As many of you know, Jim and I got into motorcycling recently. It had an altruistic beginning. I wanted to start riding a scooter to and from work (25-miles round trip) because I felt guilty about driving a 5-passenger, gas-guzzling car every day. At one point in my life, I was a regular bicycle commuter, but with dogs to keep exercised on long walks every morning, I didn't have enough time to add in a 2-hour bike commute. Public transportation options were abysmal from our suburban home. It would take me three buses and nearly 2-hours one way to work, including about 1-1/2 miles of walking. A scooter seemed like a reasonable alternative, and of course, it sounded fun. So, in the spring of 2008 while Jim was in the Arctic, I signed up for a motorcycle instruction course and started looking at Vespas and the like. 
When Jim returned home, and I told him about the class, he said "Great, when are WE taking it?" That's when I knew I wouldn't be buying a little scooter.Two weeks after we finished our class, we bought a 1994 BMW K75. We were so new at this, that we didn't even dare to take it for a test drive, but rather had the owner deliver it to our house. Our first rides were around our neighborhood. I spent a lot of time in the local elementary school parking lot and then driving to and from work. I learned a lot in the first few months of commuting, including that I can
pick up a 500+ pound motorcycle that I've dropped in front of my Mom. Despite being a bit big for me, the K75 was a great beginner bike. It was a very easy bike once I was underway, and with three inline cylinders, it was smooth but not overpowered. The only problem was we needed another bike so that we could ride together.Before we found that other bike, we decided to move to Italy. We figured that Italy was full of motorcycles that we could buy, so we sold the K75 and started looking for bikes after we arrived. But, there were complications. First, whatever we bought would have to be sold before we left for the U.S. since we couldn't import motorcycles with European specs. Second, it was difficult to set up meetings, let alone negotiate, with our limited Italian. Finally, we would have to go through a tortuous licensing process to get used Italian bikes exported from Italy and imported into the Armed Forces Italy licensing system, a requirement for all of our vehicles while Jim works for NATO. Jim was frustrated with all of the hurdles, so he started investigating BMW's military sales program and discovered that we could buy new discounted bikes and avoid paying tax until we import them into the U.S. Although new BMW bikes aren't cheap, the deal was pretty enticing. After a bit of debate, we ordered two new bikes in August.
Jim will want me to disclose that it wasn't his idea to buy enduro bikes (off-road/on-road), but rather my insistence on buying the F650GS "forced him" into buying his 1200GS. Jim probably would have bought a sport or touring motorcycle, but since a co-worker first suggested the F650GS to me, I've had my heart set on it, not because it's a beautiful bike (the Moto Guzzi Breva 750 is a beautiful bike), but because the F650GS was right for me. I like the size and weight of the bike, and I like the notion that I can drive anywhere that I have the willingness to go.
Two months after we placed our order, our bikes were ready. Coincidentally, the pick-up date was the day after Jim's birthday, so the last weekend in October, we drove to Germany in a rental van and collected the bikes. No surprise, but Jim and I always feel a bit out of place when we go into a BMW dealership. This time was no different. It probably didn't help that we had camped in the van with Bella and Bruno in front of the dealership Sunday night. Despite our disheveled appearance, they were very kind to us, giving us coffee, loading our bikes into our van for us, and sending us off with a bottle of champagne. Around midnight Monday night we unloaded the bikes at our home.
The instructions in our manuals for breaking in the bikes say "Try to do most of your riding during this initial period on twisting, fairly hilly roads...." If you know where we live, you will find this instruction funny. I can count nine hairpin turns on the 3-mile road from town (sea level) to our house (1,500 feet). For our inaugural ride on Saturday, we spent 20-minutes negotiating some traffic near town, and then we drove 40 miles following the Vara River to the medieval town of Varese Ligure. The back roads here are a dream to ride: empty, twisty, and incredibly scenic. In Varese Ligure, we walked around, had a cappuccino, and then rode home, enjoying the sunshine and the fall colors. Late Sunday afternoon, we drove up into the hills above our house on gravel and small paved roads. We drove to the end of a long ridge and stopped to enjoy the view over the local mountains, the Apennines, which were bathed in light from the full moon. We are in motorcycle nirvana.
