Tuesday, September
21, 2004
Magic Camera Pills
In 1997 I was 47 and started
riding a motorcycle. Since we live in the back-country, there are lots of
dusty dirt roads that beg to be explored and I made sure I bought a bike
that could handle the terrain. Knowing what an adventuress Catherine is,
without even asking, I bought her a smaller version of my bike. We enrolled
in a California Highway Patrol motorcycle class and within a month we were
on our own taking weekend excursions. (Just for the record, Catherine did
better than I did on the written and driving portion of the test.)
When our property
burned in October, my bike went up in flames but Catherine's survived. Last
Thursday I finally got around to replacing my bike (a used Suzuki DR350 for
those who care) and I've renewed our registrations and insurance.
I suppose being in our mid fifties is a little old to be cruising
around on motorcycles but considering our location, we feel comfortable.
Traffic is light and on some roads, non existent. Interestingly, the times I
feel most vulnerable are when we're going slow or even stopped. Most of the
damage on my old bike came from dropping the thing when it wasn't even
running. The darn things are unwieldy and they provide plenty of opportunities
to make you feel like an idiot. I felt the silliest when I got off the thing and
walked away without putting the kickstand down. It stayed up just long
enough for me to turn my back and walk away. "Crunch"
Cath crossing Boulder Creek
Went in for the first part of my annual physical on Friday. Its been about
four years since my last annual physical. (Har har) I kept hoping that in
the mean time they would develop those camera pills that cruise through your
intestines and take pictures. Let's just say that the current technique I'll
have to go through is a little more uncomfortable and not high on my list of
things I'm looking forward to.
So far so good though the second half will be on October 25 and that's when
they really get serious with the poking and prodding.
