Big Grin

Yes we went for our first ride on Norman yesterday and then again today. Jeremy said we'd better get straight into it, not make a big deal, just drive round to Tim's (our best man at our wedding) for a cup of tea. So I sheepishly put on my outfit and came outside. I felt so embarrassed, motorbike gear is just not the style I normally wear (as I may have mentioned before) and I was aware eyes were on me for my reaction.


I slid onto the back of the bike, photographs were taken by Jeremy's parents, who we're staying with at the moment, and off we zoomed down the road. I felt the smile start immediately, I couldn't help it. I giddily grinned from ear to ear (a difficult thing to do when your face is all squished together in a bike helmet) the entire 20 mins journey!


I was surprised by how much I could see, I presumed wearing the helmet would blinker you to some extent, but I suppose really visibility is important when riding a motorbike so I now realise obviously helmets would be made with that in mind! I trusted Jeremy totally, thankfully forgetting that after 2 years not being on a bike he might feel a bit uneasy about it, also his first time with someone on the back. When we got home again he said that he thought we were getting the hang of it by the last wee bit, and after today's ride he was feeling a lot more confident. Apparently we only went 80kph, but it felt pretty fast to me, he said we can go 130 on the freeway up near Alice Springs. I told him no we can't.

All Geared Up

Without planning it we popped into the bike shop on Mercer Street in Geelong again today. Josh, the guy who had served us before, was there again and looked after us very well. He made sure all my gear fitted well and put up with my severe lack of knowledge. He even brought this helmet down from the store and I fell in love with it! I never thought I could even like let along love a motorbike helmet!

It is quite pretty isn't it?! It cost $20 more than the plain black one, so we'll just have to do without lunch one day on our trip to make up for it. As my friend Alison says 'prettiness prevails!'

We also found a decent leather jacket with protective pads and removable lining. It fits extremely snugly and will take a bit of getting used to. I feel slightly corseted in it and a bit helpless due to all the padding on the arms I can't move too well. I feel like a robot, a corseted robot.

I also got biking jeans since my skirt isn't very suitable attire! I don't think I've worn jeans for about 10 years. They feel very tight but I think I'm quite liking the look, not very me, but still, it's nice to look normal every now and again. We got good gloves to protect my hands (there is a horrible ad on the side of the road on the way to Melbourne showing a motorbiker's hands after a crash without wearing gloves, not too nice) and now all we need are protective boots. Hopefully I'll enjoy all this motorbiking malarky after all this expenditure!

I think tomorrow we may be getting Norman and then we can go on a wee wizz around. My first try! I think Jeremy is looking forward to being on a bike again. I'm scared, but looking forward to wearing my gorgeous helmet!