Allow me to present my Dark Horse: The Suzuki VStrom 1000. This oddly named bike, one NOT named after Strom Thurmond, by the way, has been an on-again/off-again contender for quite some time. I have to admit, I was smitten with the Buell Ulysses for quite some time I but I think the overall ride-ability of the of the VStrom wins out in the end. When will I get my bike? Well, I'm just not sure. I have to live up to my end of the bargain I made with the household CFO. My goals are clearly defined, I know what I need to do and how to accomplish these goals so I have no excuse.
In fact today I got up an hour early and hit the road, walking, for the first time in MONTHS. I enjoyed the walk immensely. I did NOT enjoy getting out of bed one hour early but once up I didn't miss the extra sleep. Besides, if I stick to it, along with everything else I have to, I could have ridden my motorcycle into work today. Got to stay motivated!
So, what about the books? Last night I intended to start The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, a memoir about growing up the child of alcoholic parents. Sounds enjoyable. Turns out Kelly wants to read the book too, and at the same time, and she needed to look over some things for work before bed last night (my preferred reading time). So I put that book down and picked up The Moveable Feast by Earnest Hemingway. This book is another memoir about Hemingway's life in Paris, France in the early 1920s. The book reads quickly and seems to be a collection of short stories about the people and goings-on in Paris at the time.
It turns out that Hemingway was friends with Gertrude Stein of all people. So far the funniest dialog in the book are conversations between Hemingway and Stein, what a hoot it would have been to be a fly on the wall during their conversations! Hemingway also mentions the river Seine icing over in the winter. I wonder, with global warming continuing at such a rapid pace, does the Seine ever ice over in the winter?
Life in Paris during the early part of last century seems to have been enjoyable, except Hemingway's apartment had no toilet or hot running water. Still, sitting alone under a tree at a Parisian cafe in Spring with a book, a loaf of warm, fresh bread, fresh whipped butter and a liter of wine sounds like a very enjoyable way to pass the time on a temperate afternoon. As poor as Hemingway made himself (and his wife) to be, financially speaking, it sounds as if they were able to enjoy life.
Work calls. Literally. Better get back to it.
2 comments:
Oooohh ahhhh yes that is a nice bike. Yes that would do nicely.
I'll probably have my DR by the end of the month and will probably ride tsomeplace south of here once I've got 1,000 local break-in miles on the clock (which shouldn't take long). Wifey pooh is suggesting that I should take a ride to Savannah but I don't know if that's far enough.
A buddy of mine at work has a VStrom. It's a very fun and practical bike. He's put a windscreen, and hard bags on it, and it makes an excellent commuter bike. i would definitely recommend it. He keeps telling me that I need to take it for a spin, so when I do so, I'll send you my review. ;-)
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