It's always sad when someone leaves this earthly plain but we all go sooner or later. Two weeks ago my Dad passed away and the hole he left will be tough to fill. Dad began his motorcycle career before I was born, reputedly on an Indian Chief. He became a motorcycle dealer in the mid 1950s and carried on doing repairs until about 1977. Other interests took over and he moved away although the remains of his shop were moved into the back of his garage at home. After skiing, bicycle riding and bowling he returned to riding and continued until two years ago at age 90. His body just wore out on him with failing kidneys and a heart that just weaker by the day. Eventually he simply passed in his sleep. The end of an era.
In my family myself and two brothers ride along with my younger sister who took the MSF rider course. Two grandchildren have licenses so the blood passes on. Hopefully there will be a Zeiser descendant riding for years to come, all started by my Dad. Dad's motorcycle is going to one of my brothers who hopefully will put it to good use.
In other news I began to work on my fleet of bicycles in preparation for the fifteen mile bicycle tour in Pleasant Valley next month. I did it last year on my oldest bike and hope this year to use my newest weapon with all the modern bells and whistles on the tour. It's pretty amazing how fast you can lose conditioning and I have taken some hilly two mile rides the last two days to begin getting ready. With any luck my muscle memory will reawaken and I can stop breathing so heavily every time the road rises a little. I even have one of Dad's bicycles in reserve to use if mine begins to falter during my ride prep.
In the meantime I have gotten my motorcycles inspected and should be doing some miles on those too. The warm weather has opened up my opportunities and I will be seeing the world on two wheels more often. I'll let you know how it goes.