March 6 - Maiden Voyage with My new Baby

I’m in love and he’s hot – my new bike that is! When I first started looking for a new bike, I knew I hoped to get a Softail Slim again so I could transfer over all my customized parts. I also wanted the bike equipped with ABS as that safety feature has saved me in more than one difficult situation in the past. But I never dreamed I would get one that actually made my heart throb – the Billiard Red is gorgeous! Riding down the road today on my maiden voyage with my new Baby I kept looking at the color and saying “Wow.”

I had planned on taking a longer ride on the new Baby today. But late last night after driving the bike home from the dealership, several good friends informed me that it is important to break a bike in by driving it at varying speeds and low RPMs for the first 500-1000 miles. So, I decided to take it easy on the new bike and go all backroads for a few hundred miles instead.

Today’s ride took me south on 99E past beautiful Willamette Falls and then along highway 213 south through fields, orchards, and vineyards to Stayton, and Brownsville. From there I headed to Creswell and  on back roads including territorial highway to Florence. I thought it was fitting to introduce the new bike to the coast as he had never been there. So we headed north on highway 101 along much of the Oregon coastline.

What a glorious day with the sun shining off the white-capped ocean waves, seagulls flying through the bright blue sky, and the shimmering water cascading in ripples to the light sandy beaches. We passed sand dunes, rocky outcroppings, and green forested areas as we drove through Yachats, Waldport, Seal Beach, Newport, Lincoln City, and Tillamook before heading east on highway 6.  

Here’s looking forward to many wonderful days ahead on the new Baby!