New Bike

 So I got my new motorbike yesterday, pictured above. As you can see, it is red. Very red. Louis had wanted to get the silver model, but as it turned out, this was not available. She called from the dealership and asked what I wanted between red, black, or white. I said that she should get the color she liked, so she chose red.  It seems a bit lighter in weight than my old bike, and feels great on the road. Actually, there was nothing wrong with my old bike, other than that it was six years old.

To be honest, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to ride a bike. I have this pain and stiffness in my shoulders and neck, which gradually becomes worse over the last few years, such that even now I can't drive very far without feeling very sore. As it is, I regularly go only perhaps a mile in one direction or the other, either to Sanur or to Renon. Sometimes I go out to the mall in Denpasar, which is perhaps three miles. I dunno. I ought to gauge it some day (although even then I would have to report the distance in kilometers, as that is the measurement they use here). So maybe this will be my last bike. Enjoy it while it lasts, I guess. And it is still enjoyable--the feeling of speed, the wind on your face, the freedom of movement not afforded within the confines of a car, and the ability to easily park wherever one wants and not have to roam about searching for an open car-sized spot. Here one can nyelip-nyelip, as they call it--shift in and out between cars, or skim along the outside while the cars are stacked up like dominoes at a traffic light. It is definitely a faster way to get to wherever one is going.