Jon - Thanks. I went for decades without riding a motorcycle. Getting back on one at 43 a decade ago was one of the better things I've ever done for myself.
Paul - I sold the Jeep to buy the GS and a cheap used car. No regrets. Zero. The custom seat isn't perfect, but throwing a gel/sheepskin over it makes a huge difference. I think I'm ultimately going to install a peg-lowering kit to save my knees. It's a comfortable bike, and fun.
Pete - Do it. My first visit to The Mothership was on my wife's V-Strom 650. After my visit, Ron followed me out to talk about the technicals of the bike. What nice people, those Wickershams.
Dave - Do it. None of us are getting any younger.
Mike - I can't begin to credit you enough with encouraging me to visit Big Bend and expand my list of places to call home. There is something to this. I'm an atheist, but if there is a God after all, that must surely be who is talking to me while I ride. It's a wonderful thing. Glad you enjoyed the write-up.
Paul - My neurologist was just about speechless during my follow-up visit after the trip. He couldn't believe my improvement. Then the physical therapy folks had me do shallow squats for them, which of course I'd been doing across every pavement seam for the last 3 weeks and 9k miles. The motorcycle has treated me well.
While I was on my back for 10 days with sciatica I resigned myself to never being able to play the Alembic again, due to the weight. I was reasonably sure I'd probably never play bass again, to be truthful. It was a pretty dark period. Last Friday I gigged with three basses. I brought my Precision with flats because it's light, my Lakland fretless and the Alembic. I played the Alembic for a full set and could still walk afterward, so I'm rather jazzed about the prospect of keeping it around.
https://scarysharkface.smugmug.com/photos/i-Gf9cqPt/0/XL/i-Gf9cqPt-XL.jpg John
(Message edited by 811952 on August 10, 2015)
