Wednesday, April 2, 2014

A to Z Challenge: B is for Bike

This year, I'm participating in the insane awesome A to Z blogging challenge, which entails posting EVERY SINGLE DAY during the month of April, except for Sundays. Each day's theme corresponds to a different day of the alphabet: 26 days, 26 posts. I'll be blogging each day this month on some aspect of my current work in progress (WIP).

B is for Bike

Man, what a day! Not only is it Day Two of the A to Z Challenge, but it's also the first Wednesday of the month, which means that it's time for The Insecure Writers! (For those who don't remember, it's an online group created by Alex J. Cavanaugh for writers. You, too, can join us anytime!)

I have to admit, this post is gonna be a little more A-To-Z-Challenge-ish than Insecure-Writers-ish. I mean, the title of this post is "B is for Bike", so I kind of have to go with the A To Z theme. Y'know?

Which means that today is about bikes! No, not just any bike, but a bike bike. You know, one the requires a leather jacket and an attitude and a willingness to take risks, not to mention some seriously awesome boots. In other words, a motorcycle.

You see, one of the characters in my WIP - Natalie, or Nat for short - is something of a vagabond. Nat appears in the lifetime in Australia, in the 1960s, and she spends her days driving around the country on her motorcycle. Which would have looked like a dirtier and well, crappier, version of this (HT to http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1947-triumph-speed-twin.htm for the great picture):



That, my friends, is the Triumph Speed Twin, built around 1947. At this point, a true classic, but back in the late 50s, when Nat would have bought it (highly used and in bad shape, considering her very limited budget), it probably looked more like a pile of scrap metal than this gleaming beauty.

Want to know more about Nat's wandering life, and her bike? Come back on April 16th - you know, "N" day :)

32 comments:

  1. Awesome Bike. My petite, little, daughter rides a Bike and it scares me to watch her zoom away...

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  2. Great job keeping your posts brief! I ride a bicycle, but that bike would be tempting. You would definitely need some awesome boots for looking good on that baby.

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  3. Cool bike. :)

    IWSG #243, until Alex culls the list again.

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  4. Don't worry about not having an IWSG post. The A to Z Challenge will cause you enough insecurities all by itself. :)

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  5. Looking forward to learning more about Nat. :D

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  6. I have a dream, when I'm old and wrinkly, to get myself an amazing bike and tour the US with my hubby. While working in Yellowstone, we had groups of people like that coming through all the time. It was awesome. Watch for me--I'll be the granny in pigtails...but not for a few years. (Like, maybe a lot of years.)

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  7. MY BF has a bike. I hate it because of how dangerous riding one can be, but I look forward to hearing more about Nat. :)

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  8. I so wanted a bike during my teen years. I outgrew it but it did represent freedom and speed.

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  9. I'll certainly be back for 'N' - as well as all the other letters! Great job combining both posts into one!

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  10. Nice bike! Looking forward to learning more about Nat.

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  11. And now I'm reminded to get my bike fixed ... :)

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  12. How cool is that? And now I'm really even more excited about this book you're writing . . . ~MPL

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  13. Bet she could cover a lot of Outback on that bike.

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  14. Cool bike! My husband is a Harley rider, so I'd bet he'd like your picture.

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  15. Yay for motorcycles! Mine's a Ninja, though I haven't ridden it much since my fall last May. But My grandmother owned a 1940 Indian during the second world war and rode it to work as a waitress since gas was rationed and she could get far on one gallon of gas.

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  16. So...my question is, did you have to ride a bike yourself to research the scenes for your book?

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  17. I'm so intrigued, Liz! I want it to be "N" day like, right now!!! Petrified of actually riding a bike myself, but I can see the appeal. Seems like riding one could set a person free!

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  18. Awesome! I wish my hubby still had that Harley!

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  19. I love motorcycles!!! Now if only I hadn't failed my practical, I could be riding one myself.

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  20. My dad made me promise never to ride a motorcycle when I was little. So, I guess that won't be going on my bucket list. They are wickedly cool though.

    Your story is sounding excellent.

    Leanne Ross ( readfaced.wordpress.com & @LeanneRossRF )

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  21. d00d. I WANT TO JOIN THE INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP!!!! **AWESOME!!!**

    :)

    This is A. Catherine Noon, visiting from my blog at http://acatherinenoon.blogspot.com for the A-Z Challenge, #327 on the list. Happy blogging!

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  22. Bikes like that are awesome. ^_^ My grandparents traveled on a Harley across the country after WWII, and I've always wanted to learn how to ride, but it seems so unsafe, and I've never lived in a place that seemed motorcycle-friendly. Surely not the way people around here drive. O_o

    I am, though, making sure one character in a current plot has a flying motorcycle, just because.

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  23. It's really cool, but I'm too much of a scaredy cat. I do have the boots and the attitude, though.

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  24. We did have similar ideas for A to Z! LOL. Yours is a little more powerful and definitely an eye-catcher...love the bike! Looking forward to reading more about Nat in a couple weeks! :)

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  25. I have to admit, bikes with motors scare the heck out of me. Totally not a brave bone in my body.

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  26. My last boyfriend rode a motorcycle. I LOVED riding behind him unless we were on the freeway. Not fun - heart attack time.

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  27. Looking forward to the "N" word day!

    Jean, visiting for the A-Z Challenge from Rantings and Ravings of an Insane Writer

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  28. I've been curious about motorcycles, but have never driven one. I'm a bit scared of them.

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  29. I'm terrified of motorcycles. My hubby adores them:) It's fun to add things to our novels that we wouldn't normally like or do. But maybe you ride bikes, big bikes? I'm such a chicken. Great post!

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