Rides, ramblings and rants on a motorcycle.
- We are scientists, too!
9.02.2006,4:48 PM
The Continuing Education of Whee: Uno Parte. The Little Whee that Could
We rode over the pasture in the early morning light as if doing it for the hundredth time. The gravel under the wheels yielded to our roll out of the drive and roadway. Gears meshed, throttle sang, and engine whirred as if we were one, my bike and I. My hands and seat were soft, my elbows and back relaxed and each stop, every turn, all swerves and curves were perfect Zen in motion. After not riding for a week due to a cold and bad weather, I nearly cried from the exhilaration.
How can it be that after nearly a week off from riding can bring such Zen in the cohesion and marriage of myself and this bike?
As if getting in bed with a lover of many years, Whee and I rode today with a sense of calm and restored confidence. It's as if I and this bike had been lovers and old friends for decades. I knew intimately without deliberation when to clutch and toe up or down, when to roll on and off the throttle, how much to lean and when to push the other handlebar, when to soften the elbows and hands and let the union of human and machine just do what it does. There was no anxiety, no apprehension, no sweaty palms.
On the highway, in the midst of four-wheeled noisy boxes with their humans tucked inside and whose minds were bombarded by misfiring input from their daily lives, I and my bike rode on two wheels, buffeted by wind, misted by showers, and smiling with a broad grin. Everything clicked today; all the stress from the past week melted away from me like a butterfly shedding its cocoon and opening its filigree wings to take flight into the sky.
This is what I ride for. This is what I live for. My bike and I. And our rides.
Flying in a blue dream..............
How can it be that after nearly a week off from riding can bring such Zen in the cohesion and marriage of myself and this bike?
As if getting in bed with a lover of many years, Whee and I rode today with a sense of calm and restored confidence. It's as if I and this bike had been lovers and old friends for decades. I knew intimately without deliberation when to clutch and toe up or down, when to roll on and off the throttle, how much to lean and when to push the other handlebar, when to soften the elbows and hands and let the union of human and machine just do what it does. There was no anxiety, no apprehension, no sweaty palms.
On the highway, in the midst of four-wheeled noisy boxes with their humans tucked inside and whose minds were bombarded by misfiring input from their daily lives, I and my bike rode on two wheels, buffeted by wind, misted by showers, and smiling with a broad grin. Everything clicked today; all the stress from the past week melted away from me like a butterfly shedding its cocoon and opening its filigree wings to take flight into the sky.
This is what I ride for. This is what I live for. My bike and I. And our rides.
Flying in a blue dream..............
