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Well today I had a pretty long ride. I started out around my neighborhood and practiced turns, quick stops and starts. Then I went back to the house and picked up my wife. She had all her safety gear on. We rode around the neighborhood. I could tell a difference in how the bike handled. We practiced turns, quick stops and starts for about 30 minutes and then headed out to our post office. It is about 7 miles away. We have a nice drive through the country to get to it. The ride went well so when we left we decided to make a run to the local gas station and grocery store. That was about 10 more miles away. This was the first real traffic I have been in since I started riding again. We made it through the traffic light with no problem. After getting gas we headed up the highway to one of the local BBQ places we like to eat at. That kept us in traffic and on a highway with speeds around 65 mph. By then I was beginning to feel comfortable with how the bike was handling with my passenger on board. She was beginning to move in unison with me on the curves and in the turns. At one point I checked my mirror to see if she was still back there. She was holding on to the handles on either side of the rear seat. After our lunch we headed back out on the highway and toward home. More traffic, signal lights, highway speeds and turns. We did encounter some strong gusts of crosswinds. That was a little unnerving but I slowed and kept the bike on course. Overall we were both pleased and excited about the experience. This is my first bike and we plan to buy her one in the near future. So far I have logged 106 miles on the Honda ST1300, looks like we will log many more.

Dennis, sounds like yall had a nice, relaxed evening cruising around and doing those small errands. Congrats on the first bike (an ST1300???)

Have fun!

I know, that is a pretty large bike. Let me tell you how I came to buy the ST1300. I spoke with several of my friends that have ridden for years. One in particular makes long distance rides. He recommended the BMW 1200, but they were quite a bit more expensive than the Honda. His reasoning was a smaller bike would not be around very long until I was ready for a larger bike. I concluded that I could get accustomed to riding a bigger bike just as easy as I could a smaller bike. I also realize I can wreck a bigger bike just as easy as a smaller bike. I didn't let my ego or machismo convince me to get a biger bike. I let reason and logic guide my selection. I rode regularly about 30 years ago on a Suzuki 500. I took the MSF Basic Riders Course and have been progressing slowly. A good comparison would be a new driver that just got their license doesn't jump out and make a cross country trip on the interstate. Every time I get on my bike I have all my safety gear on and spend time reviewing and practicing the basics. I am comfortable with the weight and balance of the bike and I have adjusted the seat down so I can flatfoot it at a stop. Thanks foir the kind words and encouragement.

By the way I liked the video.