Acceptance
It all sort of happened by mistake. There was a clear mission to get the hell
out of town and just go for a ride. I was getting grumpy - a little early in
winter to develop cabin fever.
The mistake part was I never planned to take a passenger - it was meant to be
a few days alone, or with a few friends if they chose to come along. There was
no plan that included Althea, daughter number two. But she was three weeks away
from bundying off to Texas as an exchange student for six months, and we discussed
the ride the night before I left.
Then the realisation came: she wouldn't miss anything of value if she piffed
school the next day, and it would be our last chance for half a year to have
a few days together. So why don't you come along, Ms A? It says a little about
our family that this isn't the first time I've assisted one of my daughters
in wagging school.
So, in a confused plot, we loaded up Mac the Valk, left wife/mother Ms M snr
with a garbled message - via the mobile speaking trumpet - that she needed to
call the school to explain Ms A's absence and headed off. An aside here. Apparently
we had to drop something off to Ms A’s mate, Ruby. Did that and, despite
the fact our lifestyle is well under the usual radar of family approval, we
got supporting waves from the front porch as Mac’s pipes spat noise up
the quiet suburban hill more used to the mumble of Camrys.
One of the nice things about a big lump like Mac is there's no planning involved.
Well not much. You take a pannier each for clothes, and the topbox is reserved
for important stuff like cameras and spare runners. Or make-up. I try not to
use too much, but Ms A has some needs, apparently.
We headed onto the landscape, over some familiar roads, for what was an easy
1000km round trip. And had a hell of a time. One thing I love about travelling
with my kids is that we have completely different takes on what we see, or want
to do. For example we finally pulled in to a power station east of Khancoban
- about the umpteenth time we'd both flashed past the front gate, and finally
had a squiz.
And enjoyed playing tourist dorks, pushing buttons in the mini museum, pointing
at things and going "ooh, aah, loogatthat". Or simply cruising along
some of the world's best roads - many of which you won't find on a map - and
being alive while astride large, powerful, and possibly dangerous machinery.
It was also a settling of something that went awry in our motorcycle relationship
some years ago. We had a few adventures on another tourer, Shaun the ST, and
I sold the bike while hopelessly underestimating Ms A's attachment to it. She
got caught out on this trip by Rodge the wood-turner, who asked her about her
own bike.
Now she has one – a very tidy Suzuki TS185. But she interpreted the question
differently. And went on to talk about Shaun the ST1100, the red monster that
took her on a couple of major adventures as pillion when she was 11, then got
sold, and then written off in a crash by his new owner. The owner apologised
by email. But Ms A hasn’t really forgiven him for killing it, or me for
selling it. That she raised it in discussion four or so years later in such
a short life really struck me.
This was confirmation that it's not the bike that’s important, but the
memories it supplies are invaluable. She never really forgave me for selling
that machine.
The latest trip went some way towards healing the emotional wound. Mac is now
accepted because A and I had a great time on it. We didn’t go as fast as
on Shaun, though we had a go a couple of times, scraping the nether regions
of the toy and firing it out of turns. She knows what I’m up to and gets
a little frustrated by a combination of things. First, she’d really love
to grab the handlebars and feel what some weirdo six-cylinder monster feels
like at the sharp end; Second, I suspect she’d also like to grab hold of
the whole touring plot – clutch dad by the ears and say, “We’re
wagging work today, Ill call your boss.”
When she comes back from Texas, she’ll be half a year older – which
is a lot when you’re going on 16. I think she’s accepted Mac, and
can’t wait for the next ride.
Guy "Guido" Allen
Return to top