Yes, I recognize there could be to some degree a psychological thing at work here, and that the urgency and seriousness of upcoming events have me keen to enjoy things at a higher level than usual. On the other hand, this really was a special outing, and the old thrill of good fellowship, self-discovery, self-satisfaction, and downright pleasant feelings while cruising with our girl were certainly all abundantly and sufficiently present, too!!!
My daughter was leaning on me just a bit, as was my land-lady, to pick a date for my return ‘home’ so a visit could be arranged by her to see me… it had been a month or so… I know, duty calls, and family is important, to be sure. I love my family, and I’m proud beyond description of my daughter and of the woman she has turned out to be… Still, ALI and I do make rather sweet music together, and I do love doing what we do, too!
I decided to head to Mandeville, LA, to the lair of Troutdude and Waterbug so a needed rear tire replacement could be squeezed into that shrinking time-slot, plus some special LED lights installed. I didn’t have the luxury of unlimited time this go-around because of reasons stated above, so… I’d thought at first I’d just blitz over from Nohead City, NC, on the super slab and take care of business that really should be taken care of… you know, beforehand… since I had no idea at all how long it might be before riding can resume… then I had an inspiration…
I’d just leave a day sooner than I’d been thinking, and take back roads as much of the way as I could… Now, that idea did have more than a little appeal, even though it would mean having to cut my visit to Nick’s ‘house of harmony’ short by a day. The weather forecast seemed good for either choice, although it would be cold… Yep, once again I found myself yielding to inspiration and following the road to adventure instead of pursuing the more practical path of greatest time efficiency… and that made all the difference!
Instead of grinding it out on mile after mile of seemingly endless asphalt and concrete, coping with varying levels of annoying… and sometimes dangerous… traffic, traveling at high rates of speed requiring more focus on the technical aspects of riding instead of allowing more for the therapeutic random consideration of significant issues to me, I’d be able cruise along and really smell the roses! A no-brainer for this dude when that option is on the table!!!
Super slab travel is ideal for limited-time travel where speed and efficiency are required… and, I’ve logged many tens of thousands of miles doing precisely that… when I had no other realistic choice. Since time constraints have been greatly reduced in terms of urgency, however, I’ve followed the more pleasant alternative, and I’ve found levels of peace and joy I’d only theorized about in decades past. I do love it so…
Right from the git-go I knew I’d made the correct choice! My spirit immediately soared, and my mind reveled in the opportunity to consider whatever topic popped up… but mostly this time I was simply reflecting on the joy of gliding along through tiny hamlets and scenic pastoral settings. Even cows, horses, dogs… and deer… all seemed to be idling about at their own unhurried pace, as though they shared my passion for taking it easy and savoring every moment, the here and the now, instead of being always focused upon and pressing towards some spot on the horizon, some objective or goal, and thereby largely missing the glory of all that was at hand! There is a time and place for intense focus and ‘vision’… this just wasn’t it…
We took roads we’d taken before, but never taken frequently or even recently… I do this on purpose, so staleness is avoided… no routine or repetitive riding with us if at all possible! We like to keep the luster of newness and discovery alive and well, and the sensation of novel experiences constantly flowing… I mix in different roads on familiar routes, and we even go out of our way some just to keep things ‘fresh’… and challenging… My navigational skills can always use more honing and sharpening… Although, I admit, not being too precise on that has added much enjoyment to our rides over the years!
We took three days to cover a little over 1100 miles, but less that 150 miles of this leg of the trek were on the slab… What a wonderful ride! Heck, I’d even gotten it right on matching appropriate apparel to conditions! Not that hard, actually, when basically loading-up on all I had available, then cranking the Gerbings up to the ‘equatorial’ setting!
A word about bugs… Some of those boogers are absolutely suicidal! No other explanation for why they would even be out in cold weather like that! I wear an open face, half helmet all the time. I know how that sounds, but that particular item was a gift from a dear friend, so it is, therefore, a cherished treasure.
I can’t look at that plastic semi-orb and not relive fond memories and good feelings, and I simply cannot bring myself to make an adjustment on that score… I do have second thoughts about that from time to time, and this time, certainly; but, I’ll likely be making no change anytime soon… I just hate to give up on a treasure, especially when it is still quite functional…
On the first day following my visit to Nick’s on my way to bayou country, I was gliding along really enjoying myself, when, lost in my thoughts, and reveling at just being me there and then… smack! A stinging insect of some sort flew right in the side of my head gear and into my left ear. I know it was a stinging type insect, because it seriously stung me!
So, there I was trying to maintain speed and direction with my right hand, while attempting to dig out that diabolical, sadistic critter with my left thumb, then forefinger, with no real success!!! I finally had to pull over… That little sucker had got me good! And, that really, really bugged me! My conscience has never bothered me about having killed millions of those instruments of torture over the years… it bothers me even less now!
On the second morning following my visit to Nohead, I stopped at a gas station/store in Bamberg, SC, and there I made an interesting discovery… There on a rack were packages of ‘Breakfast Bacon’ by Jack Links… Who knew? I’m more than a little fond of that particular pig part product, in fact, my fondness in certain circles is legendary; so, you can imagine my reaction!!! Yep the package I’d selected had seen its last sunrise!!!
Another pleasant ride (no bug encounters of the hurtful kind!) from Enterprise, AL, through Andalusia to Brewton, Atmore and Bay Minette on the third day brought us to I-65 and the jog down to I-10, then the scoot over to Mandeville, LA… Another great day in the saddle concluded, this time, with our girl being parked inside a shelter… Dennis now has a new shed/work shop for his rapidly expanding inventory of Valk parts, plus a bit more elbow room for working his magic on various bikes… especially including our girl…
The first phase of this outing had been to the Veterans Day Ride for fellowship and attendance at the wedding of dear friends; the second to Nohead City and the ‘house of harmony’ for the belated annual birthday bash with my cousin/brother, Nick. The third phase was the ride over to Troutdude’s home/shop/site of motorcycle miracles & magic! A lot happened there at his new shop, but that discussion will have to wait for the next installment…
DDT
