Wheels

This book is a three-year window into my son Jean-Luc's life, as well as my own.  It consists of 31 stories, simply because I was 31 years old when Jean-Luc was born. The book begins with Jean-Luc's first motorcycle ride at age 5, chronicles various two-wheel adventures and experiences we shared, and ends with Jean-Luc learning to ride a motorcycle at age 8 at the Honda Rider Education Center in Troy, Ohio.

The people and places are real. No names have been changed...

.... It would probably be most accurate to consider this a coming-of-age book spanning at least two generations, and often three....

After the stories, there's an Addendum with information about taking children on motorcycle rides, and particularly on long trips. It consists of tips we've had to learn the hard way, as well as tips on protective gear....

I'd like to thank friends who have encouraged me to write. Without their prodding, this book wouldn't exist. I hope you enjoy tagging along.

Best,
Doug Grosjean
December 2005

Chapter 1
First Ride
April 2000

It's Friday, I just finished my taxes, and then got caught up on various business and household chores. It's a nice day here in Northwest Ohio, gorgeous actually, so I thought about doing something special with my son, Jean-Luc.

Jean-Luc is 5 years old, almost 6. He hasn't ridden on the motorcycle with me yet, though we've often talked about it. He's extremely mature for his age, and very tall - his feet touched the passenger pegs on my motorcycle last summer. His motorcycle experience so far has been limited to me towing his sled around the yard with my dirt-bike in the snow this past winter.

I decided to take Jean-Luc for a ride on my motorcycle. I've wanted to do so for a while, but I've been waiting for just the right moment.

I grabbed an extra helmet and secured it to the rear half of the seat. Then I grabbed some heavy sweaters, stuffed some miscellaneous clothing into a duffel bag, and strapped that onto the luggage rack of the motorcycle. The duffel bag functioned as a backrest to help him feel more secure.

I arrived at Jean-Luc's school at 3:30 PM and parked my motorcycle outside the Pine Street entrance. Then I waited behind a tree for him to leave school with his friends.

A few minutes later, right on time, and I can hear Jean-Luc and his friends:

"Jean-Luc, is that your Dad's motorcycle?"

"I think so, but I don't know. It shouldn't be here..."

And then I step out from behind the tree and ask if he'd like to ride home instead of walking. Jean-Luc says yes... Now his friends are smiling, people walking by are slowing and watching and smiling. We have an audience as I help him put on an extra sweatshirt and his helmet.

As we get dressed, I talk about what to expect .... I help him onto the seat of the motorcycle, and he slips down into the front half of the dual seat. No, Jean-Luc; you get the back half of the seat. I help him scoot back, then I climb aboard, and we pull away.

At first, I don't hear anything from him. Then I can hear him, laughing! We come to a stop sign, and I ask if he likes it so far. He does! I point out that he can look straight down and watch the road as we go, or straight up and see the sky. His reply: "Cool..!"

We pull away from the stop sign, making a right turn, and he's laughing again. I can hear the smiles! At every stop sign it's the same thing: loud laughter coming from the back seat...

Two forks of the Portage River converge in Pemberville, Ohio. OH-105 follows one fork, while small county and township roads follow the other. We take the little county and township roads south out of town past Harrison Park, along the river. It's less traffic, and slower speeds, than the state route.

... The Portage River is to our right. The Portage is a shallow river; in most places at normal water levels you could walk across it and only be wet up to your ankles, though some spots might be waist deep. It flows north slowly to Lake Erie over a series of shallow ledges between wooded banks, through the flat farmland typical of Northwest Ohio. It's early spring and everything is brown now, including the water, but there's also new grass poking up on the banks here and there. There are no leaves on the trees yet, just some green buds.

As we ride along slowly, I ask Jean-Luc how he likes riding the motorcycle so far. He tells me he likes it, and that the sunlight on the water makes it all sparkly. He's right, of course. I'd forgotten how pretty that is, it had become background noise to me. We grow jaded as we grow older, and we don't notice the magic anymore. Kids help us see and feel the magic again....