Little did I know back in August of 1992, that I was about to marry a man that would introduce me into one of the best hobbies I’ve ever had. 

Jim’s family is without a doubt no stranger to those two-wheel machines.  He has been riding almost his entire life since he was a little younger than our daughter Jordan.  Of course, it was on the dirt first and then he made the move to the street.

Like all new marriages we had to struggle to get those big items purchased, a house, new car, furniture and of course those talks about having kids.  At first it was difficult to see the expressions on his face when we would talk about getting a bike.  It would almost seem to be possible and then all of a sudden something would come up and take away that glimmer of hope in him.  I would always remember him saying, “I’ve always had a bike in the garage.”  Well his garage sat empty for quite awhile, almost 5 years.

Our first bike together was of course the Honda CBR1100 Blackbird.  Talk about riding it like your hair was on fire.  It was my first experience riding on the back and boy did I take to it like a fish to water.  Jim always said I drove that bike from the back seat!!  It was also Jordan’s first bike.  She started riding with her dad when she was 4 years old and the legend begins.  Of course it didn’t start out that way.  Being left behind on the weekends while he was out with the boys sometimes for 8-10 hours, I can remember saying to him, “What could you be doing all that time?” Duhhh….. 

That’s when the light went off for me.  I knew that if we didn’t find something to do together we weren’t gonna make it.  Of course, like all couples we tried a lot of different things together.  First it was golf, then pedal bikes, snowboarding, skiing and if anyone knows me they know that I can’t even walk without tripping.  None of these were working.  Then one summer he came home with a poster of a bike.  He just talked and talked about it like it was better than anything he had ever seen, it was the VTX1800.  He hung it on the wall and said that was the next one to go into the garage.

Later on that year Jim had been invited to the parking lot of the Country Buffet to meet some folks that had VTX’s.  Well after that he was hooked.  He ordered the bike and it arrived in February of 2002.  We took many trips together during the next few years.  I did enjoy being his backseater, but we always had to leave Jordan behind or get a sitter for the day.  I remember thinking as we made our way to Tennessee on the bike for dinner, “What would I do if something happened to him?”  I don’t know anything about this motorcycle, how would we get home??

So, you can imagine the look on Jim’s face when I told him I was interested in taking the MSF Class.  After he had a big old chuckle he told me if I passed the class he would sell the CBR and buy me a bike. 

I think he was more nervous at that point because the only bike in our garage to practice on was the VTX.  I’m sure the neighbors thought we were crazy watching Jim on the back and me trying to drive that beast up and down the street. 

Well needless to say I did pass and of course my first bike was the VTX1300.  I spent the last few months of the riding season of ‘04 trying to get some skills and then the following year I really went all out!!

Looking back now Jim and I have to laugh.  Not only do we have 2 VTX’s sitting in our garage, but a Wing and 2 dirt bikes.  It is quite a change from 14 years ago when we could only think about getting one bike. 

Now it’s even better as Jordan has joined in the fun playing in the dirt with her dad on the weekends.  So I guess this legend will continue on with a family that enjoys being out on two-wheels, yes a true motorcycle family.

Visit these galleries for more photo's ... Project Bikes - Jo Jo's First Ride - The Wing