Somewhere Magical...

[DDT (12)]

Somewhere Magical...

Another day riding away from dear friends... The life of a gypsy rider is often thought of as a very lonely existence, and for most folks I know, it would indeed be precisely that. Always brief occasional encounters with some truly good folks, then the usual 'Goodbye'... followed by more solitude interspersed with encounters with lots of strangers. The prospect of future encounters is normally looked forward to and always eagerly anticipated, but it can never be taken completely for granted... Things never follow a script!

Alas, but one of the many compromises one must inevitably make: We can choose the more typical lifestyle, or we can choose this one... or any other variation. However, we cannot have both at once... at least, I've never been able to find a way of doing so... Compromises, alterations, and accommodations can always be made, of course, but then the experience simply would not be the same.

It does take some getting used to, particularly when we don't start out even knowing of the issues involved, and with the expectation it would be only a brief interlude anyway to be followed by a return to 'normalcy'! For those very few who do come to completely embrace this life, however, there is simply nothing else like it... and nothing that can tempt us away from it as long as we're physically able to continue...

So it was, that with very mixed feelings I twisted the throttle of our girl with my right hand while lifting my left skyward in a farewell wave to my very dear friend who works such magic with Valks down amongst the bayous of Cajun-land... Was I ready to leave? Heck NO! Sure, I could have hung around a few days, but the end result would have been the exact same... Even friends of that caliber cannot sway us from our 'appointed rounds'...

So, where would we head? Naturally, I hadn't given that much thought... On the fly, I sort of decided upon a ride over to western Louisiana that I'd been considering, then turning north up through Arkansas and into Missouri... or not. We simply kept going straight when we came to the 'planned' left turn onto LA HWY 10 that would have taken us west, though, and we continued north into Mississippi instead.

I don't know why we did that... I later decided it must have been that the appeal of the first probable route was that there had been virtually no planning involved in its selection... The route we did take, however, had had no planning whatsoever...

I'd smiled broadly, as on a whim we continued straight through that intersection and headed in the new direction! Soon it would become necessary to check the map, just to get some idea of what roads we might want to take or avoid... general knowledge stuff but no actual nailing down of a specific route or anything...

We were in no hurry at all... We did need to be back in Montgomery in a little less than three weeks, but other than that... Naturally the weather was a huge consideration. I'd actually wanted to swing much farther west, perhaps through the panhandle of Texas then up through western Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, if possible... before turning back towards Iowa. However, temps out there were forecasted to be intolerable the next week, at least for this heat-averse tenderfoot, so I'd nixed the idea of a Great Plains ride again...

Things were shaping up for an Ohio Valley, Atlantic States Appalachian ride this time around... Oh well, at least we wouldn't be stationary! Besides, as we'd come upon the Natchez Trace Parkway, we'd made the turn onto that roadway just for grins... All thoughts of where we might be going had ceased, as we just settled in and enjoyed gliding along that wonderfully serene, tranquil route.

Not a favorite of many folks, and none who prefer a spirited technical ride; however, for 'rose sniffers' like yours truly, it is a quite nice and enjoyable trek through forest mostly, with light traffic, no commercial vehicles at all, and only an occasional building here or there. I'd had no idea at all how far we might go along that route, but... We did enjoy spending the remainder of the day doing some mighty easy riding...

One thing was an absolute certainty by then, though: No matter where we might roam, it was already abundantly clear this would turn out to be a wonderfully magical journey!!!

DDT

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4WiyxXpyZc

[msb]

Sounds nice Bruce. Obviously not with the much  more infinite feeling of the  "great unknown" outlook you have in your ride planning of course, but I do understand where you are coming from in this regard. We've tried hard to use the "no plan" ride plan as much as possible over the years on our solo rides...albeit always with the limitations of our work schedules ultimately forcing us to plan the end of our "no plan" plan sooner than we'd like. With that particular limitation being lifted fully for the most part for both Lisa and me at the end of this year, we're looking forward to planning more extensive "no plan" rides (with border restrictions being lifted now, more further South rides are definitely on the agenda) , as well as "no plan" excursions with our little trailer up North to be a bigger part of our daughters' and granddaughters' lives.  After a 36 year career mostly spent  being responsible for planning  the direction of the company I've been with , I'm looking forward to getting at least a little bit more of a taste of what you've been sharing with us so eloquently all these years 

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Great read as usual Bruce     Did you get near the Nashville end and " The Bridge " ?  Was passing through Nashville a couple months ago and they was talking about all the suicides from people jumping off the bridge mostly young people. That's a high bridge and nothing below but a paved road ( Damn ) I could think of a hundred better way than splattering all over a highway. Reason I ask this is they was talking about putting a high fence across the bridge some folks don't agree since its a architectural landmark. Just wondering if they did 

[thedon]

Bruce, it's always enjoyable meeting you at one ride or another. Great seeing you at the FCR. You and I have a few non-motorcycle things in common and we tend to talk about them together.
See you down the road.
Don

[Ice]

Bruce,

Thanks for sharing.
Enjoy the wind therapy and keep us posted on where you end up at.
Always love the chronicles of your adventures.

[Thunderbolt]

Ah the Natchez Trace.  Who was with us when we did that road.  I think it was you,Wallie,Howard and Pam and Iris and I.  We got on in Tupelo Ms. and rode to Natchez.  Stayed in a motel that had a fire and the lady at the desk was a real hoot.  I think she had a menagerie of sorts at her house.  Wallie and I watched a helicopter land and pick up an injured person next door.  Seems like somewhere around N.O. there was an accident and we were stopped on an off ramp or on ramp at an angle and it was not fun holding the bike up on an angled incline.
What was the animal that the kid had on a string while we were at a rest stop on the trace?  Raccoon?

[Valker]

As always, you are welcome here if the Panhandle of Texas ever cools down. I took a VERY leisurely 150 ride today. Fast enough that I crammed that two hour ride into seven hours. It stayed only in the 70s, but it wasn't too bad. Started out at 41. Plenty of empty rooms at Casa de West.

[DDT (12)]

Paul,

You've again come up with a favorite of mine! Back when I used to listen to tunes while riding, most of the ones you've highlighted were on my play-list! They all seem to capture the energy and spirit of riding through paradise... Thanks for the memories...

DDT


Mike,

It became obvious to me early on that you understood the magic of the ride I pursue. For me its as much a mental journey as it is a physical one... perhaps even more. It's a chance to do things never attempted before, to think thoughts I never had time to play around with, a chance to be someone else besides the same old 'typical' person I'd grown into. After being forced to carefully 'plan' for nearly everything for most of my life, not planning is a novel concept to play around with. It's taking more discipline than I'd imagined, and I find myself slipping back into old habits frequently, but... I make 'corrections' and return to my new toy! Hope to compare notes with you some more down the road!

DDT


Joe,

I don't think I made it that far. I did go north as far as, I think, TN 7, where we turned north to TN 46 and on to Dickson. I don't recall that bridge... I did take a break at the overlook beside the northern end of the Tennessee River Bridge, though... I even had my nap chair out for some extended pondering and such...

DDT


Don,

Yeppers! It's always nice running into you and Barbo for me, too! Gosh, I've seen more of y'all the last couple of years... than... something... Anyway, we do have much in common, and there is no shortage of topics for us to discuss, for sure... and then there is that one special subject we also have in common... mostly... I'm mighty glad you know about some things on that score that I do not!!! See y'all at the next one...

DDT


Yuri,

Will do! Having a ball rambling around in no particular direction towards no particular place... most of the time. I'm dong that right now for the next couple of days, but soon enough I'll need to visit another doctor in Montgomery. Sigh... These doctor doings plus the unusually warm temps out on the plains this year have kept me pretty much in the eastern half of the country... Hope to change that next year! If I do, I'll try to look you and Petra up... until then... I be me being me...!

DDT


Terry,

I've never ridden that route since that time without thinking of our trek! So many pleasant surprises and unexpected discoveries... I'm convinced that and others like it became building blocks in the type of rider I've become. I miss all of y'all and the times we shared. Why don't you and Iris come to Mac's Veteran's Day Ride next month! I'd love to see y'all and talk about the 'old days'!... Who knows, just maybe John might show up, too...

DDT


Eric,

Thanks, my friend! It just hasn't been in the cards lately for us to wander in your direction... maybe another time. BTW, I've been meaning to comment on the tag-line at the bottom of your posts: "I ride a motorcycle because nothing else transports me as quickly from where I am to who I am..." An amazing sentiment, and one I connect with so thoroughly!!! See ya one of these days...

DDT

[DDT (12)]

Rob,

Thanks, my friend! I enjoy my life so much, and the thought of everything that goes on is important for me to capture for future consideration, or simple recollection at a minimum. I post my thoughts and experiences on here because some seem to enjoy reading about them too. Positive feedback like that which you always provide encourages me to continue...

The details of our lives differ mostly in degree in many areas. The aspects that matter most, however, are remarkably similar. It's always a pleasure to compare notes with you and to consider things from different perspectives. You've become an important avenue for this eager but largely innocent student of life to bounce things around with and consider alternatives... I relish that!

As for hearing voices in your head, I wouldn't be too worried about others finding that out... Perhaps that's another way your humanness and likeness to all of us is demonstrated... Heck, I really enjoy hearing from my voices most of the time!!!

DDT