Today BBB Challenge is to write about a hard lesson you’ve learned. Sadly, I had to learn several hard lessons the last several years; death, grief, and learning to love again. However, the biggest lesson I learned is not to take your partner for granted.
One of the beauties of traveling as a couple, you get to share and reflect on the experiences with someone. Planning for and navigating a trip takes a lot of work. So the plus side of traveling as a couple is the ability to divide and conquer the tasks. Most of us get in a routine of dividing the tasks based on what we’re good at. I was good at the planning and navigating. Russ was good at maintaining and packing the bike.
Having a set duties every time is great but as I learned after he passed away is that I didn’t know much about the nuts and bolts of a motorcycle and how to maintain it. Like I said, Russ always did the maintenance. Sometimes I watched him doing it but I never did it myself. Watching and doing it is not the same thing which I quickly learned several times on my trip. Thank God for YouTube! They helped when I had to take a crash course to learn how to replace a throttle cable and the chain on the bike.
Now when I meet up with ladies who travel with their partner, I always ask them. . .can you drive the vehicle or the motorcycle out of the sticky situation and into safety by yourself if your partner become injured or ill? Or for those ladies who ride by themselves, can you fix your motorcycle if you break down in the middle of nowhere?
Today is day 5 of the Brave, Bold, Blogger Challenge (BBBC) 2017 hosted by Kathy at ToadMama.com
A Widow's Ride 
5 down….1/3rd of the way home?
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So much truth in this post! When I first started driving my very great friend Sonia told me that if I intended to drive it I had to learn how to fix it by the side of the road. I started small, with learning to change a flat tyre (on a car) and can now rebuild the top half of an engine. I learnt from books, and from friends, and from YouTube. I have always been envious of friends who grew up learning from their fathers. But if I can learn, anyone can
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The difficult part for me is when I ask for help from guys, they try to take over and not standing by to show me how. So the YouTube is very helpful!
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Great advice! I’m new here, so I want to say how very sorry I am for your loss. My hub and I travel together and I cannot imagine losing him, but I am so happy that you continue to enjoy riding and traveling. And learning more along the way!
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Welcome aboard. I look forward to reading more about your journey.
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Likewise! 🙂
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I don’t have a clue how to fix anything on my bike. I’ll just have to rely on roadside assistance, and hope I’m in an area with cell service if I ever break down.
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Do you have a Spot or an InReach with you? The InReach saved my butt whe I was riding through Tioga Pass through Yosemite and I broke my Throttle Cable. Had to use the InReach to contact the Forest Service to get a tow truck.
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