Inner Demons

365 Group


These last couple of days have been great riding weather. This always brings out the inner demons.

I have been trying to get in as many miles as I can during this time because I know North West Arkansas and the weather will change.
Riding to work on days like this are always a challenge. In addition to the usual everyday junk, rear view mirror makeup artists, cell phone - coffee- donut - cigarette puffers. There is the challenge to just go to work. The day is just right. I could get over to Branson or... moms or... I could just go. That's always been the trouble with me riding. Literally, I could just go.
It doesn't take much on a bike. Just a few bucks for gas and just what you can carry. Before ya know it your in a whole other country. This goes back to my earliest riding days and the wander lust that came from it. My first long distance ride to Ramsey Indiana. Seventeen and riding one of the baddest machines on the road, a 750/3 Water Buffalo. It's still fresh in my mind and the resulting feeling of restlessness of that trip. It isn't the trip folks,it's the riding.
This has surfaced again now that the kids are grown and a few other things have came about in my life. Seems like everyday there is less and less.
Turning at the foot of the mountain I opened the old girl up and let the pipes really howl. (seems that I still have the need to let the neighbors know I'm still on the road.) As I run through the twists and light curves I feel the rear end slide and realize that the tire design wasn't what I was hoping for for lightly damp pavement. They seemed to do OK on actual wet pavement but this was a sort of damp and I was sliding on each little curve. Next set of tires would be back to the old design. Coming out of the curves I twisted up to make the last straight stretch before turning off onto Guy Terry. At about seventy the bike just seemed to purr. Again making it hard to think about eight hours at work.
Guy Terry is a nice piece of road a couple of curves and a nice couple of big dips. One of the dips is a long shot on both sides and I'm always trying, without success to hit top gear before it's over. Today was no different. 100 mph and still hadn't wound out enough to honestly shift into high. Running the rest of Guy Terry Road was sort of relaxing, longer stretches between the curves and the curves are either wide and kind of sweeping or tight and hairpinish. There are a couple of people who live on this part of the road that I see almost every morning as they are out to feed their livestock. I normally slow down for them and it's kind of a ritual, we wave at each other.They always seem happy at that hour of the morning. Sounds silly but when I don't see them, it's kind of a downer.
Sliding up to the intersection of Butterfield Coach Road I'm sort of let down. This is one of those nice little roads that someone screwed up by putting a speed limit on. The couple of times That I actually tried it, top speed was easily achieved and thoroughly enjoyed. Ah well, the speed limit is there and I normally try and be a good little fellar when I'm out here on week days. There is a school zone out here and fines are nose bleed high for speeding in a school zone.
This morning a lot of the cars coming at me were flashing their lights and letting me know that there was a cop up ahead toward the school zone. Slowing down to the posted forty mph felt like I was walking. Thinking about it, at the last second I turned and hit the new Don Tyson parkway. A new road and not too much traffic on it at this hour. I was perfect for keeping me in my frame of mind for a little while longer. Buzzing down the parkway I again thought that I could go over and spend the day with mom and tool around some and see old friends that I don't see that much anymore. Then the traffic light brought me back to the reality of my situation and I leaned into a right turn and on up to work. As is normal for me I counted three women putting on makeup at traffic lights and two people trying, no joke, to eat a "Mc" something or other, drink a cup of coffee and try and talk on the phone. One guy I know was steering with his knees. This goes on each day and seems to be getting worse.
Pulling into work sort of got it out of my system and I began to think about the trip home and maybe....?

"I could so easily jump on the highway and be lost to the world."

Hope to catch ya on the road.