The ride.

I have a thing for men in uniform and motorcycles and lucky for me, PB has both! He had a BMW bike when he was living in NY and one time he even rode 3 hours to Rhode Island to see me when we were dating. Once we moved back to Toronto, he decided to sell his bike rather than bring it here. A few years later, I told him how much I liked having the bike. He seemed rather surprised. Most women don't approve of their husbands on motorcycles unless they are into bikes too. I don't have any desire to ride my own bike, I just want to ride with him. He finds this notion rather bizarre too, as most women who enjoy riding, also would prefer to have the control of the bike themselves, but not me. I'm an old fashioned girl who likes to hang on to her man from the back of a bike.

PB found an old BMW, vintage in fact (1973) available from a woman in Sudbury. We decided to buy it. It was in fairly good condition as it had only 2 previous owners and most of it was still original. We had it for a few years and then PB decided that it was time he started to work on it and restore it a bit. So he's been taking different portions of it apart and putting it back together again slowly. I think it's still something he seems to enjoy, despite some of the frustrations along the way. There are definitely some quirky things about the bike. I recall him trying to put a tire back on the rims and in his manual, it seemed really easy, just a matter of snapping it back in place. Meanwhile, a sweat drenched t-shirt later and 4 hours of cursing, PB came inside to ask if I might assist him. With the two of us, it seemed virtually impossible and the manual definitely inferred that only one person was required to do it, even on the side of the road if necessary. PB eventually got it on himself but not without a great deal of difficulty and some minor injuries.

This year, PB has been quite busy with helping me with the baby, then going to training for a 400 series of the 747 for a month or two and then going back through training to be a captain again and trying to stay on top of all the household chores he's responsible for. The bike had been taken apart as he was getting the cylinders restored and it sat in my mother's garage for the better part of the summer, unrideable.

PB has finally gotten some time to work on it and finally put it all together. Today was the first day, in at least a year and a half (maybe more), that I got to ride with him. We left Corwin with Grandma and off we went driving through the countryside. It was the perfect day - beautiful and sunny, but not too warm so wearing leather and a helmet wouldn't be unbearable. I clung onto him as we took winding roads, passed corn fields, plenty of wild flowers, ponds, creeks and plenty of other bikers also enjoying the perfect day for a ride.

I was also reminded of a very fond memory. PB and I took his bike in NY when we went shopping for our wedding bands. We had to go to Manhattan and New Jersey so he thought taking the bike would make more sense than using public transit. It was the first time I had been on the bike in NY and I loved weaving in and out of traffic with him. It really was a bit of a childish thrill as I held onto him tightly. We've come such a long way since then, married now for 9 years and even have a baby. However, being on the bike today, and clinging onto him reminded me of how much things haven't changed - that I still love being with him as much as I did the day we went to look for our wedding bands.