I believe that there is a common misconception that your first bike is temporary, that it comes and goes like a data point on the riding learning curve. Perhaps the details of that bike get lost in the story of your first parking lot drop or your first road trip with buds, all before upgrading to something bigger or better. For me, it was quite the opposite. I did not seek out my first bike, it found me- and ultimately triggered a chain reaction that would alter the course of the rest of my life. A slightly-customized 1975 Yamaha XS650 'cafe' rolled into my universe more than eleven years ago that made me feel like I was super cool and invincible. (Picture the Fonz, as a Mercury 7 Astronaut. THAT was the feeling.) This bike cracked my socially awkward shell, and opened my eyes to a whole new world of wonderful people and destinations. It is still wild to think that an inanimate object was capable of breathing a new life into my soul that forever changed the trajectory of my life.
