
August of 2011 Sophia's master sends me an instant message "I think I should get a new Multistrada and you should get a husband." Ha! I got a great laugh over that as we'd never even discussed the possibility of marriage. That was on a Monday; Tuesday I got the same message. By Wednesday it had changed to "Well, did you pick out a ring yet?" I was floored and all I could respond with was "You were serious?!"

I spent the entire summer on the back of that bike, but I was still wanting more. The spring of 2013 rolled around and again, I was eager to get out on 2 wheels. In fact, I frequently wanted to ride more than my husband. After one too many "not today" responses to my plea of "Are we going riding?" I had enough. I found the schedule for the local MSF course, paid my fee and announced I was getting my license. We spent an entire weekend looking at bikes in my size range for Rogue is a bit vertically challenged. Everyone had the same suggestion: get a used Honda Rebel, get a small Harley... erm... I'm going to have go with 'no.' Those just aren't my preferences. I'm a sportbike girl. I sat on a Ducati Monster 696 (it was okay, but didn't excite me), I checked out the Honda CBR250RR (no one should ever make that face sitting on a brand new motorcycle), and finally the new Ninja 300. As soon as my hiney hit that seat and I leaned over the tank, I knew I had found my bike. But, I wasn't going to set myself up for heartbreak - I had a course to pass and a license to obtain.

I passed my class the next weekend, went to the local DMV with my pass certificate, took the written test, and just like that I was a fully licensed rider. I was qualified to ride any bike I wanted around a vacant lot! (This will make more sense in a subsequent post.) Off I went back to the Kawasaki dealer where this gorgeous thing just followed me home!
And on May 25, 2013 the Adventures of Rogue began! Well, sorta... they got off to a slow start because there was no way that I, with my parking lot qualifications, was riding a shiny new bike 20 miles home through major traffic during rush hour.