Why I Ride

[aquaduct]

One of the last things my grandmother did in her life was to get a ride on a motorcycle. It was at a family reunion about 6 years ago, she was 82 and could barely walk. A cousin's husband brought his new Harley to the reunion and all the strapping young nephews got together to hoist her onto the pillion seat for a 20 minute spin in the gorgeous Salt Lake City mountain summer.

She got off and cackled and laughed and just had a great time being a bad-arse motorcycle babe. She died about 6 months later.

So today, her 73-year-old daughter is visiting us for the holiday along with my sister and my nephew.

The Virginia day today burst forth with just an absolute stunning sky and sunshine that brought the temps up to about 60.

My wife took my sister and my daughter shopping and the boys were playing video games, so I hauled the Triumph out of the shed and gave Mom a ride.

We went down Middle Road to 55, where we turned left. Cruised through Strasburg and then continued out 55 around the base of the mountains to Front Royal.

Asked how she was doing and she said she wanted to go anywhere I'd take her.

So down through Front Royal and across the Shenandoah and picked up 55 East again out through Linden to 17. North up to Paris and then came in 50 over the Blueridge and back home into Winchster.

An absolutely stunning ride. 70 miles. The bike ran strong for most of the ride and those dang coils acted up toward the end, but it never threatened to stop us. I've got to get a couple of new Nology's in her this winter. Absolutely invigorating and the scenery is spectacular.

She said all her friends are going to be so jealous that she's been cruising the Virginia mountains with her eldest boy.

And then she said Gram's probably jealous right now.

I have no doubt she is.

[andrewg]

Nice story. I like to ride too but my horsepower comes with four legs and an attitude!

[Cornflake]

Great story, Aquaduct.

By coincidence...yesterday our houseguest Len, who keeps a motorcyle stored in our carport, gave rides after dinner to Diane's eighty-ish mom and dad. They loved it. Diane's dad can barely see anymore but he could feel the wind whipping past him.

[Village Idiot]

That, Aquaduct, is a very cool story. I'm glad she had a good time. I really glad, however, that you talked her into it. Great of you to do so! You'll be telling this story to family for years. So will she.

[iamjohnne]

Fighting back nostalgic tears of envy.

[aquaduct]

Well now if the weather holds up, I'm going to have to take my sister, nephew, and son out again tomorrow. Not that I mind.

Mom ended up spending WWII in Norway after an ill-timed family vacation landed them there under the German occupation. Her father abandoned the family and she spent about 8 years there in some pretty harsh conditions and then returned to South Dakota where she finished her high school career in pretty abject poverty.

She grew up to be one of the most positive people you could ever meet. Dad used to call her a Polyanna (although he worshiped the ground she walked on).

She has managed one trip back to Norway back in 1960 with her mom just before she married Dad, and has never been back.

Until last month. She went with her sister and my sister and spent 3 weeks tearing the place up. She located her family (cousins and such) there and they treated her like royalty.

We spent this evening going through pictures of the trip. Her cousins made up a little photo album of all the family's current photos. On the cover is one of the houses where they stayed, up on a hill, with this great evening sun setting behind it, and a flagpole with the American flag on it in honor of the arrival of cousins from the west.

How friggin' cool is that?

[theevan]

Your mom is my kind of gal. Thanks for sharing.

[Deleted]

Cool Aqua.

Sometime when I'm up that way, we need to hook up. I have an Aunt and Uncle that live in Linden, and drive through that way on my way to PA to visit my parents.

[andrewg]

That lady sounds like a pretty impressive woman 'duct. I'll maybe share my Mum's WW2 experiences under the Russians on another thread one day. They bred them tough in those days!

[Marshall]

Cool story, Peter. I'm about to put my bike up for the Winter, here.

I mentioned before, that when I got my bike about 3 months ago, my wife and sisters were worried what Berneice, my 91 year-old mother-in-law woud think. She said she though I looked good on the bike. She said I looked so young.

Apparently she rode on the back of a bike a few times when she was young woman. If she weren't so frail, I'd love to put her on the back and give her a ride.