Today is my wedding anniversary, as well as the boss’ anniversary (my wife, Kim). So, I’ll keep this short.
I’ve been involved in motorcycling since the age of nine, and the best thing I ever did was share my passion for motorcycling with my family. It was easy enough with my two boys, because they both loved riding from the beginning (Alex started at the age of nine, and Evan at five). For Kim, it was more difficult.
Kim came from one of those families where girls didn’t ride motorcycles . . . or do much of anything else “athletic”. Although Kim rode on the back of my Kawasaki KZ1000 in the late 70s (a bike I had to sell to pay for graduate school), she was afraid of riding a bike herself until she started trail riding about six years ago.
Eventually, she started riding street bikes and has owned a couple (a Honda Hawk 650 and a Honda CBR600F4i). She loves riding, now. She also feels a part of something that is very important to the men in the family.
You don’t have to get your spouse to ride on her own, but at least get her to ride on the back with you. Start new riders in the dirt. Always! Do not teach someone how to use a clutch, brakes located in odd positions, and the gear shift lever while trying to avoid automobiles on the street. Do it in the dirt.
In the end, it can’t hurt to share your love of motorcycling with those closest to you.
