I was at my parents’ house last nite for my usual weekly visit. I thought I’d run the motorcycling thing by them and see how strong the parental reaction is.

Me: Dad, have you ever ridden a motorcycle?
Dad: Yeah.
Me: I’m considering getting one.
Dad: Well, you should be okay learning because you already know how to ride a bike. They’re somewhat similar. But you get more of rush and a feel of power when you’re on a motorcycle.
Mom: That’s dangerous! It’s flesh hugging steel. [Translated Chinese saying is that a bike is “zen bao tieh”, flesh hugging steel, as opposed to a car, which is “tieh bao zen,” steel hugging flesh.]
Dad: It’s not that bad.
Me: I plan to take the full courses, learn about the bike and everything, not just buy a bike and try to ride it on my own until I can take the DMV test.
Dad: That’s good, because then you can do the simple repairs by yourself, too. It’s of course a lot less complicated than learning the inner workings of a car.
Me: Yeah, I also don’t want to be in mid-ride and unaware that something’s wrong with my bike.
Dad: That’s good. What kind of bike are you thinking about? A cruising bike or a street bike?
Me: I don’t want a Harley. I want a street bike.
Dad: Harleys give a comfortable ride! But you can get a street bike that have the really wide tires, and your posture on those bikes are different. You can turn at a very steep angle and almost lay the bike flat on the ground without scraping your knees on the asphalt. You can’t do that in a cruising bike.

Either my dad knows I’m really responsible and trusts me, or he has never really loved me.