Okay, so I’m going to be completely honest here.

I, Ray, do not own a bike.  Mitch, the creator of Biker Rain Chaps and the owner of Biker Rain Chaps, Ltd. does.  Actually, he owns two.  But me, not so much.

I used to have one, if that’s what you want to call it.  It was more like a $400 death trap I picked up after I got out of college.  The thing shook when I took it above 60 miles per hour.  It was fun around town, but scared the hell out of me on the highway so I never really got much highway time in…  Some time around the birth of my daughter, I gave the bike to my lawyer for his son as a “gift” and, since then, have been bikeless…

So, somewhere along the line, Mitch brought me on as his interactive savant…  Or “Evangelist” as I like to be called ( ) and now I’ve got the itch.

I’m still working on my wife but I think, if I take the motorcycle safety course, she might find it possible to let me get a bike.  I think some level of safety training, coupled with a fairly hefty life insurance policy, might persuade her.

As such, I’m shopping/drooling over various bikes.  My budget is sub-10K.  The bikes I have in mind are the Buell Blast, Ducati Monster or some sort of crossover bike since I like hiking so much.

What are your thoughts?  What kind of bike do you have and would you advocate it to others?  Let me here your opinion, I’m all ears!!!

- Ray