Motorcycle Fever at 8 years old...

Parallel

The weather was forecast to be wet for the entire Labor Day weekend, but we managed to get in some swimming as well as a nice 87 mile ride with Isaiah along for the very first time on an actual ride.

I picked Isaiah up a nice DOT rated full face helmet for Isaiah yesterday and he couldn't wait to put it to use. So... a couple of neighbors and I decided to go on a ride today seeing as how it hadn't rained as forecast and I decided to take Isaiah (our 8 year old) along for the ride. I've been taking the kids on little slow rides through the neighborhood and have discovered that my boy is a natural born rider. He does VERY well on the back of a motorcycle, not moving excessively and he intuitively leans into and out of the turns. I put a strap around my chest in order to give him something to hold onto and that made me confident enough to take him along on a ride in which we would mostly be in the moderate 35 MPH - 45 MPH range but would occasionally reach speeds of about 60 MPH.

We left LaPlace and headed West on the River Road (LA44) intending to cross the Mississippi River at the Gramercy Bridge and take the same "River Loop" route we have ridden in the past. Instead we decided to continue West on LA44. We stopped for some photos at the historic Manresa House and we ended up crossing the Mississippi River via LA70 and the Sunshine Bridge. Once we crossed the river into Donaldsonville we stopped for a drink and a snack and then we headed East on River Road (LA18). We stopped to take some photos at the Historic Oak Alley Plantation where it was pretty evident that Isaiah was getting tired. Also, I have made a conscience decision not to purposefully ride at night with Isaiah on the bike as the danger only increases as the sun sets. Because of these facts we opted to cross the Mississippi River once again in Wallace via the Gramercy Bridge ( LA3213) instead of continuing down LA18 to Destrehan and the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge (I-310). Once we crossed the river we picked up River Road (LA44) once again but this time headed East and back home to LaPlace.

He had a blast and is DEFINITELY hooked on motorcycles. The other people riding with us kept an eye on him and said that he was very comfortable and confident back there. I'm so proud of how well he did that I'll be taking him on some more rides in the very near future... back road rides only of course. I specifically like the River Road because the vast majority of the road has traffic only on one side (the river levy being on the other side) thus making it easier to ride even more defensively.

Whenever I get the bike out the kids want to take a little ride around the neighborhood.



Manresa House of Retreats




Oak Alley Plantation... you can tell Isaiah is getting a bit tired by this point.

grege345

That bike is awesome. I have the fever all the time. But then swmbo gives me medicine

bud812

Welcome to the new biker.   :-c

WeberWho

That's awesome! I picked up a Yamaha YSR 50 earlier this summer. Almost his size! :-?

Thrux07

Gotta love the British twin. I have a Thruxton myself.

Zmokin

I don't remember how small I was when my Dad first gave me a ride on his commuter Honda 90 back in the 1960's.  I remember him then getting me a mini-bike for riding when we go camping.
As a result, my first motorized vehicle when I got my driver's license was a motorcycle.  I rode for 4 decades before I finally sold my motorcycle due to lack of use.  Don't know if I'll ever get another motorcycle or not, it's just not something I crave right now.  I kinda have a 4 wheel version right now, a nice little 2 seater sports car that handles almost as good as a bike but has air-conditioning and a nice stereo.

Skiddymarker

Nice ride. Still like the air cooled twins, current is a '97 Yamaha Virago 1100. Great bike for one up. Last year I could take the grand kids around the neighbourhood as well - this past year BC passed a law that the passenger must be able to get on and off the bike themselves and their feet must reach the passenger pegs. 

Envy your all year riding climate.