Subject: Riding with the Boss
Author: David Washburn
Date: Feb 13, 2004, 4:25 PM
Post ID: 1716037307
AKA She(who must be obeyed). Temps hit the high forties here in the
Apple so I swung by my wife's workplace on Worth Street to give her a
ride home on the Eldo/SP. Via subway with a cage pickup it is an hour
door to door. We did it in 30 minutes at the peak of rush hour (5:30).
I had to laugh at Tom Short's post about driving through scenic country
avec la femme and wishing you were riding. My wife likes her scenery
without too much swervery, something I discovered on vacation with her
in Vermont.
Since we were in the Green Mts in a car (boring) I decided to scout some
roads for a future trip on the bike. When wifey indicated a desire to
shop the outlets I laid in a course that included the maximum miles on
hilly switchbacked two laners, awesome!. Those little roads that cross
the mountainous spine of the state from Rt. 7 to Rt. 100 are all
winners. I was cackling like a madman as I chucked the Mazda into one
vertiginous hairpin after another.
Unfortunately my beloved was turning a whiter shade of pale, verging on
mint green. We had to take a break at a rustic overlook and the trip
out of the mountains seemed twice as long as the trip in.
On the motorcycle I have to keep things smooth. Too much sudden
movement, either side to side or accel-decel promotes discomfort in my
passenger. I made a whoopee cushion for her butt that gives her a view
of the road over my shoulder and that has helped. When she can see
where we are going it is less sick-making.
The roles are reversed on boats. This Summer we took the push-bike on
the ferry from Lewes Delaware to Cape May New Jersey. My beloved calmly
read her book while the rocking and pitching of the ferry (in a dead
calm!) made me increasingly nauseous. I found Cape May to be a pretty
neat destination as we saw tons of Dolphins frolicking near shore. Good
place for Harley or Gold Wingers as the roads are dead flat and
straight. On the push-bike flat and straight is fine by me. Good food
there with lots of places right on the beach and not too expensive by
NYC standards.
Enough of the travelogue, I rode the Loop to work five out of five days
this week so it was a good week for Feb. in NY.
David in NYC