What a long weekend and it turned out very nice for riding the trike, we put a lot of miles on it. I think I mentioned that we had gel inlays sewn into the seat of the trike, mine is very comfortable now, but Bill says his feels the same as before which is weird because his is double. We had to use the sheep skin on his seat  yesterday so his tale bone wouldn’t hurt so bad. He was going to buy those gel pads that you just lay on your seats to relieve pressure points until we saw Mike at this one motorcycle event we stopped at.

We watched Mike do it right on the spot and it only took about 30 minutes to take the seat apart and insert the gel. This guy travels to a lot of motorcycle events all over and I took one of his cards so I could check out his web site which is Real Deal Customs. I told him I’d leave a comment about how well I liked it, which I really do, but I don’t want to leave a negative comment about Bill’s part till we get it looked at. We might have to take a ride down to Cecil County in Maryland to see if there’s something Mike can do.

It would be a nice ride and if we take I-83 the Google map says we’ll get there in an hour and 45 minutes, but we’ll take the GPS just encase we get lost. We’ve been known to ride around in circles and we’re both good at getting lost so that Gps really comes in handy for us. We need to get a mount for the motorcycle though because I don’t want to hold it all the way down. I was so happy that Bill was able to come up with another way to mount my passenger arm rests on the trike now I feel like I could ride for hours.

What more could an old broad ask for, gel for her butt, all kicked back with her arm rests which has a cup holder for her water and the man she loves cruising along enjoying God’s country, almost heaven. He jokingly said he’d strap a DVD player to his helmet so I can watch movies on those long trips, I prefer looking at scenery though so that’s out. Seriously though I’m quite happy with this setup and I feel more secure as I get older riding on this trike instead of the Harley Softail we use to have or the Harley Dresser we traded in.

We had a great ride today on the trike, it was hot and sunny and I made sure I had sunblock on because last year I didn’t and got totally burnt up and under my eyes didn’t get sun and I looked like a raccoon all year except I had white all around my eyes instead of dark circles. I am so happy with the trike and I feel more secure now even though Bill has always been a very safe rider and we never take chances, but still because of a lot of friends wrecking I of course worried.

Bill’s been riding for 45 years and he’s a very safe and cautious rider and I feel totally at ease when I ride behind him. When they stopped the helmet law, I decided not to wear one and so did he for awhile, but then he felt he was sending a bad signal to his son who also rides so he decided to wear his helmet again. He worries a lot about his son, even though he’s in his 30′s and a very safe rider himself because Bill taught him.

When I was younger and rode with my friends I don’t remember ever seeing the bikers acknowledging each other with a hand gesture as they do now, but Bill tells me he and his Dad always have. It seems that bikers have grown into a more respectful and courteous bunch than the biker gangs of old and just because you ride a bike now it doesn’t mean you are a rebel looking for trouble. People from all walks of life enjoy this past time.

The Vietnam Vet really took to this and every year there is a motorcycle ride to visit The Wall in Washington. I have never been on this ride, but I’m sure it would be an exhilarating experience, but from what I’ve heard from those that have made the run is that it’s slow going once you get there and it’s hard on the bikes with all the idling and gear changes, but it’s a respectful thing to do with all your brothers to honor those that didn’t make it back.

Bill and I have been together six years and I love riding behind him and that’s when I first noticed the greeting he always gave to other bikers. I didn’t ask him about it because I didn’t want him to think I was stupid so I simply watched and observed. I have never seen him give the wave or nod to crotch rockets or mopeds unless it’s an older gentleman and it’s done out of respect, it’s funny now that we have the trike every time we pass one he gives a big thumbs up.

I have no clue if it’s an equality thing or not, like since you ride the same thing as I do you have my full respect therefore I salute you or if it’s simply showing respect for the freedom to ride and enjoying the same thing. I have seen Bill use the arm extended down with 1 finger pointed out, the arm extended 2 finger flip, arm extended with palm out, fingers extended from the handle bar and a nod of the head.

He always laughs when someone puts their hand up in the air and waves, I have heard this called the geek wave and I’m sure there are many other names for it. Bikers sometimes get offended when they make a gesture and it isn’t returned, like when he started wearing his helmet again and he would make the hand gesture to someone who wasn’t and if they didn’t return the same he thought they thought he was a wimp for wearing his helmet or maybe he just said that to make me laugh.

I have no clue of what the proper etiquette is for the biker salute or even if there is one, but I do know enough from being with Bill to never stick my hand up in the air and wave, I have however imitated his arm extended finger down greeting or 2 finger flip because it looks so cool when he does it and it makes me feel cool when I do it. I don’t wear a lot of Harley stuff but Bill loves to fly his colors.

While out riding today testing out my arm rests that he so cleverly modified for the trike we ran into a motorcycle happening with vendors and stopped to look around we decided to have gel inserted into the seat to make for a smoother ride for our buttocks. They put double gel into Bill’s seat and I got a single and we watched him do it and it was very interesting to see him take the seat apart and put it back together.

We rode awhile longer and I could really tell the difference, but I don’t think Bill is sold on it yet, hopefully tomorrow it will be a better ride for him. Just since we’ve had the trike he’s already invested over a 1,000 dollars more. He keeps saying he’s not going to do too much too soon, but he can’t seem to help himself, he wants it the way he wants it right now, but he is making a list so his kids will know what to buy him instead of asking him what he needs. I’ve Got to go so have a great one.

I ordered my passenger arm rests from J&P cycles online they were a bit expensive, but then anything you buy any more has an inflated price especially accessories for a Harley even the after market products are high that’s why we love swap meets sometimes we have found some really good deals. I was so excited to get them and it only took 3 days, I opened the box and stared at the chrome and imagined them already on the bike and traveling in luxury with my cup holder attached.

I was horrified when we tried to put them on last night and the darn things didn’t fit. The instructions they sent also sucked so I went online to see if I could find better ones, I found it funny when I typed in “passenger arm rests for champion trikes” and my blog was first on the search list. When we ordered them we hadn’t really thought about maybe they wouldn’t be usable for a trike because I’ve seen them on trikes before. Bill tried every position possible and even raised the tour pack because there wasn’t much space to add them.

If we still had the 2 wheel Harley dresser they would have been a piece of cake to add, talk about frustration and my vision of luxury and comfort going down the drain. Bill said this morning that he may be able to modify it with a length of steel attached under the tour pack so he could extend the holes out further and make it possible for me to have these, if anyone can come up with an idea that will work it’s Bill and not destroy the trike in the process or make it look dorky.

The thought of repacking my beautiful passenger arm rests and sending them back feels me with dread. At any rate I hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend with sunny skys we’re suppose to have rain all weekend, but that’s subject to change although it doesn’t look very promising right now.

We picked up the trike last night so we have it for the weekend and everything hopefully is now fixed. We’re going to take it out for a bit when Bill gets home from work since it’s sunny. Bill went to the eye doctor yesterday and the doctor wasn’t too pleased with the pressure, he has glaucoma and has been putting drops in his eyes for years to keep the pressure under control so now we have to go next week so a colleague can examine him and see if he will need surgery.

He’s been afraid of losing his sight for years and now this news has us concerned. I think the worse part for him would be to never ride his bike again. The pressure has never been this high before and they showed him a film about what could happen to his eyeballs if the pressure isn’t kept under control. We are just hoping the surgery will correct the problem and he wont have to do the drops any more. I know his sister-in-law had some surgery done and her eyes seem to be okay now, but that might have been for something else.

We’ll find out more next Wednesday, but of course in the mean time he will be a nervous wreck. He worries more than anyone I have ever met, no wonder he has high blood pressure with all the stress he puts himself through. He tends to think of himself as unlucky and always expects the worst I on the other hand do try to be positive and force him to see things in a different light even though I am unipolar. I do try not to be down all the time and expect the worse scenario. At any rate I hope everyone has a great weekend if it doesn’t rain we’ll definitely be out on the trike.