I will be 50 years old in 2021, and I finally bought a Harley. Is this a midlife crisis or is it something else? It's been almost 20 years since I last rode a motorcycle, let alone owned one. So the question is this: why did it take so long, and why now?
I think it’s a hard question to answer. I’ve wanted to ride a motorcycle since I was a kid. My parents always said “NO!” I remember once in high school, a friend had a motor scooter, and he let me ride it around; the minute my mother saw me riding it, I was grounded. Did I give up? Hell no. I waited until I was out of college, out of the house, and out on my own — an adult. Okay, I was 26 or 27 years old, I was old enough. My (twin) brother and I took a motorcycle safety course, and that was it — I was hooked.
As soon as we passed the class and got the “M” on our license, I went shopping for my first motorcycle. Of course I wanted to be like Reno Raines from the show Renegade, I wanted a Harley.
But I couldn’t afford a Harley, so I ended up with a really old Suzuki 650 standard as my first motorcycle. It cost me about $600 and that was okay. I outgrew that thing in a week. Yet, as I rode and rode, I realized it was my therapy. See, back then I was single, still trying to find the right girl. I was in the gym at 5:00 a.m. then I’d head to work to put in my 8-hours and I’d hit the gym again, then go out with friends at night — rinse and repeat. The gym was where I got any aggression out; hopping on the bike and taking a drive along Chicago's Lake Shore Drive, through the city, up into the ‘burbs and sometimes even further, well, that cleared my head. To me, being on a bike was — and is — the greatest feeling in the world.
Then, I met my wife.
I’m not a rich man. I wasn’t at 30 and I’m not at almost 50. So, when I realized she was “the one,” I needed money to buy a ring. Bye-bye motorcycle. It was like losing my best friend — I’m pretty sure I recited the Kaddish (the Jewish prayer for mourning). I figured, “Okay, I sell this bike, buy the ring, I can get another bike in a year.” What they don’t tell you is that you have to buy a house, and you’re going to want to go on vacations, and you’re starting a family — and pretty soon the dream of getting another bike is just that... a dream.
So, here we are, almost 20 years later. My kids are teenagers, my career is better (there’s life insurance), and I’ve worn my wife down enough (whining about wanting a motorcycle) to get the “Okay.” I’m a chef, and I’ve always had this dream to own my own restaurant; I’d pull up on my Harley like a bad ass, and when my customers would hear the roar of that engine, they'd know “the chef is here.” And I’d drive up and park it right in front of the restaurant — like a real asshole!
Except, now I’m almost 50 years old, I’m doughier than I want to be, and I don’t have my own restaurant. I work for a big corporation, I still do private events, I’m not famous. but I can afford to buy a bike. I think that’s where everything comes into focus: I can afford it. I had to work a 2nd job cooking private dinner parties to put enough cash away, but I was finally able to walk into a dealership and just purchase a used bike. It’s not a crisis, it’s a lifestyle — one that I’ve waited 20 years to continue. What's crazy is that my Harley FatBoy is 20 years old. I waited 20 years and was only able to afford (without having to finance anything) a bike that was 20 years old!
I've recently learned more about motorcycle rental—the idea of renting out my motorcycle for a little extra cash, or renting a motorcycle from another owner (especially when I didn't have one) is pretty interesting. Some of my friends use and love Twisted Road when they want to rent a motorcycle in Chicago. But they have owners with bikes available to rent everywhere. Definitely noting that for the next time I'm traveling and want to explore on two wheels!
Check back soon to find out how his new Harley fueled Heath Schecter’s imagination…
