Screw it, let's ride!

Anticipation is making me wait…
Patience has never been my strong suit. I seem to always be in a hurry to get to the next step, the next achievement, the next event.
I am chomping at the throttle to get this bike on the road with the new unbling on it. Not that it makes a difference in the way the bike rides, but it does make a difference in the way it makes me smile.
The ONE place where I make it a point to slow my mind and savor every moment that I’m experiencing is when I’m riding. It’s not the destination, it’s the ride is so true. Feel the wind, the sun, listen to the bike, hear the wind in your ears, FEEL the experience. It’s ecstasy on wheels!

I was contemplating today that there are so many different views on spending your time. Mostly I was thinking about it in regards to riding.
Living in the Midwest, where the riding season is really only May through September if you’re lucky, and working weekdays, every weekend without rain is precious. Now, granted, I do not have small children, so those people would not fall into the category I am in, because time with your children is far more precious than anything.
My summer weekends are a fleeting commodity, and the closer it gets to the end of summer, the more greedy and stingy I am with them. Last year my niece’s bridal shower was a weekend in July. I chose to ride instead. Now some of you may find this very selfish, and you are entitled to your opinion, but first listen. It had been a crappy riding year, a lot of rain and cooler than normal temperatures. The niece was not a child I’ve been close to, and I did send them a very nice gift. I am certain she did not say to herself, damn, I wish my Aunt Sharon was here today. Hardly. My theory was, I am not wasting an entire day sitting at a bridal shower wearing uncomfortable girlie clothes, watching someone unwrap gifts, eating catered food sitting at a table of people I don’t really know or probably even like, when I could be one with my bike, soaking up the summer sun, perhaps discovering roads I’ve never traveled before. Selfish? Maybe. The older I get, the less I care what people think about me.


I have friends that say they’ll go with me on a poker run, only to bail out at the last minute because they have something else they need to do. Those people are in the ‘other’ category. Those who feel that their time is also precious, but there are many things they need to accomplish or experience, and that spending the day wandering roads and putting miles on for no reason other than to waste a day, is a waste of their time. The direct opposite of me. I’m not saying they’re wrong, or I’m right. To each his own.

So, mid June I have another wedding to attend. This time, a nephew. Another child I’ve spent very little time with. Only this time it will be an entire weekend because the event is in southern Illinois. A long drive there, an overnight at a hotel, and a long drive home. A commitment to which I don’t want to tie myself down, I’d rather be riding, weather permitting. I cannot send the response card in saying we’ll see what the weather is, if it’s shitty, I’ll gladly attend, but if it’s nice, I’m riding. They wouldn’t understand (they don’t ride). So my dilemma is to commit or not to commit. I’m sure the message it sends to family if I don’t attend a wedding would be a negative one, but as I said, the older I get, the less I care what others think about me! My happy medium I suppose would be to ride to southern Illinois, weather permitting. But I can’t ride to a wedding in girlie clothes and walk in with biker hair…so I will have to ask to hitch a ride with someone. I would still much rather send them a nice gift, stay at home, with my riding friends, spending my precious time the way I want. I am selfish, I know this.

The shortest distance between two points…..is for people who don’t ride! Life is short….screw it..Lets RIDE!