Our hog for a day

Before we head out on our fun-filled weekend to Island Park, I thought I better catch up on some blogging from the last little bit. Almost two weeks ago, we rented a Harley and spent the day riding with Chattertons; Ashley's brother, Landon, and his girlfriend; Buzzy; and Brent.

Why, you ask, did we rent a motorcycle for a day of riding after Erik finally convinced me he should buy one last year (see this post). Mainly because there was no way I was going to spend the day afraid of being blown off the back and having to cling to Erik's waist. Plus, when else will we have the chance to ride a Harley Davidson given the fact they cost more than my car?

Erik went down with the guys the night before our big adventure to pick up our bike. When Lillian saw it, she was very concerned about where our car had gone (it got left in Salt Lake so we'd have a way home). And she didn't want anything to do with the big, loud motorcycle that had taken its place.

Now, keep in mind that this was no around-town motorcycle. It was so plush, so luxurious, so...teal. Really: it looked like something right out of the 80s even though it was a brand new model. But at least it came complete with a full backrest for me, including arm rests. This backrest also had built-in speakers for the radio that I could control from my position on the back. Although when I actually tried to use that feature, it didn't work...typical. Not to mention the fact that the iPods (yes, both of them) were left in the car in Salt Lake so we had to deal with what radio reception we were able to find.

Color and lack of iPod aside, we had a great trip (although I'll admit it was a lot of driving and my butt was pretty sore by the time we got home). We started by heading up to Tony Grove and then continuing around Bear Lake. We came back through Ogden Canyon and headed to Salt Lake to return the bikes. Of course we stopped at Texas Roadhouse on the way. No trip to Ogden with Buzzy would be complete without that detour... :)

What I think is funny about trips like these is when you run into someone else doing the same thing, you are way more friendly than you would have been otherwise. This was the case here when we stoped at some podunk gas station to fill up and ended up chatting with some other bikers who were out that day. Had we all pulled up in our cars, there probably wouldn't have even been hellos exchanged. But because we were all out on motorcycles, a connection was made. I've noticed this is also the case with snowmobiling and probably most other similar activities. The repressed folklorist in me tends to notice these things more now, I guess, than I used to, and I always wonder if anyone's done a paper on it yet. Does that show how nerdy I really am?

Yeah?

Oh well.

In any event, I think this is an activity we'll have to make into a tradition. I was a little skepical at first, but it was a completely different experience driving through Logan Canyon and up to Tony Grove without the constraint of, well...a ROOF. Plus, it was great weather: it wasn't too hot (until we reached Ogden), but it was still nice enough to enjoy being outside. I wonder if they'd a rent side car for Lillian?