I’ve always heard the first step to recovery is admitting you have an addiction.  Maybe I should admit to that?  May I have an addiction?  It all started when Motorcycle Man decided it would be a great idea for me to try out dirt bike riding.  I’ve gotta admit, I was all for it too.  It was a new thrill to add to my adventure seeking life or my adrenaline junky side that everyone has been commenting on that I now have.  It just could’ve been a combination of everything going on — but somehow I wound up with a dirt bike.  A full fledged Yamaha TT-R125LE.  I had no intention of ever riding a dirt bike, it just never crossed my mind.  That is, until I met Motorcycle Man.  We wound up going all the way to Mississippi to get the dirt bike.  Mississippi.  An 11 hour trip one way from my somewhat nice sized Oklahoma town I live in now.  Less than 4 hours and I could’ve been at the beach, but instead we wound up in Tupelo, MS.

Picking up the dirt bike made for quite the adventure.  Not only did Motorcycle Man trust me to drive his handy dandy truck — but I also saw a few of my Arkansas cousins as well as my Uncle B.  When we stopped to say hi to good ole’ Uncle B, he figured out rather quickly that MM was a heavily educated computer geek.  Much more than what I am and in a totally different area than I may ever want to be in.  Uncle B had MM to work in no time.  Our “plan” was to just stop for 10mins or so, that quickly ballooned into a few hours we spent with Uncle B at the shop.  Man oh Man, what an adventure.

As soon as we set foot back in OK, where the dirt bike would call home, MM and his brother unloaded the bike and outfitted me in some motorcycle gear just as a precaution — which means in case I crashed into a tree or wrecked the bike.  I got a quick lesson in the clutch and was supposed to practice on the clutch, letting it in and out.  Instead, I let it out and must’ve given it gas at the right time because I tooook off!  I remember looking behind me asking if I was doing this correctly and both guys yelled in unison to turn around and pay attention to what was in front of me.  Must’ve made em’ a nervous wreck.

I’ve now acquired the “official” dirt bike gear one must have to actually ride and not get hurt.  My boots look strange and somewhat funny because of my smallish feet and well — have you ever seen dirt bike boots?  A majority of my gear is hot pink or black/white.  I don’t have any photos of anything recently or even any outfitted in full gear.  It’s quite a site to put it all on and then ride — thick socks, boots, pants, jersey, chest protector, hydration pack, helmet, gloves and my iPod.  It looks like I’m going into battle when I put all of my gear on and go riding with the boys.  This has definitely been a fun adventure that I hope to continue for years to come.

Bike riding has taken on an adventure of it’s own.  Instead of just the TT-R, I have thoughtfully named this new addiction helper, Carlos.  Actually it’s more along the lines of Carlos the Dirty Mexican —- but that’s more for comical reasons than anything.  I’ve been to a track and I’m slowly learning how to jump, my next “big” adventure involves a race sometime or another.  I’m pretty excited about that and looking forward to when MM decides I’m ‘ready’ to race.  I just know it won’t be anytime soon because of this dang Oklahoma heat!

The picture speaks for itself….the addiction has already begun.