The Perfect Ride

If you ride, you have most assuredly found yourself at least once, in the throes of ecstasy. At some point you realize how perfect it is to be riding the bike you love along a smooth rode on a glorious day. You realize that you are free and yet at one with the universe. No matter how miserable the rest of your life, for those few wondrous moments you could feel no better. If you dare let your self consider the source you'd have to admit that God exists and he loves you; there could be no other explanation.

Lead With Your Nose

If you ride, you know that your feet and your hands are often the first part of your anatomy that is out in the wind. But quite often and quite unexpectedly, you find that you lead with your nose. How many times have you been watching the road, feeling the wind, and thinking about whatever, when some scent wafts up your nose? Sometimes is a subtle fragrance, like orange blossoms, fresh cut grass or onions being grilled at a greasy diner. Other times it slaps you up side the head! You ain't sure what it is... but you're sure its dead!

Often, when riding and these odors arise, it takes me back to others times in my life and I can vividly remember so many things. Today, for instance, I ran down a long, long black patch of new asphalt. That smell; the tar and oil rising up like a ghost from my childhood. To Ace, new asphalt is just a little bit of heaven on earth; so smooth, so new, so black, and that smell! Instantly so many childhood hot summer days are remembered. Speeding along on my bicycle with the ape hangers, banana seat and sissy bar. I'd tear up the neighborhoods dreaming of winning every imaginary race in dramatic and heroic fashion. Dreaming of the day when the cards on my spokes would be replaced by a real motor; one that was big and bad with loud exhaust pipes. Every so often as kids we'd get lucky to find a newly paved road and we'd marvel at how smoothly our tires would glide across the inky gravel surface.

It seems that one of the side effects from riding is this eternal connection to the past and present. One needs to stay in the moment to stay upright and out of the ditch, yet in spirit be connected to the history, the mysteries and the brotherhood of one.

A Winter's Ride

I went for a nice ride today... heck, it’s January 17th, how could it not be great to be able to ride. The sky was blue and with a ton of rain overnight, the air had a distinctive flavor to it. It was windy with some rather strong gusts. Every so often  a gust would knock me in the head and it’s like; “Hey! where did that come from?” But it was fun.

I was cruising down a long stretch of a two lane highway. I glanced down and noticed that I was rolling at 65 and then looked up at a white car heading my way in the left lane. As it quickly approached I could see the large black body of a dog standing in the passenger’s seat. His head was poked through a partially rolled down window. They passed and that dogs tongue was hangin’ out and his ears were pinned back by the wind and I laughed! “I feel ya dog!” I yelled as I blew by the driver’s side door. The rest of the way home I smiled thinking about that dog and our kinship of stickin’ our noses out in the wind, tongue hangin’ out, ears pinned back, and joy in our hearts. Ride on!