Are You Serious?

Yesterday, while doing homework at the house, Dave was outside working on his motorcycle. I took a break from researching the Australian Brush Turkey to step outside and see what Dave was up to. I admired his bike and he excitedly asked me if I wanted to hear the engine. He revved up the engine and then asked if I'd like to go for a ride with him tomorrow morning. Hesitantly, I agreed.
Later that afternoon we went downtown for the Chinese New Year. There was a dragon dance, arts and crafts for kids, and numerous food vendors. For dinner, the kids had McDonalds (I kindly declined) and while they were eating, I brought up our motorcycle ride. I imagined he'd take me for a short, SLOW ride around the neighborhood, since I've never been on a motorcycle before. Dave said we'd be riding to Port Douglas for breakfast and we were leaving at 6am!
Port Douglas? 6am? I really thought he was kidding. He wasn't. When we got home, (first of all I was famished so Tara and I heated up some pasta) Rachel pulled out all of her motorcycle gear. I had to wear a leather jacket, leather gloves, motorcylce boots, and of course, a sturdy helmet. I was getting increasingly nervous by the minute!
I woke up at 5:40am, five minutes before my alarm, and hoped that Dave wouldn't wake up in time or that he would just forget that I had agreed to accompany him. I stepped out of my room and Dave was already putting his boots on. I put on my gear and we walked out to the bike. We went slow around the neighborhood, but he sped up as we got on the freeway. The high speed was pretty scary, but what scared me the most was the round-a-bouts that we encountered--something about the bike leaning that far to one side just made me really nervous. After a few minutes of riding, though, the bike's engine turned off. We coasted and then Dave pulled over. He waited a minute and then turned it back on and we went on our way. The same thing happened a few minutes later and then again and again. Dave said there's no way we would make it to Port Douglas at this rate and that we'd have to turn around.
Thank god! Although it was fun for a little bit, I'm not convinced that riding a motorcycle is a safe hobby.