Backseat - From Where I Sit

Comfort- It's Not Just For Whimps Any More

I would like to preface this entire narrative with the words "I am not spoiled". I want to make that perfectly clear. It is just that with age and experience, I feel that I have earned the right to expect certain things. For those of you who think that makes me a non-purest, so be it. I am too set in my ways to argue about it. Personally, I see no sense in waiting 35+ years just to be uncomfortable. It doesn't detract from the overall experience of riding and I don't feel like less of a biker because I demand comfort.

I will speak from my perspective of the passenger. The major difference I see between myself as the passenger and the driver is how we rate a motorcycle. I don't care how large the engine size or how shiny the chrome, if the back seat isn't big enough and the footpegs not large enough to comfortable, it doesn't pass the muster for me. A little fleece goes a long way, but if you have to straddle a seat the size of a postage stamp, it isn't going to be a fun ride. As for the passenger footpegs, since they may as well be mounted on the rear axle of our current bike, even the deluxe pegs we added wear hard on my feet. Inevitably, I am squirming all over the place trying to find a comfortable position to rest my feet after a couple of hours on the road. To me, a new bike will only be considered an upgrade if this situation is remedied.

Now let's consider cold. I am not talking about a pleasant chill on your face giving you that slightly rosy glow. I am talking about that bone-aching cold and spine chilling feeling you can get as the wind creeps past your gloves and up inside your jacket - the kind of cold that can only be remedied by soaking for hours in a hot bath. I have recently discovered the perfect solution to this - a heated vest, which has immediately become my new love. I don't care if you consider this over the line for a "real biker". I can simply smile and turn up the dial on my thermostat to melt away the sting of any icy insults that are hurled at me.

The last thing that makes me wince even to consider it is every bikers dreaded 4 letter word - rain. I haven't met anyone yet who likes to ride in it whether they are a driver or a passenger. My favorite rule of thumb on that one is - don't do it. However, I have had more than my share of experiences where I had no choice but to go for it. No matter what we do to prepare for it, it is still a miserable experience. Even with rain gear, which in itself is awkward and cumbersome to carry around, water somehow manages to pool in very uncomfortable areas. In an effort to cut back on gear that has to be carried, we have tried the emergency garbage bag style ponchos that take up only the tiniest portion of the saddlebag. Unfortunately, when you actually have to use them, you end up rattling louder than the roar of the engine and the amount of steam that mounts under the plastic is the ultimate force to be reckoned with upon removal. There is also this phenomenon that I have discovered inherent in almost all bikers - that inherent sense of invincibility and those famous last words "I can beat the rain cloud home". Unfortunately, it has been my experience that nature almost always wins that contest. Leaving both driver and passenger soggy and unhappy.

Regardless of my whining about all the obstacles mentioned above, I want to end with the statement that I wouldn't trade our bike and our biking experiences for anything in the world. The people we meet and the experiences we share couldn't be done with any other medium. Call me a masochist - but there is a smile on my face even when there is a cramp in my rear end.

Thanks for visiting VirginiaWind.

Travel | Back Seat | Byways | Specials | Letters | Tips | About Us | Privacy | Disclaimer | Search