Beginnings

April 2015, around 0800hrs.

It’s a sunny spring morning, and I’m driving to work in my wife’s ten-year old Corolla. The ubiquitous Toyota is the only vehicle we own. Having just moved out to the suburbs, the intent was to eventually get a second car.

A few blocks from work, a motorbike merges ahead of my car. I recognised the loud green house colours of Kawasaki, but it was the rider that caught my eye. A petite woman, wearing pressed lightweight black trousers, trainers, and a hoodie – likely, I supposed – over a suit jacket. Despite the fact the attire would not please the ATGATT police, I thought she looked decidedly cool. The exposed element of soft formal wear seemed at odds with the hard metal frame and aggressive styling of her ride, but the whole get-up worked.

My attention was drawn to the bike as the car moved closer. This was obviously somebody commuting, and It seemed an interesting choice of vehicle. I didn’t know much about bikes, but I knew of the Ninja brand name. At the time I thought that denoted a top-line performance bike, but I now know it to have been a 250R; Kawasaki’s entry-level sport bike:

I really liked the way the bike looked; the utility of it, the fun. It stayed with me all day until I got home, and I hit Google and started learning more about the world of motorbikes. This started me down a road that would eventually lead me to ownership of my very own bike, but that would be some months off, and I’ll be writing the rest of the story.

I’m sure the internet is thrilled.