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Friday I finally gave into my wild side and did something I’d been talking about for years now. I stopped over at the local DMV office and picked up my motorcycle license. It only took me two tries to get it.

A part of me has kind of wanted to get a motorcycle since my teenage years, although even then I just felt like it wasn’t practical — there were always better things to spend my hard-earned money on. Last year, though, as the reality of adulthood and all of the unglamorous expenses associated with it settled in (gas money, utility bills, car insurance, car maintenance, health insurance, retirement plans, dog food, etc.) a motorcycle started to seem more and more practical.

Kristen and I have two cars. One gets great gas mileage and is a reliable commuter. The other needs an oil tanker for support and scares truck drivers that see it barreling towards them on the highway. Whenever the idea of buying a new car comes up, though, it always seems either out of reach or just more than we want to take on right now. A brand new, decked out motorcycle, however, would cost less than half the price of a decent commuter car. It’d also be hard, or impossible, for a car in our price range to outdo the 50mpg rating of a big cruiser. When I realize the weather here is plenty warm enough for me to be happy riding a bike to work 12 months out of the year, it almost seems like the question is “Why haven’t I got one yet?” Now that I’ve started making a 90-mile loop to Sanford each day to do correspondent work for The Sanford Herald, the need for a bike seems even more urgent.

It’s still a commitment I’m hesitant to make. No matter how comparatively cheap the bike might be, it’s still thousands of dollars that could be spent on renovating our home, buying furniture to fill one of our four empty rooms or paying off some of the debt we’ve managed to accumulate in the real world.

When the day comes that the practicality of a cheap new vehicle that’s fun to drive and just happens to get incredible gas mileage overpowers my desire to save money long enough for me to get to a bike shop, the battle will be over. I already know what I want.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted a classic looking, air-cooled cruiser. I also knew that I didn’t want a Harley, partly because I just like to be different and partly because I think they’re overpriced after building the industry’s largest and oldest group of brand-loyal riders and want-to-be riders. I did want a bike with a quality company to stand behind it, some years of proven performance on the street and a realistic price tag. I think the Yamaha V Star line fits the bill nicely.

I really love the big over-sized fenders and retro styling of the V Star Classics — they have everything I’ve ever wanted in a bike. This left me with yet another choice, though. Should I get the reasonably priced V Star Classic 650, available brand new for just $6500, or spend almost $3,000 more for the the better powered 1100 model? My first instinct told me to go ahead and grab the 650 and be done with it. Then I started to think about what the extra power would really mean. In a 3-ton car, power is power; It doesn’t really matter too much what a driver is built like. On a 500 pound vehicle, though, when I add myself I’m adding 50% more weight to the setup right away, so that’s bound to have an impact. Another big reason I want a motorcycle is to take fun rides in the country with Kristen, as well as pretty frequent simple weekend getaways, meaning some extra weight for luggage too. I realized that there is a reason they make the bike with a bigger engine available, and I’m it.

The other thing that pushed me to want the 1100 is the idea that a good motorcycle is timeless. My hope is that I will get the bike I really want new, I’ll maintain it well, it will always be in style and always perform like that the great simple machine that it is and I will never have to buy another motorcycle again. I knew that if I settled for the 650 the first time around, there would be a good chance that I would want more power. I doubted seriously that if I bought the 1100 I would ever be wishing for a slightly lighter, significantly slower ride though.

This just left one more choice: color. I always wanted a blue bike, but I just don’t like the galaxy blue that Yamaha has offered for the past two years. It’s too bright. Black and white are just boring biker colors. Red is a fun color, but I already have a red truck and, next to black and white, it’s the third most popular color out there. Fortunately, a good alternative is available. The 2009 V Star Classic 1100 is available in a charcoal silver with black and red flames etched into the gas tank and rear fender. The charcoal has just a hint of the gun-metal blue I’d been looking for, and the black flames really serve to bring it out in a classy, subtle way.

The best part is Kristen likes it too. The only real question left now is:

Studs?

Or no studs?

—David

Images taken from http://www.starmotorcycles.com.

It’s hard to explain why photography is so much fun. Even when frames don’t turn out like I’d hoped, it’s still exciting to study the lines, colors and layout to learn from my mistakes and, hopefully, shoot better in the future. In just about any situation bringing along a camera really adds to the experience of the day, if just by offering a purpose to an otherwise mediocre outing.

I was flipping through some of the thousands of pictures I’ve taken over the past few years (most of them were better left covered) and, even though I’m sure I’ve seen them all many times, every now and then one pops out that I never really noticed before.

Distant Dreams

I don’t remember what inspired me to take this far-off picture of the U.S. Capitol, but I do remember the trip I took it on. I can say with certainty that as I walked along the gravel path that day I was almost spellbound at the experience of being in the midst of real power. When I look at the picture today it leaves a different impression. I’m struck by how far away the Capitol — one of the many grand products from an earlier age, when a nation was built on personal sacrifice and hopes for a better future — is. It seems almost too far to reach and definitely too small to be of any real importance in the world of this image.

The picture of the Capitol serves as both a reminder of my trip to D.C. that day and, at least in my opinion, a fun piece of art. Other photos fall short of both of these goals, but are still just as fun to make and look at.

Spinning Turkey

This was just a spontaneous shot of Kristen pulling the bird out of our oven last Thanksgiving. Below is another fun shot of my brother Jacob, having fun and smiling of all things. I think the different shades of green and yellow in the background add a neat touch.

"Where's my helmet?"

Neither pictures try anything that hasn’t been done, and over-done, millions of times before; but both were fun for me to take and fun to look at again.

Friday all of the fourth grade classes at my wife’s school took a field trip to the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville. I went along as a chaperon. While I’m always up for a visit to a good museum, I was worried it would be difficult to keep the students interested and occupied for the two hours we were going to be there. In my experience, military history museums in general are targeted only at people who already have a strong interest in the subject, and displays are typically pretty lackluster. Boy was I wrong.

I would recommend the museum to anyone looking for something cool to do within 100 miles of Fayetteville. If you’re a military or technology buff, it’s definitely worth traveling even further. The main exhibition hall features exhibits arranged in chronological order, beginning with the army’s first attempt at deploying airborne troops and ending with an awesome display of Operation Iraqi Freedom. All of the displays are very interactive and constantly being updated. (While we were there, one exhibit hall was closed while a new feature on dessert guerrilla warfare and the war on terror was being finished.) A changeable-exhibit hall told the story of the United States’ operations in France during World War I — an area of history often overlooked in favor of the more dramatic conflict that occurred 20 years later. The museum also houses a full size movie theater with a variety of free shows and a separate theater set up as a flight simulator.

Still, the best asset the museum has is obviously its volunteer staff: Retired military personnel, all experts in their subject area and all passionate about sharing their very real experiences.

Check it out.

Most of my time was occupied with keeping my group of adolescents together and answering — or teaching them how to use a museum to answer — the endless barrage of questions their minds blasted out. I did manage to snap a few pictures though.
Click the image below to see more.
 

—David