You're Putting the Harley Where?

Many people are writing about how much they love fall. I enjoy fall, I don’t love it. I will always be a summer girl. And although I think fall is the prettiest time of year, and I really love all things fall, such as pumpkin spice lattes, apple picking, haunted houses, sitting on the couch in front of the fire and putting the lawn mower away for the season, it doesn’t even come in at my second favorite season.

My second favorite season is spring. After a long, cold Chicago winter, there are few things that are better than watching tulips bloom, feeling the warmth of a 60 degree spring day, taking the lawn mower out for the season, shedding the layers of winter clothing, even looking at a yard full of dandelions. By the time February rolls around, winter is getting on my last nerve, as I am sure I am getting on everyone else’s last nerve because winter turns me into a whiny bitch. A mope-a-lope if you will. That’s what Leland calls me in the winter. So spring is definitely my second favorite season. And next spring will have new meaning for me because it’ll be the time I can take my motorcycle out of the dining room and take it for my first springtime ride.

That’s right, I said take it out of the dining room.

Now that it’s fall, it is time to put the motorcycle away for the season. I am hoping to get one more ride in before the weather gets really bad, but the way my schedule is looking, I’m not sure that is going to happen. Leland and I have been building a deck for the past 2 weekends and will continue working on it this weekend. Riding during the week is a possibility, but with fall in Chicago also comes a lot of rain. I have no interest in riding in the rain. I’m pretty hardcore, but not hardcore enough to get soaked for the sake of a ride. The rest of my weekends in October are filled, leaving me with the dreaded feeling that my motorcycle season has ended. For this reason alone, I hate fall. I don’t want my motorcycle season to end.

I have been having so much fun with the Harley. Though I still don’t have my license, I have my permit and ride it fairly often. With a permit I am supposed to only ride with a license motorcyclist along side me or following me in a car. But let’s not play games. We all know I break the law and ride alone. I wanted to get my license before the end of the season, but it just didn’t work out. Taking the test on my bike would be really tricky because it is so big, and my search for finding a smaller bike has me coming up empty. My plan is to take another rider training program in the spring and get my license that way. By that time I will be comfortable enough riding that I hopefully won’t fall over during the test.

But back to the topic at hand.

Now that the Harley has to be put away for the season, I am working on getting my dining room cleaned out so it can hang out in there for the winter months. Motorcycles belong in dining rooms.

When I first met Leland, I was surprised to find a motorcycle in the dining room at his parent’s house. After thinking about it, it makes sense. Cold weather is bad for cars and motorcycles, but cars handle it a lot better because we run them daily. Having a motorcycle out in the cold for months may cause problems for it in the spring. To sidestep that, Leland’s dad stored his bike in the house. This is the ONLY thing I will probably ever copy from his parents. You all know how I feel about them, so I can’t imagine myself wanting to be any more like them. I draw the line at storing a motorcycle in the dining room.

I don’t know about you, but I rarely use my dining room. Leland and I may eat dinner in the dining room once a week, but all the other days it goes unused. I sort of feel bad for it. Like it’s lacking purpose. Maybe my dining room would feel better about itself if I gave it something to look after.

Plus it would be a great conversation piece.

And when Christmas comes around I can put lights on it and make it festive.