Bittersweet

I just sold my 1966 Honda CB 160 motorcycle. I am happy because we could use the money and the bike was slowly rusting due to the high humidity of the South. In Chicago I could keep it indoors protected. Not so much here.

I'm sad because this was a really cool bike. So much style. Most likely the most stylish bike I'll ever own. But I've learned I really shouldn't own vintage. I'm not a mechanic and old bikes need either skill and desire or extra cash to keep them running. Cash? No. Skills? No. Desire? I'm pretty lazy. I had the CB since the fall of 2004 and it was running properly for about 6 months of that time. Thanks to cold weather and other factors I've ridden it just over a dozen times. One of my greatest follies for sure.

I think this makes the eighth bike I've sold. They sort of blur together a little after a while. Might be the ninth. This is all since the summer of 99 or 2000.

I first got into riding for two reasons. One was I was living in Chicago but going to school in Evanston and that was a 30 to 45 minute bike ride one way. Sure I was in great shape but riding a bicycle in Chicago winters was getting old. Time to upgrade to something with an engine. But I didn't want the hassle of owning a car. I tried to find a moped (this was just before the recent rediscovery of mopeds by hipsters) but instead found a 50 cc scooter that fit the bill. And a thirty minute bike ride became a 15 minute scooter ride.

The second is because they're cool as hell. How can anyone look at all the different styles of motorcycles and motorscooters and not see something that makes their heart race a little. Part of my problem is that I buy one and love it but very quickly rationalize all the little ways it doesn't quite fit every possible riding situation I might find myself in. So obviously I need to buy another one (the other option is to take a bike and then modify it in some way. If I still had that first bike I would have but a kit on it by now and turned it into something dangerous and stupidly fast. And fun).

And that's the other thing I keep telling myself. Selling this bike just means that there is one less objection that Wife can raise when I finish paying off the move down and decide it is one again time to go shopping again. After all, we currently don't have a bike that is comfortable for us to ride two up on. It would be downright insensitive of me not to have a bike I can take her for a spin on.

When it rains, it punches you in the mouth

I think that's how that cliche goes. Something like that.

At least that's the way it feels around the old homestead right now. Wife has broken leg. We had to take her for more check ups today. The Ultrasound revealed she didn't have a blood clot. Just pain. So that's sort of good. Except she's still uncomfortable. And we have a CT scheduled for next week to find out if she needs surgery.

On the way there we learned the noise I was suspicious the car was making is in fact some sort of rubbing/grinding coming from the transmission or drive train or something. Something expensive I'm sure. Something I can't afford to fix on a car I was hoping to pay down for another six months so we can get close to value on a trade in. At this point with this noise and the banged in door from a hit and run I'm going to have to eat around three thousand bucks that will get folded in to the value of whatever I trade it in on.

And Wife's scooter is having trouble. Hopefully that will only be a few hundred bucks to fix. Plus my PDA isn't really working in any truly useful way. And my digital camera broke. While my parents were visiting. I have next to no pictures from their trip. My scooter may be leaking oil. And all of this means no money to repair my vintage motorcycle.

Part of me is wondering what else will be dished out. So I'm predicting the next disaster:

-Cobra in my underwear drawer
-Visigoth attack
-Iceberg
-Religious cult decides I am the evil one they are required to stop but only by mayonnaise based methods
-People magazine singles me out as one of America's least sexy males
-East Timor claims our bedroom as their sovereign territory
-Cat suffers genetic mutation, takes over world, refuses to loan me money
-Mr T decides I am fool but refuses to pity me claiming excessive jibber-jabber
-Unwanted pregnancy for Dog, despite the fact she's spayed
-Mum-ra

Which do you think will happen? Or suggest your own possible thing I need to be worrying about that I'm not.

Dirty confession

My name is Professor Matthew and I have a problem.

I want one of almost every motorcycle and scooter in the world. Or at least one of all the cool ones.

Well, maybe not that bad but I do want a whole lot more than I have. Or that I can afford. Which is partially funny if you know me because I can get paranoid about money. I've been poor from time to time since I've left home. Never destitute but praying I get paid enough that I can cover rent/eating ramen noodles or peanut butter and jelly for all my meals that I don't get for free from my food service job poor. So often I get a little scared that I'm going to come up short. It makes my wife a little stressed when I get stressed. (In my defense, there are times when she isn't stressed enough but that's not the point right now). But I have a weakness for three main things. Shoes, tattoos, and motorized bikes. If you're careful, two of those three aren't really that much of a burden. My just considering a bike once caused my wife to have a breakdown in an Olive Garden.

For those who don't know, different bikes can fulfill different roles. Some are great for getting around urban areas, some are great for long distance riding, some are great for riding two up with a friend or wife (or whomever you would prefer to ride two up with, I'm not here to judge. Unless you don't want to ride at all, in which case you're a dirty communist and you make baby kitties cry). And some just look amazing. Actually a lot look amazing and again in different ways.

To be honest (and what's the point of lying about this anyway?), the only types of bikes I don't want one of are giant cruisers or giant sports bikes. I don't need to go 200 mph and I don't need a bike so large it can't be lifted again if it tips over. But I can come up with all sorts of justifications for why I need a bigger scooter (sometimes I want to ride on the interstate) and a new Triumph Bonneville or Scrambler (classic bike looks with modern bike technology!) and another vintage bike (just look at a 60s or early 70s Honda CB and tell me that isn't cool).

To put it in perspective, I currently have one really nice scooter and one 1966 Honda. And the wife has a nice scooter that I'm paying for so if she leaves me she has to give it back or buy it off me. We've had as many as 5 at the same time. It's not like I can ride more than one bike at a time. And my current vintage motorcycle needs some work anyway. I really should just concentrate on that and get it running again. Then it will be like I have a new bike again. At least for a little while till I have to fight off the urge again.