Why I Ride

Lost the better part of a day yesterday.  From time to time my brain attempts to exit my skull resulting in pain that would rival an axe in my forehead…or so I imagine.   The hours are spent in the dark flipping and flopping waiting for the devil to exit my cranium.  The process usually involves me passing out only to surface again at nearly midnight wondering what I’d missed in the world outside.  Mustering my strength I head downstairs to find all my windows open as I’d left them.  The cool evening air is welcomed.  Soon the place is all locked up and I’m heading back to the darkness.  A lost day.

The morning welcomed me better than the night had seen me off mere hours ago.  With an unusually slow pace I put my self together for the day.  I elected to ride today as I felt the cool morning air might do some good to flush the fog out of my recovering noggin.  I guessed correctly and the results were great.  The bike was spirited and the shifts and corners were smooth.  The air was filled with mid summer aromas.  Fresh cut grass, flowers and other offerings filled my senses.  These are those times that define why I ride.  The environment is perfect, the coordinated effort of my bike, and me along with some good music transport me to a place where it’s happy.  For whatever it may cost me to run the machine it’s moments like these where you could double it and I’d still write the cheque.

Even though the destination was work the morning’s ride was much more than the thirty or so minutes it takes me to get here.  It was a small recharge and a reconnect with the world and spirit.  A solid attempt at recovering the day lost less than twenty-four hours earlier.  It’s the effect of the experience and the way it lifts the spirit that keeps me riding.  Had I know the motorcycle was much more powerful than it’s 650cc engine…I very likely would have started doing this motorcycling thing a long time ago.