Today, I rode my 1000th mile on my Ninja 250. How have things changed in these 2 and a half weeks?
Looking around my immediate space, my desk is filled with motorcycle stuff: some documents from the insurance company, instructions on how to clean the carbs, the duplicate key to my bike. My leather motorcycle jacket rests on the same chair I'm sitting in and luggage for my bike lay on the floor...I've been engulfed by this motorcycle.
Taking a step away, my commute now is much more exciting. On days that have no rain in the forecast, I won't think twice about hopping on the bike. The strongest coffee can't wake you up as well as a 25 mile commute through downtown Chicago on a bike can. That was a whole lot of sentence, but then again, this little bike is a whole lot of bike.
The Ninja 250 is becoming an extension of my body; a second set of legs. Its agility and ability to move where I want it to is becoming second nature. This bike is eating me alive.
Taking a bigger step away, I've opened myself to another set of people. It's brought me together with friends from the past and friends I've just met.
Old friends give me advice with their knowledge of riding. All of them completely support the choice I made and it is a very welcoming feeling.
But the new friend are just a wave away. This community of motorcycles is an exclusive one, but the people in it are not exclusive to one another. Whether it may be a Harley with straight pipes or a Yamaha dirt bike with mud on its side, a little raise of the left hand to the oncoming bike generally yields in a wave back. Catch up to another motorcycle going the same way and you can spring up a conversation, motorcycle related or not.
I'm starting to realize the joy in all of this, the addiction riders have. I'm constantly thinking of where to go and how far I should go next time. There are a lot of roads out there, but the sad truth is, I won't be able to see it all. It's a good thing that this Ninja 250 is up for any task and it's begging for it. It's just waiting for me to catch up to it.
