Friday, June 09, 2006

My New Training Wheels

Our trip turned out to be a very short trip thanks to the man who was working on transforming our big red bike/motorcycle. He ran into no problems putting on my new training wheels and, we were heading home in less than 24 hours.

I did spot a monarch butterfly but it was on an off ramp and flew into oncoming traffic…no chance for a photograph. But since I didn’t take any pictures of beautiful butterflies or anything for that matter, I do have some before and after pictures of my bike.

We stayed in a motel close by to where the work was being done and when we arrived I kept trying to call for a car rental, but kept getting a busy signal. I called Jewel Sams, the man who would be working on my bike and told him that we were in town. He asked where we were staying and I told him and he told us to stay right there…that he would be right over.
When Mr. Sams found out that I was having trouble reaching the rent-a-car place, he told us not to bother renting a car but to use his own personal car…We tried to decline, but he wouldn’t hear of it and insisted that we take his car to drive while we waited for him to finish with the bike…It was supposed to be complete by the following day sometime. He said that he also had a truck and if we weren’t satisfied with the car we could come back and exchange it for his new truck. I tell you…these southern gentlemen are absolute sweethearts….And his wife Sarah was right along echoing everything that he said.

I made an error in ordering grey primer instead of black primer for the fenders…they would have matched better in black, until we had them painted. Jimmy has decided that the fenders will not be painted until I learn how to ride this thing. He knows that I will probably run into something and scratch them anyway… he said that it would be foolish to paint them now. I thought that was a good idea as well.

I went out to an empty school yard this morning to practice. There is more pulling and shoving than I thought there would be, but at least the bike didn’t fall over, which was my problem in the first place. I could ride a motorcycle, but when it came to stopping, I would drop the bike. NOT FUN. So, I gave up riding by myself a few years ago and now I will have to relearn all over again. And after today’s tryout at the school….I need lots & lots of practice…and more muscles.

19 comments:

Susie said...

I love the idea of training wheels. My husband and I were riding with our six month old baby years ago (37+) before the helmet laws. We blew a front tire and dumped it. No one was hurt, Praise God. Sounds so stupid and irresponsible to me now! Never rode again!

Jellyhead said...

Sandy, I think you are an amazing and brave woman!

Franny said...

I have never seen a bike like that before! Its really neat--like a souped up trike! I gots to get me one of those.

Though, we have snow 6mos, rain 3 mos, and sweltering heat for 2 mos, so climate controlled transportation with a roof might still be better round here.

TJ said...

Glad to have you back!
You be careful and safe now ya hear?? You are keeping your guardian angel busy!!!
:-D

Kerri said...

What a great idea! I'd need to leave them on forever! That Mr. Sams is a true southern gentleman. Wow, what a nice guy.
If you come visit us in July you can see lots of monarch butterflies :)
We have plenty of milkweed in our meadows...that's what the caterpillars eat. If it's not growing around your area that may be why you're not seeing them.
I'll keep my eyes open and let you know when I start seeing them. I've never taken much notice of when they start showing up.
Glad you had a nice trip.

The Four Bears in the Woods said...

We are so happy for you and can't wait to come riding with you and Jimmy. Baby Bear wants to ride with you when you get experienced at it. *VBS*

Have fun and be safe

We love you

The 4 Bears

Heidi Grether said...

That looks like so much FUN!!!!!!

R.Powers said...

Neat tale. What a nice couple.
Good luck learning your new bike!

somershade said...

your going to be an old pro before you know it,don't forget,your my mom and my rideing genes came from you,One day we will go on a ride together,maybe even Suzanne on the back.:)
love you!

doubleknot said...

Wow - motorcycle mama - build those muscles up so you can go riding with your man.
Glad things went smoothly. What a nice man and wife.

tomlaureld@yahoo.com said...

Sandy took a photo of her Red Roadster in front of our home. Amazing!

Alipurr said...

don't give up, you can do it. I just tagged you for the 7's meme, in case you haven't done it yet :)

Carole Burant said...

I've never been on a motorcycle in my life...just the sound they make scares the heck outta me! lol My oldest brother has one and he's travelled from British Columbia to here in Ontario on it and he said there was no other way to travel. I'd need training wheels in the back AND the front lol Be safe when you're on the road!!

Anonymous said...

whoa, you are brave! I didnt know you could put training wheels on a motorcycle. (really!) lol. Y'all have so much fun!

I absolutely LOVED the "painting" of the water lilies and the rose in the post below. I would frame those two, just gorgeous! Tell Cocoo to keep up the good work, he (she?) is mighty talented ;)

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Thank you all for your well wishes, but these added wheels will remain on the bike as long as I'm riding it. It's a kit called a Voyager Kit that's added to a bike to make it Trike-like. These wheels however can be removed...all it takes is 5 minutes to take them off and 5 minutes to put them back on.

I only called them MY training wheels, because I'm using them to hold the bike up while I learn how to ride it. I hate crashing to the ground and skinning my legs and possibly breaking something.

I have a 450cc 1986 Rebel, but the added wheels would have looked stupid on such a small bike and my husband wouldn't let me put them on his bike...so this extra bike that we never ride anymore was elected.

If you'll take a closer look at some trikes you will notice that they have an extra wheel in the back...this is the Voyager Kit. It is a more inexpensive way of turning a bike into a trike, but with better handling capabilities than a trike. I did some personal interviews with previous owners of trikes who sold their trikes and went to the Voyager kit instead...and this is how I made my choice.

Faith Bicknell said...

Nice tri-cart!

Rachel said...

I love it! I have always wanted one of those 3 wheelers myself! You'll have it mastered in no time!

Peter said...

Hi Sandy, looks great but I'm guessing you can't lean it into corners like a two wheler, so do you steer around corners like a car?
You are certainly a biker family!!

Anonymous said...

I like your Big Red machine. hope to go riding with you soon. PB