Another Adventure Begins

Well, I've been told if you sit around too much you will become frozen but if you keep moving you will live long with great vitality...or something along those lines. 

For the past 6 years I've enjoyed riding my motorcycle on all types of paved roads, and yes at time a little detour down a dirt road but the majority has been paved. After spending the winter in Texas and Arizona and seeing all of the dirt roads leading off to mysterious places I got to thinking it would be so nice to be able to head down those roads without worrying about wrecking my street bike. So.......I've decided to take up off road motorcycle riding. Yes, I am 54 years old and am the proud grandma of 2 beautiful girls. Time just won't stop ticking though and I figure if I'm going to learn to ride off-road there is not better time than the present. 

I begin this journey by purchasing a 2009 BMW F800 GS motorcycle while Snow Birding in Mesa, AZ. My friend Claudette thinks I'm a bit over spontaneous but I know myself and if I give thought to anything too long I end up changing my mind so many times that by the time I'm ready to make a decision I've forgotten what I'm trying to do.

By now you all may be asking yourselves, isn't she a little too old to start something like this? I really don't know the answer to that and believe me it's crossed my mind as well but if there is one thing I do know, if you don't try it you will never know.

My next purchase for riding in this fashion was some Adventure boots. I decided to go with the Alpinestars Toucan. They had great reviews and are gortex so while riding at home in the Pacific Northwest my feet should stay dry and warm. They will give my lower leg, ankle and foot greater protection than the boots I use for road riding. I already own Olympia riding pants and coats so for now I will start out with that and go from there. 

A few of my friends back home have also decided to drink the kool-aid and have also purchased off road bikes. Three of us are signed up for an off-road adventure camp back home in May but in the mean time I found the Rawhyde Adventure Camp in California and it just so happens to be close enough for us to make it to a one day bike demo/training while we are still down in this area. Unfortunately we couldn't quite spare the expense of the full weekend training right now but once Jay gets a bike we will make it a must-do on our list. The bike demo will be a bonus for us though because Jay ( my hubby extraordinaire and super duper bike mechanic, jack of all trades ) has not gotten his bike yet so he will be able to demo three bikes on and off road. This is unheard of! You can rent plenty of off road bikes but they will not allow you to take them off road so this will be a wonderful opportunity for him.

My first day off road was spent on the Apache Trail between Roosevelt, AZ and Apache Flats, AZ. I rode the F800 and Jay rode his R1200 C. Needless to say, my suspension gave me a much better ride that day. I absolutely LOVED it, and that was without knowing what the hell I was doing! The scenery was gorgeous and the thrill and challenge of riding in the dirt was exciting to the very end. 

I then set out to find a class. I found the Rawhyde classes but couldn't afford them right away so decided to wait to attend one until I got home. A friend and fellow rider had taken the PSSOR course and found it very helpful for her so that will be the first of many. In the mean time I found some valuable information on getting in shape for off-road riding. I've been walking every day using MapMyWalk on my cell phone to keep track of my progress and have started to get serious about core strengthening, something my chiropractor at home has been after me to do for years. Between those two things, some stretching and cardio training I should be in a better place to take on the dirt roads once we get home.

If you wish you can follow along with me on this journey. My writing skills leave something to be desired but really, it's all about the journey anyway isn't it!