Yesterday was the nicest weather we’ve had in a long time after a series of cold snaps, rain/snow showers, and flip-flopping conditions. So naturally, I wanted to take advantage and go out on the neighborhood trails with a friend from the ward. And with what do I go out on the trails? Why, my new street-legal Honda CRF 230L enduro motorcycle, of course!
My new ride!
For those of you who might not be aware, I’ve done bikes to some degree or another ever since I was young. That’s not to say I am particularly amazing at tricks or anything, but I always enjoy riding them for some reason. Anyway, back in my college days I used to ride this bundle of joy:
150CCs of RAW POWER!
It wasn’t fancy, but it got me from point A to point B relatively well. Unfortunately, after we moved into our house that sits halfway up a mountain, that scooter had a hard time making it up the hill when I would commute home from work. So when I went looking for a replacement bike that wouldn’t require me retaking the motorcycle driving test, I discovered this lightly used gem that fit my needs for a commuter bike with the awesome added bonus of offering off-trail capabilities to take advantage of the many OHV trails in the area.
Well, today was my second time riding on the trails in about 10 years, so I was a little out of experience, and when I went down the starting path after my friend, disaster struck:
Fortunately, as you could tell from my first picture in the post, I had acquired quite a bit of protective gear that prevented any broken bones, but I am extremely sore right now as I write this, and I have a nice collection of bruises running up the left side of my body.
My bike unfortunately did not fare as well. I snapped the clutch lever on my left handle bar and shattered my left-side rear-view mirror. Easy fixes, but that put a quick stop to my shenanigans for the day.
My favorite part about the first picture that I just noticed was my son Daniel’s bike in the background. Pretty funny comparison 🙂