For those who read my last entry, this is a continuation of my revival of Motorcycle riding with a Pillion. After a long absence, initiated by a gymnastic get off and a lot of pain, my Wife has again begun to ride with me.

Episode 2 was a bit of a set-back, but not too bad. The day started out by meeting at the sitters, and heading out from there. The plan....Dinner and a Movie (but in the reverse order). We planned to hit the discount Cinema about 20 miles away, and grab something in the vicinity to eat after.

First surprise...picking the movie. Choices were plentiful, we don't get out much. After some discussion, i was surprised when she chose the Simpsons Movie. She doesn't like the Simpsons. Oh well, shows I am loved I guess.

As we headed out, I immediately got in trouble for exceeding the posted speed limit. I tried to tell her about how the speedo was off by 10%, but as with any LEO you try that on, she wasn't buying it (even tho it IS true). We made it about 1 mile before discussion was raised about nixxing the night...no way was I going to ride 20 miles without ever exceeding 45 mph...She relaxed a bit, I calmed down a bit, and we continued on.

I (re)learned stuff I had forgotten in 1 week. She doesn't like to lean, or accelerate. Stopping can be painful if she isn't ready, as the tank doesn't have much give for sensitive areas. She continued to work on using the passenger bars (not a great plan, they don't seem to be in the right place) or supporting herself by resting on my legs. Resting on the tank for a short person made it feel like I was wearing a wife backpack....I try to keep her off my back as it is!

We made it to the Theater in one piece, and enjoyed popcorn and holding hands like teenagers (teenagers of my era, not todays teens). The movie was good, the Theater sucked more than usual. Bad sound, not good smell. Popcorn was good, and quite filling.

After the movie was surprise #2. As we played our usual 'I don't care, where do you want to eat" game, but with a vast communication problem caused by full face helmets at 35 mph, I indicated a Chinese Buffet. She agreed! It's not that she doesn't like Chinese food. It's that she likes basically anything else, and twice as much. The problem for her with Chinese food is the severe lack of cheese. She loves cheesy foods.

They had a good Salad bar, sushi rolls crab legs and shrimp, as well as Craw fish (how the heck do you eat those???) as well as the regular fair of Moo Goo Gui Pan etc. Price for dinner was outrageous for Chinese Buffet, but overall we enjoyed it.

After Dinner we slabbed it back home, no fun roads like last week, just the feeling of the wind and her arms wrapped around me at times (through 2 armored jackets and clothing...even my mom wouldn't have been embarrassed to see). I of course got in trouble again for squidly behavior...I actually exceeded 7K rpm while going from 1-50 mph....shame on me. She yelled at me, i slowed down and we putted back to the sitters house.

Overall....I think a scooter would be more in line with our current ride style, but at least this way I get to wave to the other bikes, where on a scooter I may not. Maybe next week will see more relaxing on the speed front...but then again maybe not...only time will tell.