My first motorcycle was a Honda Z50. I'd ridden motorcycles plenty of other times as a passenger for years, but that Z50 was mine. I got to decide where to ride whenever I wanted. Living out in the middle of nowhere meant plenty of back roads, dirt roads, anything you can think of with very little traffic.
It must have been around September of the year I got it and decided to go for a ride right after dinner. Being a little kid of course you dont think about safety gear or anything. I wore shorts and a t-shirt, no helmet or anything else like that. Never crossed my mind, parents never bought anything.....never went down either. Anyway, that evening I went out and rode west on our road. It was around 7PM I guess. The air had that first nip in it of the coolness of night to come, yet the sun was still up enough I could feel the last of its warmth before it set. Riding down the road at maybe 25-30 mph with that slight nip in the air yet the sun keeping me warm is something that's hard for me to describe even to this day, like every hair on my body, every pore of my skin just lit up with this awesome feeling of knowing what truly not having a care in the world feels like.
Today I own a rather exotic bike that costs more than some cars and I have no problems getting attention on it from women ready to drop their panties for me without even having to speak any words it seems. I even get guys stopping me sometimes to ask me about it. Despite all that, even now, it still doesn't compare to that one night as a little kid so many years ago on that little z50. I'm just thankful to have at least had that experience in my life.