Gearing up for 2009

52,131.
That's the starting mileage on the Triumph. It's the first time since '06 I've bothered to check the odometer on New Years. It's also quite depressing, because I remember crossing the 50k mark on the last leg of my cross country trip that July. That was two and a half years ago now. Two and a half very long years in motorcycling terms, what with my accident, Lynn's accident and a bout of panic every time anyone started off on a bike for the next several months. But lately I've found myself packing away that part of my life. Oddly, though, instead of moving on I'm moving backwards, regressing, and I'm fine with it. Tony and I have been venturing slowly back out onto the ice in skate and shoots- unfortunately for Tony, it's not easy to keep a low profile with leg pads on. He's got some league paperwork waiting for him to fill out.
Today, I got out a little on the Triumph, trying to decide if I should ride up to a shop that has a demo bike I might want. I'm torn about whether I can move on to another bike. Tony is in even worse shape, trying to figure out which bikes go or stay and what to do, what to do. It's a good problem to have, much better than whether we can afford to have any at all, and I realize that. But it doesn't make the decisions easier.
Anyway, in both situations, I was pleasantly surprised to find my gear was in decent shape and fit perfectly. And there's something about putting on the gear, ritualistic little motions that change perspective on things so drastically.  It was like slowly taking bits of my past back. I don't know if I'll ever play hockey the way I used to. I don't know if I'll ever consider my bike my primary means of transportation either. But I realize now that I can still get out and skate a few laps or ride a few miles if I want. And that's really kind of cool.