Baby Got Back

So Christmas has come and gone, like a lead-footed rider pushing the Castrol Rocket across the Bonneville Salt Flats. We still manage to capture magic this time of year, no matter how fleeting, and I look forward to the new year with optimism that our efforts to imbue the kids with a sense of wonder will pay off for them later in life.

All three of our kids managed to make it into the double-digits believing in Santa Claus. It took a lot of work on our behalf; nibbling on the cookies and milk well after midnight, running around the house in the black of night with the jingle bells, and equipping our kids with the intellectual means for fending off naysayers. And we're happy to say we have one remaining who still believes, though this may be his last year for it.

I know parents who share our point of view; childhood lasts just a few years and most of us spend the majority of our lives as adults (not always as mature, but as adults). We want our kids to bask in the joy of childhood as long as they can. Santa is a big part of that.

There are plenty of other parents who do not share our outlook on Santa. Through the years, the ones who managed to equip their children with a lack of belief but not the mechanics to keep their mouths shut often caused our kids temporary frustration, but not long-term pain (as can be the case with crueler children). I believe this is due to the key requirement for belief: faith.

Belief requires a suspension of the facts in order to achieve an understanding. And you can't have faith without believing in something inexplainable.

Not so inexplainable is the discomfort that comes with riding a motorcycle over long distances. As much as I love my Tiger, a 50-year old butt sitting on a 6-year old seat gets a little painful even after 250 miles, much less 5,000.

So I was very happy this year that Santa Claus brought me an Airhawk 2 Comfort Seating System for Christmas. It will definitely come in handy for the coast-to-coast run this spring.

The Airhawk 2 mounted on the Tiger.

Rather than a gel seat or a lambs wool pad for my tenders, the Airhawk 2 will be providing a cushion of air (a cush for my tush) that both cools the underside and softs the vibrations. I'm looking forward to getting on the road for a long ride, even before the Puget-to-Potomac Run just to see if it makes a difference.

Sitting on the Airhawk 2 feels a little funny at first. The padding is created through multiple air cells with narrow vents between them, so as you shift in the seat, air is slowly squeezed from cell to cell, giving you a kind of squishy Jell-o feel under your butt.

There's always room for Jell-o.

As excited as I am to get on the road with the Airhawk 2, there are a few concerns nagging at the back of my head:

• The pad raises the height of my already tall motorcycle seat, and I already look like a doofus when I'm geared up and trying to pull my leg up and over. Doing that after a thousand miles will be... interesting.
• I've read some reviews in which riders say the air leaked out of their Airhawks after a few hundred miles. You add air by blowing through the valve (pictured above).
• The Airhawk attaches to the seat by means of two straps (pictured below). The hook-and-loop looks like it could be a little flimsy. I'd rather have a buckle.

Hook-and-loop attach mechanism.