Harley, You Have Me Smitten

I had a great Mother's Day weekend. I hope everyone else did too. Over the weekend, I did something completely forbidden as a child by my parents. Dad, if you're reading this, stop. I rode on the back of a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Cool riders and the monkeys

As a kid, the dad of one of my best friends was an orthopedic surgeon. He constantly told us, "all I do is put people back together after a motorcycle accident." And as a strange twist of irony, his son lost his arm years later in a motorcycle accident.

But, there I was riding on the back of the bike with a neighbor through the open pastures of Westlake on a gorgeous spring evening. It was magical. For one of the few times in my life, I felt cool -- figuratively.

This neighbor showed up on his Harley to visit with us and then offered me a ride. At first, I was nervous. My first thought was that I should have worn my steel-toed boots from my previous railroad work. And the boots would have looked cooler than my sneakers. Not that we looked like "real" bikers. More like characters from the movie Wild Hogs.

But the sound, the power, and the wind was so cool. Other bikers waved to us.  It was thrilling.

When we got back to the house, Mike asked me if I was nervous. "No, once I got the feel of it. It was great." My husband on the other hand interjected, "I was nervous."

So, I can now officially check off another item on my bucket list. Only about a thousand more things to do.

Wondering if a person can rent a Harley and cruise down the Pacific Highway in California? I'm sure I can talk my husband into that.

The Wondering Texan