Sunday was an exciting day at the farm. Brad and I got the motorcycles out, wiped off the winter dust, and fired them up! Woo hoo! Brad rides a Honda Shadow, and I still have the first bike I ever owned, a 2003 Suzuki Savage. Yes, I’ve had others in the past, but I love this one. Over the years I’ve struggled to come up with a fitting name for her. She’s a Suzuki, so of course Suzi came to mind. But somehow that always seemed so…common. And my bike is special. She’s awesome. She light and easy to maneuver. She flies like the wind. In fact, she’s a beast! A savage beast! So that’s her new name – The Beast!

In case you’re wondering, I do ride with a helmet. In fact, I ride with long pants, boots, a jacket, and gloves too. Why? Well, when I first learned to ride, I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s riding course. The instructor was talking to us about protective gear. After going over helmets and boots and so on, he mentioned gloves. Now, personally, I don’t like to wear gloves on a motorcycle, especially in the summer. I was living in Utah at the time, and the summers are super hot. My hands sweat, and it’s unpleasant. So I asked, “Really? Do you wear gloves all the time? Even in 100 degree weather?” The man looked at me with a very stern expression and said, “You protect any body part you wish to keep.”

Oh!

I’m kind of partial to all my body parts. So my motto is: All the gear. All the time.