Coffee for two

Yesterday a friend of mine picked up his new bike, (Jap bike – a Fazer), so I just had to go out in the afternoon and join him for a ride and a coffee. I led the way to Boxhill and we stopped there briefly.

As we sat there warming our hands on our coffee cups and I looked out towards all the bikes parked, I saw the back end of a trike and thought, “Hmmm, we used to have an alloy box like that on the back of ours, and roll bars like those, and mega rear wheels like they are.” Then I saw the reg plate and recognised the number, and it slowly dawned on my blonde brain that it was indeed our old trike. A 2L Ford Pinto engined trike, bought when Gadgeteen was 4 so that we could continue our biker lifestyle with him along too. (It is painted differently now-a gloss black all over). I was reminded of all the bike rallies we’d gone to as a family, just the three of us, with all the camping stuff bungied on around us. It only had 3 seats so when gadgetgirlie arrived on the scene we had to think again, and Gadgetman bought a V8 trike with room for 4. Now of course I’ll be on my own bike again, but the V8 stays.

We headed off around the A25 to Newlands Corner in the afternoon sun. We were out to play and the roads were dry for a change so the previously muddy road surface on the hill up to Newlands was just dry dust. At least there was no need to wash the bike off on my return home.

My friend was as impressed with the view as I am, and had a photo phone thingy, so snapped a couple off with the teatime sunlight brightening some of the trees and green grass in the valley below. I hope to attach these when he sends them to me.

I am so much more comfortable on her now and am beginning to throw her around a bit, well, in the Harley sort of way anyway. I do love the sound of the Harley engine with the slightly illegal pipes with no baffles, and she feels so weightless when I’m on the go. I love changing up a gear and blipping the throttle to match the gear, then accelerating and feeling the power beneath me, as I said, in Harley terms that is. I actually am very comfortable with the way she handles, I can throw her around corners as far as I want to go anyway, and feel as if I blend into one with the bike, flowing where she goes.

Many would pooh-pooh me as not being a proper biker, cos real bikers have Jap sports bikes and really throw them around, but I’ve been there and the Harley will do just fine for me.

She turns me on so I’ll keep the nickname once given to me of ‘Roughty-toughty-bad-arse-girlie-biker’, and just add ‘-with-a-Harley-attitude’.