Me and My Bug

UGH!!!

2007-09-05T12:55:00.000-04:00

Well I decided that I really didn't need to ride for a few months and went ahead and cracked the head on Bug! (BIG TEARS) So we are now back to John and Tal on Beo and me on the mountain bike. Sometimes if it is close enough we throw Tal in the wagon and we just walk to our destination. I haven't ridden my mountain bike in a while and I thought I was going to be totally wore out today when I rode up to the bank. Surprisingly I was just fine. Well now I can get in shape while waiting for Bug to get fixed. She should be up and running sometime in November. Hmmm looks like I need to set up one of those donation buckets for Bug.....

Riding again...

2007-08-01T14:15:00.000-04:00

It seems that when things go to shit you stop doing the things you enjoy most. I haven't really ridden Bug for the past couple of weeks. In fact I haven't really done much of anything that I enjoy. John and I took a major crash and burn, but instead of hauling away the wreckage for scrap we decided to rebuild. No more walking around with blinders on...we are wide eye and taking in as much as we can. It is seriously like meeting someone new and I have a bad case of love sickness going on. I can't eat, don't want to sleep, and follow John around like a puppy dog. If there is a cure...I sure don't want it.

Today I took off on Bug to go have lunch with John. Tal came along for the ride and preceded to fall asleep on the bike, so I had to stop to bungee him. A kind gentleman on a motorcycle stop to make sure we were ok. If I was John I could tell you the make and model as well as the year, but all I can tell you is that it is a pretty red color. The rest of the ride was uneventful, although not having ridden in a while it sure felt weird. By the time I got to John I had the hang of it. Tal and I enjoyed a lunch date with Daddy and Tal seems better for it. Although John and I are working things out, there is a still an uncertainty air to everything. It is small baby steps and like a baby we wobble. Unfortunately, it affects Tal and he is not sleeping well and doesn't really want to eat. The best we can do is give as much love and support to him as well as keep building our new foundation. After our lunch with Daddy we headed home and I actually got a tinge of not wanting to stop riding. I am looking forward to the ride planned for Saturday and just maybe I might catch enough sleep, but then again....

2007-07-27T11:59:00.000-04:00

Life definitely is what you make it and it can throw some pretty rough balls your way if you don't pay attention. I had a rude awakening about my life and my ideas this past weekend. I learned a whole lot of stuff I didn't want to know about myself as well as those around me. Whoever came up with "Ignorance is bliss." was right on the money. It is pretty hard to actually look at what is really going on and I have been looking hard these past few days. One day at a time, I am making the changes needed and I am stronger for it. I know this road won't be easy, but I am looking forward to this journey. I believe I have finally set foot on the right path.

Another reason to ride...

2007-07-14T08:35:00.000-04:00

...I have found another way to feed my riding addiction. A part time job! I am helping do some paperwork a few hours a week at the local scooter shop. We are working out the kinks, since I have to take little man with me. I think we got it figured out with me coming in late in the afternoon and hubby picking little man up after he gets off work. Well I have to go to Tallahassee and that means more riding! It has been hot and I about melt getting to work, but I got to do a night ride coming home and I loved it. (Except for the bug massacre that happened on my helmet!) I have been riding a good bit with the gas light on, because I think it is coming on way too early. It must be, because I can go a whole lot farther than I should be able to and then only put a small amount of gas in it and reach half a tank or more. I have over 6,000 miles on Bug now...at this rate I should catch up with hubby's mileage in no time.

Well in other news, I went swimming at my friend's pool. I haven't went swimming in a pool in years. I swam for several hours without any sunblock like a dummy. I am red as a lobster's butt and am itchy and sore all over. Needless to say I won't be forgetting the sunblock again. Well I got to run...I will try to post more soon.

173 miles

2007-07-05T14:33:00.000-04:00

Since yesterday was a holiday hubby didn't have to work. The nice thing about this job compared to his others is that he will now get a holiday off even if it is during the week. He had work late the night before, so we didn't actually leave 'til after 11 am. We were lucky in the fact that although it was above 90 degrees, it wasn't terribly hot due to all the clouds. We took off and skirted around Sopchoppy's 4th of July parade and headed out onto roads less traveled. So less traveled that they had grass popping through the cracks. Miles and miles of trees, as well as, a long black rat snake crossing the road, a nice size box turtle crossing the other direction and 2 deer bounding out in front of us. Some vultures were hogging the road at one point and it took several hits of hubby's horn to get them out of the way. We stopped in Bristol to see if the train was running, but unfortunately it was not. By then we had rode 71 miles and we needed a short break. That is the longest I have ridden in one hop and I didn't even feel tired. We had a drink of water and hubby and little man played chase around the picnic tables. We then headed out. Hubby went the wrong way and we rode on a foot path and over a wooden bridge; since he didn't fall through I followed, but needless to say I really wouldn't want to do that again. We were off for more back roads riding and I experienced my first downfall with owning a 150cc scooter. For the most part Florida is flat or so it seems until you get further north and encounter the 'hills' (more like mountains in my opinion). Whereas hubby's 500cc barely slowed, I was barely pushing 50 mph at full throttle. It is not bad, but it does make me feel like the scoot is just gonna say to hell with it and quit on me. It also kills my gas mileage. I will say I was rewarded when coasting down hill at over 70 mph with beautiful scenery and fun curves. Upon reaching Chattahoochee, we found the diner closed that hubby wanted to eat at. Subway is what we had and little man even got a free cookie. Hubby then took us down to the Dam and little man played on the playground. It was cool 'cause it had a merry-go-round and a pint size metal slide. Little man loves slides and slid down several times before we left. We decided to take a quicker route home due to little man looking very sleepy. We took 90 east and I got stuck behind a person who was eating while driving. Now generally it is not so bad if the food is in the person's lap, but if that said person has to reach over to the passenger seat and dip the food into something else...well let's just say that said person's driving skills are severally lacking. Now if we were back in Crawfordville I would have been able to pass just fine, but we were in hill country and I wasn't passing. Eventually I got to where I could pass (even laid down a little to go faster) and off I went. We cruised through 'til Quincy and then headed south. I again got stuck behind a slow moving vehicle, hills and this time gas light was on (yeah me). These people instead of staying slow decided that cruising downhill fast was fun also. They eventually turned off and we stopped for gas. Last leg of the way home and I am singing loudly (and off key) in my helmet to keep myself awake. I feel like I am permanently stuck in one position and I ache all over. We reach home and then head for a much needed nap. I am excited to see that I am in fact building my stamina and making longer trips. I just require a full day of rest and naps the next day. 27 more miles and I will have reached a 200 mile trip. OK now time for another nap. ;P

Exploring

2007-07-02T17:19:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning dawned with me feeling grumpy and needing to get away for a bit. I took little man with me and we headed out to find where Natural Bridge Rd leads to. I have found that when I am riding some roads draw me and others I don't really care to see what they are about. Natural Bridge Rd had a serious pull and I never had time to investigate. I did though Saturday. Natural Bridge Rd takes us past Natural Bridge Battlefield. It is a beautiful place that has been well kept, but looks to be for sale. We were traveling along quite nicely and being the only ones on the road and then we ran out of road. I for one am still building confidence, so I tend to shy away from dirt (read sand) roads. I took a look thought about turning around and then said to little man "You ready to give this a try?" he said yes. I took a deep breath and took off. The dirt had been packed so it wasn't deep or lose like I am used to and it really wasn't that bad. It was bumpy and I stayed between 20-30 mph. I enjoyed it and so did little man who got all excited when he saw a turtle walking on the side of the road. I can't remember how long I was on that dirt road, but I eventually came to US 59. I turned right and followed it until it hit 98 the Coastal Highway. A right turn led me back to home and we stopped to eat lunch. We had ridden for two hours and needed some grub. I was tired, so we went home. It was a good ride and it is nice to know the answer to the question "Where does that go?"

Last Night

2007-06-30T19:01:00.000-04:00

Last night I was feeling antsy and decided to head out on my own. I generally ride with hubby leading as I am not familiar with the area. I am a grand one for panicking if I cannot find my way home. Although, last night it was different, because I wanted to be by myself. I took off around 7:30 pm and headed north towards Tallahassee. I took Springhill Road to get to my favorite gas station (it is always cheaper than all the others). I met a gentleman who was filling up his motorcycle, who asked some questions about Bug, gave a reminder to check my oil and tire pressure, and then headed out. I then continued on my way to Tallahassee. I went in search of Old Plank Road. It has a nice curvy stretch that I wanted to ride on. I am still quite unsure of myself in curves and corners, so I try to practice whenever possible. Well I found it and was able to put another piece of the puzzle of Tallahassee together. I am slowly learning where everything leads to and how to get there. The nice thing was that when I hit the curvy part of Old Plank Road I was in fact completely alone. There was not another vehicle the whole entire way of that portion. It gives a surreal feeling as to being the only person alive. It was like I owned the road...pretty neat. It was wonderful...I could take my time and not worry about holding someone up or not keeping up. You see hubby has 30+ years of riding experience to my 3 months and he can't remember all that being a newbie entitles. He forgets that I am a newbie and there are times when I am taken out of my comfort zone more than I would like. I guess it is a compliment that he puts me up with his skill level and I am grateful he thinks that I am that good. Sometimes though I would just like to be a newbie and take things slow and get scared at traffic and the such. So last night I was the newbie...I took my time and built up a little bit more of my confidence. I took those curves nice and easy. I learned a little bit more about myself as well. I learned that I am actually not half bad at this riding thing after all. After my nice stretch of curves I headed to Wal-Mart to get some milk and headed home to a waiting cup of iced coffee made by hubby extraordinaire. It was a great ride and I enjoyed it immensely.

Riding, Riding, and more Riding

2007-06-27T07:52:00.000-04:00

Thursday I rode to Ochlockonee Bay. Friday I rode to Tallahassee. Saturday I rode to Tallahassee. Sunday I mowed the lawn. Monday I rode to Tallahassee. I must say for me that is a lot of riding and all that riding is probably what had me laid out with sore muscles in my arm and chest yesterday. Well I have no lingering pain, so I am off to run errands and get a tiny bit of riding in today. I am happily addicted and can't wait to ride a really long trip. Well gotta to get ready for those errands.

Ochlockonee Bay

2007-06-23T21:34:00.000-04:00

Hubby had worked for 24 hours and needed to sleep, so little man and I got on Bug and headed out. Little man has yet learned the meaning of being quiet and I thought it would be easier on both hubby and little man if we left the house. Another great aspect is I would get to go for a ride again. I took him to what he calls MixDonalds for a Happy Meal. We enjoyed our meals and headed out. I had not actually decided where I was going when I left home, but by the end of the meal I knew where I wanted to go.

I decided to head to the bridge that spans Ochlockonee Bay, because I wanted one of those cool photos that is taken from the highest part of the bridge. Unfortunately, only in an emergency are you allowed to stop on the bridge. So I drove over to the other side where they have a small parking lot and a place to back your boat into the water. I stood on the shore and got a pic of the cool bridge.

Little man had decided to bring Blankie Blanks with him on the journey. The blanket was his dad's when he was a baby. (That blanket is over 30 yrs. old.) He is slowly needing less and less...mostly for sleeping, but when Dada works late and he doesn't get to see him he clings to Blankie Blanks a little more. (Little man is definitely a Daddy's boy.) The blanket rides in the saddle bag until we stop. He takes it out and they are inseparable until time to go home. He has loved holes big enough that he can wear it as a robe now.

Since I forgot to bring little man's hat we went under the bridge to play for a little bit. I noticed that someone had left a rocking chair underneath. I guess it makes fishing under the bridge much more comfortable. I didn't sit in for fear of breaking it...it wasn't in the best of shape. I also saw a crab go into a hole next to the chair, but was too far away and not quick enough to catch it with the camera.....ahh maybe next time.

I thought being under the bridge when the cars came across would be noisy, but it was actually relatively quiet and the cars made the neatest sound when they drove over. I sat on the rocks while little man played at the edge of the water...mostly throwing sticks and small rocks in the water. He also found a couple of rocks that had clam shells attached and also threw those in. We played with the camera taking pictures and recording little man chattering at me. I would then replay the video back to him and he would say "He is talking to me." He is still at the age that although he recognize it as him; he still thinks that it is a separate person. We pretended to be riding a train back home and then after an hour of play decided to head home for real. We made it home just in time for little man's nap time. It was a nice trip and I enjoyed riding Bug and the time spent with little man. When Dada woke up that late afternoon little man told Dada all about his trip with a big grin across his face. Maybe next time Dada will be able to join us while we play under the bridge. ;P

Intro

2007-06-20T16:46:00.001-04:00

Ok I have had starts and fits with various blogs and I think I have finally settled on one I like. It is like trying on different shoes until you find the one that goes without that new dress just right. It takes awhile, but when you find it; it works perfectly.

So let me introduce you to the love of my life (besides hubby and little man), her name is Bug and she is a Scarabeo 150 made by Aprilia. She is green with red cats on her, she has a nice large top case and two nice size saddlebags. She gets anywhere from 70-75mpg and can go 70 mph. I, personally, am happy to cruise around 55-60 mph. I have had her since March of this year and cannot get enough of riding. I have just recently gotten my motorcycle license (2 weeks ago in fact) and am building my confidence in riding.

I post over at my hubby's blog (http://combatcommuter.blogspot.com/) every once in a while, but I want a blog of my own. So after trying on all those shoes, I think I just found the perfect fit!