this day in melly history

in reading my morning blogs today, the ever brilliant cathyz posted this idea: look through your old photos taken in years past on this date and blog about them!

ever simple is she.

here's a photo taken this week in 2003. i'm not the best organizer of photos, couldn't find one taken today but i thought this one would do. and do very well! the second part of cathy's idea asked if we scrapbooked this photo or does it just live in an album (digital or otherwise).

i am proud to say this photo lives in an actual scrapbook!

it was the first day of my motorcycle training class. first day actually on a motorcycle. what made me think i could go from the class bike (a little 175 or something) to this behemoth fatboy i'll never know. looking back now, i can't even believe that was me! she's much more brave. and thinner! ;)

i need to journal this part - i'll never forget how i felt taking that bike around the block for the first time. ken was waiting at the end of the drive each time i circled the block. after a few times around our neighborhood, i got braver and went around a big block - out on the street. stopping at the intersection of reynolds and bancroft, i remember as i waited for the light, the feeling of being so exposed. it felt as though i was standing in the middle of the road. it was scary and exhilarating all at once.

by the time i got back to the driveway, ken was climbing in the truck to come look for me. he was sure i'd dumped the bike. i hadn't. i was just enjoying my first ride.

what photos are lurking in your past?

800 pounds of happy

some of you know the story of me selling my motorcycle last year. i sold it to a friend of ours with the ability to buy it back within the year. now, i don't know about you, but we typically don't have 10 grand laying around but what i do have is a smart, generous husband.

a few months ago we called our friend and asked if he'd be interested in trading the fat boy (above) for ken's ultra classic. turns out this friend had just left the harley dealership where he was, believe it or not, looking at full dressers. so last week, we got a u-haul trailer and met our friend at the border where my smart, generous husband traded his full dresser for this little bit of sweetness.

i may love him. and ken is nice too. :)

bring on the sunshine! this girl is ready to RIDE.

H is for

Harley Davidson

Once upon a time I was a Harley rider. It was some of the best times of my life. The freedom. The independence. The strength. The power. The thrill. The danger.

I learned to ride at a time in my life where I felt weak and insignificant. Fragile and small. Learning to control a huge scary bike was so big for me. The feelings carried over into my personal life and were my salvation at the time.

I got my permit the summer of '02. I took a motorcycle class on a little 250 or something ridiculous. I went home the first day after class and got on Ken's Fatboy (no comments from the peanut gallery!). I rode it around our neighborhood. Then I went around the block. Then I took it out on a main street. I'll never forget how vulnerable I felt stopped at an intersection. I was literally standing in the middle of the road! But I'll also never forget the sense of accomplishment I felt. I conquered a huge fear. I was riding a motorcycle.

Ken bought me a Lowrider the following week and I proceeded to put 3000 miles on my bike before putting it up for the winter. I rode every where - the bank, weight watchers, the grocery store. I refused to put bags on my bike - it looked so sleek. There were plenty of times I'd come home with a loaf of bread down my shirt or some other creative means of getting it home. I didn't care. I was riding.

In 2004 Ken bought a new bike so he handed the Fatboy down to me. What a bike it was - totally chromed out, Vance & Hines straight pipes, Kuryakyn Hyper Charger, chubbie bars, skull accessories - it was B.A.D. It was LOUD and that bike MOVED. So much fun.

I made some great friends during that chapter in my life. People who taught me so much that had little to do with motorcycling. Lessons I've been able to pass down and share:

• yes, you can.
• do things before you think you're ready
• fear is nothing but not knowing how. learn.
• it's easier to share a bed than a motorcycle seat with someone if you're mad at them
• the wind is therapy
• life is short. really short. enjoy the ride.

enjoy the ride.