How and why did I get into Motorbikes?

Gary, you were asking...
Here is my own albeit unspectacular story about how and why I got into motorcycling.

I was not born to ride. In fact I hated bicycles, because from where I used to live, everything seemed to go uphill.

There was this young fellow, Lothar, the neighbour's son. I had a bad crush on him. He was the wild one, with a black leather jacket, long hair, and a bit of a scarface. He was maybe 15, had an intoxicating smile, looked a bit dangerous, and was oh so cool. But I digress.

He rode what I thought was the coolest bike at that time. A Honda Monkey. Please forgive me, I was seven and easily to be impressed.

One fine day while my brother and I were (pedal) go cart racing in the yard, Lothar zipped around us, stopped in front of me (be still my heart), and asked me something along the lines of Here's looking at you, kid! No wait, wrong movie.

However, suddenly I found myself on the back of that moped, nose and hands buried in his worn out leather jacket. It was only a ride around the block in shorts and sandals, no helmet, no gear. Of course it had to be that the very moment we turned around the corner my mom spotted us... She must have had a special radar for such things. Lothar, my hero, got in trouble, I got a bad burn from the hot exhaust when dismounting the bike, and a memory that lasts a lifetime.

This event made me a dedicated pillion rider on many occasions until my brother got the motorcycle endorsement along with his car driving license, a package that my parents had denied me... so unfair! So, just because... I saved up and paid for it out of my own pocket, and got my own motorcycle, too.

I kept riding along with my "dispousal unit" many years when one day we found out that our views on life weren't compatible anymore. We eventually parted ways without fighting or battling over property, and we are still good friends. I pursued my career, and constant changes in life and career took priority over motorcycling at that time. In fall 1998 I sold my last bike.

Fast forward to Christmas 2008: Another life, another partner, another continent. We sat with our friends over a bowl of strong brandy punch when Guido and I started reminiscing about 'the good ole days of motorcycling'.  The seed was planted. The sleeper awoke.

Right on cue I got laid off during the beginning of recession, and took that as a sign to start shopping for a reasonable priced re-entry bike. I was back in the saddle on a Honda NT650 Hawk GT in summer 2009.