Friday, June 05, 2009

Why do I like these trips?

Partly I simply enjoy riding a powerful motorcycle. I like the sensation of speed. I like that my skills seem to improve on these trips. I like the physics of cornering, accelerating, and braking. Maybe it’s similar to riding a powerful horse.  Maybe it’s similar to skiing a powerful hill. I don’t know, but I like the riding.

I like riding a bike that turns heads. It’s not just another cruiser. It attracts attention, curiosity, and conversation. Sometimes it’s with other bikers, sometimes not. People smile when they see it. I like being in riding gear and relating to other riders without class, rank or badge. I like that other riders wave when we see each other on the road.

I like the road less traveled. In cities we’re used to cutting freeways through hills. We’re used to straightening the crooked path. The road less traveled goes around hills, climbs valleys defined by crooked rivers, and conforms to the texture of the lumpy planet. I like that you can smell the difference between farmland and forest.

I’ve always liked weather. In our normal lives most of us are separated from the weather around us. We’re in our cars, in our buildings, unaware even of the weather that’s happening. I like the feeling of a cool dawn before a hot day. I like the look of clouds that change before my eyes. I don’t always like being too hot, or too cold, or too wet. But I like simply being aware of the weather I’m in.

I’m a sucker for Americana. I like our small towns with their diners, their town halls, and their main streets. I like the funny conversations that happen when you strike up a conversation. I like a restaurant that serves biscuits and gravy (I don’t actually like biscuits and gravy – but restaurants that serve it tend to be good ones.) I like that people are helpful when I get lost. It makes me want to be helpful in return.

I like the company. Spending time with my daughter and son-in-law is fun.

Enough! Maybe it’s enough to like it without becoming over analytical about why.

And in any event, here are the links to the play by play ...

Tour Intro
Tour - Day One
Tour - Day Two
Tour - Day Three
Tour - Day Four
Tour - Day Five

Posted by Digital Quixote in • Motorcycles
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