There is a big gap between where I am and where I need to be to complete the goals for Be Gone For Good. I have big dreams but I am here with my feet on the ground trying to battle with the reality of my current situation. The only way I can get better is to put in the work.
This is the thought too easily lost on most. Lofty ideas and promises of future glory are simple to conjure up. We do it all the time and with some of the most outlandish imaginary worlds. It is only when the path to those riches is marked and we see the trials necessary to make our goals happen, do people back off. When the realization hits them that success follows dedication and work long after the excitement has died.
Luckily, I am still very much in the beginning stages now so every moment on the bike is exhilarating and new. I am breaking fresh ground with every minute under power. I am learning at an amazing clip and I hope to continue doing so for many more weeks and months.
There will however come a time when it is just about grinding out the miles. It will be about getting my body hardened for the long literal road ahead. It is these moments where grit becomes vital. I am no different from you. You have this same grit. You have this same resolve. You just need to use it in an effort to bring your dreams to life.
Make the first steps in a bold way and follow the excitement in order to have the momentum to carry you through the muddy passes ahead. You will find your passion increases as you put forth the work to achieve. Start your own ride.
The bike came home yesterday like a long remembered dream materializing directly in front of my eyes. The excitement I felt manifested itself in a vibration in the joints of my fingers and a hand reaching through my belly button to squeeze and release my stomach like an Olympian’s grip strength exercise.
The mixture of elation and anxiety swirled in my head with each one threatening to overtake the other moment to moment. My first ride began with a slow, deliberate dressing process as I donned more gear than would seem necessary for someone scared to go beyond 20mph. I threw my leg over the bike the way every hero does in the cool biker movies and just like I had practiced in my mind a thousand times. Once I was on the bike, I tried thinking about all the steps I need to get started and on the road. It didn’t take long for me to familiarize myself with the bike. Maybe it had something to do with the hundreds of videos detailing every inch of the bike I watched over the last two weeks.
My first ride felt like I was flying. Moving, even at that speed, it is easy to lose the front wheel and the handlebars altogether and imagine, like Superman, you are driven by your own power. It was exhilarating.
For about two months now I have been planning for incredible trips and researching every angle I could find. The one thing I was missing was the all important transport. I know which bike I wanted but I hadn’t figured out how to bring it home. Unfortunately, I can’t operate it myself because I don’t know how to ride a motorcycle and I don’t have a license. On Saturday, it all changes.
The weather is going to break just long enough to bring the bike home. I have a buddy that is willing to drive the bike back. The insurance is already purchased and I have the VIN number on file. I can’t help but feel like I am moving from the theoretical to the reality portion of this idea.
There will be plenty of video evidence to chronicle the event.
The winner after much deliberation is the Honda CB500X. There are a few reasons for this choice which I will get into here but for a moment can we just enjoy the beauty of my first ever motorcycle? Thank you. We can now proceed.
I can breakdown the factors I used to choose this bike into three categories: Price, Reliability and Capability.
Price – This adventure bike is a great value for what you get. It isn’t going to blow your hair back with any particular skill but it is perfectly competent in several areas that might otherwise be overlooked by similar priced bikes. As I plan to do most of my riding on tarmac with the occasional meander off road I wanted something I could be comfortable on for lengthy road rides. This bike is essentially Honda’s street bike with some minor changes to make your ride a bit less aggressive. It can also handle some light off road jaunts while only showing it’s deficiencies in some of the more technical or harsher landscapes. There is also a package that can be bought to make the transition to off road more solid. (More on that later.)
Reliability – I am not a mechanic but I feel confident in my ability to pick up just about anything. The good news is with the standard Honda engine that is found on the CB500X there are very few places in the world where I won’t find mechanics with experience to take the tough work off my hands. This engine couldn’t be less exotic and with the several models of Honda currently supported by it, the commonality is remarkable. Everything on this bike is made to last and very few owners have any gripes after logging some serious miles. That means a great deal to me as I want to spend my time riding and not in a cold garage figuring out just how much I don’t know.
Capability – This aspect is more longview but is one of the more exciting things about the CB500X. Rally Raid has developed an add-on kit to take the Honda CB500X’s off road capabilities from passable to respectable. It includes a pretty significant overhaul including wheels, rear suspension with your choice of spring rates, front fork hardware and some other miscellaneous items to completely retrofit this bike for adventure capabilities. This kit isn’t cheap at $3000 dollars but will definitely get you a solid mid-size adventure bike for sub $10k. The below video is a review of the Rally Raid kit as well as some other accessories which can be purchased in the US from Giant Loop.
With all that information it wasn’t a hard choice to settle on the Honda. I found one at a dealer about 60 miles away from my home and a buddy of mine is going to go pick it up with me. The deposit is down and within a fairly short amount of time I will have the bike. Subscribe to this blog to get more updates as I outfit this bike and start my adventure riding.
We have our first trip being discussed right now. As the journey becomes more clear we will get details out to you so if you are along our path we can meet up.
