what little skill I acquired from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic riding course last year has quickly vanished to a shadow of what it was. Okay a relatively huge wait and vanished isn't too far of a step from where it was. I was no prodigy or anything at the end of the class but I sure felt comfortable. And that seemed to be most of the battle with the bike was getting used to it and being comfortable with leaning the bike over moving at suck slow speeds. The class was a blast really, I'd love to do it again.
But the class and the controlled and safe environment of the parking lot are a far cry from actually riding out on the street with some other cars. I was a little nervous to get on the bike after not doing anything for almost a year, but just doing the exercises they had us do in the class got me upright with my feet off the ground and on the pegs in no time. A little wobbly but there's some great residential streets around here that I can ride on without too much traffic, pedestrian of vehicular.
I still need to get the bike registered before I can take it on Joint Base Lewis McChord but that should be happening next week. It's been a week now since I rode but I'm still super excited to get back on and just ride around the block.
I've been taking this hobby as a skill that needs to be learned very well. Not just so I can get good at it but for my safety as well. Can't afford to get all jacked up and not be able to work for the family. It's a goal to not only have fun with this bike, the blog and hopefully a youtube channel in the near future but to do it without sacrifice from the family. If anything it'll give something for the wee ones to join me on in the future. Gotta teach em how to ride a bicycle first though. That's a small Dad fail I've had so far.
Till the next time my friends . . .
Saturday, March 28, 2015
The mighty steed has been secured!
I have finally procured the motorcycle of motorcycles. I have been perusing craigslist, cycletrader, and lemon lots since probably January of 2014 for a good priced motorcycle. Finally got a sweet deal on a KLR 650! I'd figured I would end up with this bike because of its versatility, reliability, and value. This opinion is solely based off of lots of youtube and forum reading but nonetheless I feel confident in my grab. I know I want to be able to do some touring so I know I just can't justify getting a smaller engine for that and the DR650 is just hard to find at the price you can get a KLR for. But this isn't a review of the KLR or any other bike.
I want to share with you the story of getting it. I've rather enjoyed the stories motovloggers tell about how they got their bike. As I said in a previous post I'm down in Washington for business right now and my family was down to visit me. The first week they were here this KLR came up on craigslist for price I hadn't seen on a 2000+ model since I started looking. I contacted the owner who was still ready to sell. I did not want to take time from my family to go pick it up two hours North of me though. My buddy had heard of my strife though about this cause we talk often and I often complain openly around him how I don't have a bike. He's the kind of guy who knows people. Not a drug dealer kind of guy fortunately. At least I'm mostly sure about that. He told me he would go pick it up for me and had a gentleman who owed him a favor. These guys drove all the way up there to go check it out, buy and drive it all the way back down to me so I could continue to visit with my family. The kicker was the downpour that was coming all day long. The day set records for rainfall. In the SEATTLE AREA! It was a lot of rain. All day they spent driving up and back down. Stopping to rest and let the guy warm back up and dry off a bit. They told me everything ran great and it was a good buy. Took about four days under a carport before the seat finally dried out.
Many motovloggers and forum surfers have told stories about the awesome community that is the dual sport crowd. I hadn't even climbed on a bike yet before I had my first experience at the selflessness that is the motorcycle community. A HUGE thank you to both of those gentlemen for doing that for me. And it's because of this I christened this bike to be Taquache henceforth. I had a conundrum about naming it Taquache or something reference to my family. I figured throughout this blog and my Youtube channel I will be making so many shout outs to the awesome support my family gives me that I could give this one to the gentlemen mentioned above.
Til the next time my friends . . .
I want to share with you the story of getting it. I've rather enjoyed the stories motovloggers tell about how they got their bike. As I said in a previous post I'm down in Washington for business right now and my family was down to visit me. The first week they were here this KLR came up on craigslist for price I hadn't seen on a 2000+ model since I started looking. I contacted the owner who was still ready to sell. I did not want to take time from my family to go pick it up two hours North of me though. My buddy had heard of my strife though about this cause we talk often and I often complain openly around him how I don't have a bike. He's the kind of guy who knows people. Not a drug dealer kind of guy fortunately. At least I'm mostly sure about that. He told me he would go pick it up for me and had a gentleman who owed him a favor. These guys drove all the way up there to go check it out, buy and drive it all the way back down to me so I could continue to visit with my family. The kicker was the downpour that was coming all day long. The day set records for rainfall. In the SEATTLE AREA! It was a lot of rain. All day they spent driving up and back down. Stopping to rest and let the guy warm back up and dry off a bit. They told me everything ran great and it was a good buy. Took about four days under a carport before the seat finally dried out.
Many motovloggers and forum surfers have told stories about the awesome community that is the dual sport crowd. I hadn't even climbed on a bike yet before I had my first experience at the selflessness that is the motorcycle community. A HUGE thank you to both of those gentlemen for doing that for me. And it's because of this I christened this bike to be Taquache henceforth. I had a conundrum about naming it Taquache or something reference to my family. I figured throughout this blog and my Youtube channel I will be making so many shout outs to the awesome support my family gives me that I could give this one to the gentlemen mentioned above.
Til the next time my friends . . .
Disclaimer
Just so you know, I'm down in Washington State for business and will be for a few more months. So while this is a blog about adventure in Alaska, I do need to get my riding legs under me and while I'm down here it was easy to find a bike and get it back up to Alaska afterward. So the beginning of this journey will be experiences and any tips I can give you about learning to ride.
Welcome!
Behold! Before you on these pages to come will be the adventures of Soldier turned Alaskan heading out on a Motorcycle to see what this state has to offer me. I've lived in Alaska for 10 years with a small break to go house hunting in Iraq. Met my wife up here and we have been growing our family in the vast Matanuska-Susitna Borough just North (To The Future!) of Anchorage.
I'm excited to share my experiences in learning to ride, learning to adventure like I used to and show you a little of teaching my family to do the same. I've found Alaskans to be a hearty breed for sure and most all of them are extraordinarily kind people. I hope to show you some of them as I go here.
I'm starting out with this blog to share these adventures but also hope to create a Youtube channel out of the idea as well. It's an arduous process to get it off the ground right but I need to start somewhere. So come with me, with your knapsack on your back and lets find some beautiful scenery, challenges, lessons, and people as I explore the Last Frontier that is Alaska.
I'm excited to share my experiences in learning to ride, learning to adventure like I used to and show you a little of teaching my family to do the same. I've found Alaskans to be a hearty breed for sure and most all of them are extraordinarily kind people. I hope to show you some of them as I go here.
I'm starting out with this blog to share these adventures but also hope to create a Youtube channel out of the idea as well. It's an arduous process to get it off the ground right but I need to start somewhere. So come with me, with your knapsack on your back and lets find some beautiful scenery, challenges, lessons, and people as I explore the Last Frontier that is Alaska.
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