Well, who would have known? After five years, I finally got myself a new bike again - a Honda CBR 600 RR. It's a great bike, I always loved looking at it, and the only reason I had to do without a bike for so long was that I didn't have a garage to put it in. Now I have it (have had it for a year), and it's time to live dangerously again.

The bike is from craigslist, the owner a nice kid that was terribly concerned about my wrecking it when I got there for a test ride. I didn't feel very confident, but his fretting made me downright anxious.

Of course, the first thing that happens is that I kill the engine. Hoa (that's the guy's name) immediately had me sign a "you down it, you buy it waiver", and repeated probably twenty times that if I felt uncomfortable, I should just come back later.

I persevered, much to his dissatisfaction, and put on my jacket. It took a while - it hasn't been used for a long time, and the zipper wouldn't lock. Hoa was terrified, as he saw me clawing the zipper shut, thinking I must just have gotten the jacket that very day.

I sat on the bike, and my muscles remembered. The most surprising thing was that I had forgotten pretty much everything about bikes, but my muscles knew. I wouldn't know how the bike gets into neutral; I wouldn't know which direction shifts up, which on shifts down; I forgot how to operate the turn signal. I forgot a lot more - but my muscles didn't need any instructions.

Take the pedal brake: I didn't know it existed any longer, but my feet pushed on it instinctively. I didn't even know why my right foot was pushing, but I slowed down as desired. The same is true for clutch handling, accelerating, and finally the turn signal.

My colleague Jim and I took off: he drove behind me in the car, while I tried to maneuver traffic and slick roads (it was drizzling) home. I remembered the route back, fortunately, since it had been the GPS system's suggestion. I was shaky at first, and cautious till last, but the bike is in the garage now and I am happy as a clam!