Apology and Promise

I know I haven't posted anything since May 9 (yikes!) and for that unannounced hiatus, I apologize. As an excuse of sorts, I must plead "happiness." I have come to realize that many of my essays derive from my unhappiness, disquiet, or just plain curmudgeoness. Lately those sources have been unavailable to me, as I am going through a period of unexpected happiness and contentment. A beautiful woman has come into my life and given me a great gift -- the knowledge that love, and all that goes with it, is still possible at my age, and that I am incredibly lucky to have found it. As a consequence, I will be attempting to write for a while about the amazing circumstances that brought us together, and what I am learning from the whole process. Of course, as always, you can count on all of what I write to be a combination of non-fiction autobiographic material, and wholly made-up stuff for purely entertainment purposes. It shouldn't really matter to you which is which because, no matter what, all of what I write is truth from my perspective. My promise is to do my best to be more regular with my posts.

But before I get started down that road, my first essay, which follows, is all about some particular trials and tribulations of mine as I took up the hobby of motorcycling. I wrote it a few years back, but I have had some recent requests for it, so here it is . . .