Ditching an afternoon of work, taking in the sunshine, attending a Spring Training game at Scottsdale Stadium and having your wife wrap her arms around you while cruising on the Harley – life just doesn’t get much better than that.

Several columns ago I posed a question – a new Mustang GT or a Harley-Davidson?

So I must announce at this time that the Harley won out…

There really wasn’t much of a decision involved.

A couple of folks have asked me, “Mike, are you OK? First you do the AutoCross racing thing with your son, and now you get a Harley. Are you having a mid-life crisis or what?”

I might be having all kinds of other crises, but I think the “mid-life” part passed me by years ago.

My wife Brenda fell in love with riding on a bike the first time I surprised her and brought home a rental several years ago. Away we went for the weekend, and having never even been on a motorcycle before, she was a natural to relax on the back of a seat and take in the landscape.

I had a couple of motorcycles back in my college days and into my 20s, so this isn’t a new fad for me (OK, put on the shelf for a while, but definitely not a new hobby).

In fact, when I first started working in Fountain Hills in 1983 as a young reporter totally green around the horns and gills, I had a Yamaha 850 as my sole mode of transportation (don’t tell the Harley folks about that).

Yet, as life would have it, I had to trade in the bike for a sweet cherry red mini-van for a while. Plus, that granny who turned in front of me at Country Club and University in Mesa didn’t help matters, but that was eons ago…

Now that the kids are grown, it’s time to bring the “cool factor” back and join a fraternity of brothers and sisters that goes back more than 100 years.

Quite honestly, there is nothing better than the feeling of cool desert breezes blowing through your hair as you cruise into the colorful western sunset…

Oh wait, that cool factor of hair left the Harley dealership about 20 years ago.

Nonetheless, the biker world has expanded in recent decades, allowing for the potential entrance of a geeky editor whose idea of a “gang” is the nice group of guys and gals in his weekly Bible study.

All kinds of white-collar types hop on their bikes on a regular basis, perhaps pretending to be something they’re not or simply enjoying the ride for what it is.

And that’s OK.

As long as I dress the part and rev up the bike every once in a while at a stop light, maybe they’ll let me in.

If not, I’ll still enjoy the ride, my Bluetooth capabilities, the heated handlebar grips and the on-board navigation.

Yes, even the Harleys are changing and trying to keep up with technology. I know the old-school bikers don’t really like it, but heck, it is 2014.

The road beckons. The bike beckons. The distant cities beckon.

It’s time to ride.