Accomplishments, half-way to a perfect year.

 The scooter life is in the past for me, at least for the purists. As has been mentioned in a previous post, the 2013 Honda PCX 150 that previously was part of my stable, is now gone to a salvage yard and has likely been parted out or crushed. 

One year prior to the unfortunate demise of the PCX, a 2010 Honda NT700V became my secondary riding companion. It is a good and sturdy machine, and I enjoy it immensely. In September, a 2020 Honda Grom was added to my stable to replace the ill fated PCX. 

Upon purchasing the Grom, despite being in poor physical condition following the crash in August, I rode that day, and the next day, and the next, just piling up miles day after day without realizing until I was over two months in that I had not missed a day of riding a motorcycle since September 14th. At that point, I was around day 80 or so and I decided to start keeping better track of what I was doing. 

At the time of this writing, I have ridden a motorcycle for 183 days in a row with at least ten consecutive miles of riding each day. On day 182, I took the Grom out for a celebratory ride, then on day 183, the NT700V did an additional 30 miles. 

While this is nowhere near the accomplishments of the legendary Blaine Paulus (who has just completed a perfect year of over 300 miles per day, and broken another riding record as well), I am satisfied that I am doing something for myself that will give me something to remember and something I can point to as an uncommon accomplishment. 

Today is another day, and it is waiting for me. 

Until next time, be safe, be well, and be blessed. May the wind always be at your back, and may your wheels never be parallel to the ground. 

A rocky path

There are roads we travel that are well paved, smooth, with no imperfections; roads that allow us to appreciate both the straights and the corners with only a small amount of risk to ourselves. 

These are the roads street bike riders long for, and enjoy. Roads with a broken surface, gravel, or even dirt are not what most street bikes were designed to travel. 

When we get off the beaten path, the road is more difficult and requires more focus and concentration. Tires that were designed for smooth surfaces are now trying to navigate uneven terrain. Suspension that is able to compensate for the minor variations on a paved surface now finds the end of its limits in holes and ruts and over rocks. 

Taken even further into the wilderness, the situation becomes more grim. The rubber that was never designed to deal with dirt and hidden rocks, some with sharp edges, is now vulnerable to damage and failure, nevermind that the suspension has now completely bottomed out several times.

Our lives are not so dissimilar from the troubles of taking a street bike off-road. We want our comfort, our security, and while riding a motorcycle carries with it an element of risk, most of the time, we simply ride for the joy of the moment with no desire to compound that risk with any further complications. 

Then our life takes an unexpected turn and we end up on a metaphorical gravel or dirt road, the mud and leaves, the detritus of life suddenly throwing us out of our comfort zone. Illness, injury, a family member causing drama, the sudden death of a loved one, and a long list of other catastrophic events enter our lives and can cause our pleasant ride to turn into a nightmare.

Last year, my wife's family suffered through great loss, due to cancer and wasting disease, and then there was an unexpected motorcycle crash to further complicate matters, and to make it even worse, our son came back into our lives for a few months and in December threatened us because we would not give him money and within a week was back in jail (for an unrelated incident). These are life events that make us wonder and question. We become angry: at life, at ourselves, at God. We even get to the point where we question if God is even there while we are suffering. 

These are the times when hope is so very necessary, when we need to know there is a purpose, when we need to see the end of the rocky path and know that there is some sort of meaning to it all. 

The psalmist David wrote: 

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

    he delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The righteous person may have many troubles,

    but the Lord delivers him from them all;

He protects all his bones,

    not one of them will be broken." (Psalm 34:17-20 NIV)

This is a promise to which I have held and from which I have gathered peace. Through great grief and loss, there has been hope and I know that while this life is filled with pain, there is One who stands at the throne of the Most High and pleads for me. This is the hope I have and it keeps me going until I finally will see the end of the path. 

May you be safe, well, and blessed. 

May the wind always be at your back, and may your wheels never be parallel to the ground.

Early spring and the rider at dawn

 Winter is on its way out. Yes, it's technically not over until later in March, but here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the maple trees are in flower, such as it is, and their red blossoms can be seen adorning the ground beneath their spreading limbs. 

The robins have been here for more than a month, plucking annelids from the earth with vigor and choosing nesting materials for the pending amorous season where new young will eventually emerge from vibrant blue shells.

Crocuses have sprung up out of the ground along with a few daffodils and the leaves of Tulips heralding the blooms to come. It is a time of new life.

And I ride through it on a fuel powered steed. 

The early light of dawn is my companion on roads with few travelers. It crosses the horizon with fiery hues chasing back the waning night, the moon and a few stars in the western sky fading from view.

It is a time of peace and serenity, broken only by a staccato exhaust note and the whirring of cams and lifters working in harmony. It brings a unique type of focus and well-being that can only be found in the solitude of dawn on a deserted roadway with a motorcycle as a sole companion. 

These are the times I am most at peace, 

Soon, the spring will come in full force and those who have allowed their metal steeds to rest for the winter will pull them from their coverings and hiding places, ready them for travel, add new fuel, and join myself and those like me who do not believe in a riding season, but until they do, I will relish the moments of serenity at the beginning and end of the day when there is a special peace to be found.

May all who read this be safe, well, and blessed. May the wind ever be at your back and may your wheels never be parallel to the ground.

#motorcycle #bikelife 

Crashing and the aftermath

 On August 19th, 2022, there was a chance meeting of my 2013 Honda PCX150 and the right side of a 1999 Ford Taurus. It has been almost seven months since that event, but it still plagues me with residual pain from a contusion on my right side that has yet to heal completely. The broken ribs, broken collarbone, and even the concussion have faded, though I still have some mild aphasia. 

Running into the side of a car rendered a few lessons. 

1) do not make a move to merge or assume a lane until the intentions of other motorists in the area are completely clear. In this situation, I saw what I perceived was the driver's move to assume the left lane. He turned on his blinker at the last moment to turn right, but I did not see it due to the angle of the sun and the red color of the blinker, which blended into his tail lamp. I assumed the right side of the lane in anticipation of him following those on the left, and then he turned right directly in front of me. 

2) always wear proper gear. My armored jacket saved me some serious road rash and my helmet prevented a direct injury to my skull. My boots, though scuffed through to the toe protectors, held up and kept my feet from injury. As the above picture shows, my helmet collided with the side of the car and that would have been my temple. 

3) Don't be in a rush. I wanted to get somewhere, so I wasn't focused on the job at hand...and I ended up on the ground and then in an ambulance. 

I still don't remember the ambulance ride. I remember crashing, and I remember laying on the ground, but after that, nothing until I was being wheeled in to the ER. 

The good news is, I survived to ride another day and I've been able to pursue a goal. As this is being written, day 175 is accomplished, of the perfect year goal I set for myself. 

Tomorrow is another day. I will make it count toward something. 

in the pursuit of "the perfect year"

 It is 6:00 in the morning here in south central Pennsylvania. I've been up since 2 am dealing with the early onset of spring allergies due to our weird winter. Having just come through the third warmest February on record, I look back on the progress of a journey I started 175 days ago: the perfect year. 

On August 19th of this past year, I was in a devastating accident with my Honda PCX scooter. The scoot was deemed a total loss, and I was given a sum which exceeded the amount paid for the machine when it was purchased in 2015. Through this, I continued to work (only missing two days), and on September 14th, I took the insurance payout and handed it over in exchange for a 2020 Honda Grom. 

The realization came to me in early December that I had not gone a day without riding a motorcycle, so the decision was made to keep going. I started reporting my journeys on a few Facebook groups and now have a small following of folks who keep track of my progress. 

The perfect year challenge is as follows: Ride a motorcycle for at least 10 consecutive miles (without getting off the bike), over a period of 365 days. I am not the first to attempt this and instead follow in the tracks of others who have gone before. 

The worst day was December 24th, when it reached a low here of 5 degrees Fahrenheit. The morning was crisp and I only put in twelve miles, but it was accomplished by staying out of the wind and sticking to roads in town. 

Since that day I continue to ride, and started the practice of taking a picture of the bike I am riding with a barn found after then ten mile mark. 

I know I have not written in years, but I will try to update this page periodically with tales of the journey toward the perfect year. 

Until then, may the wind always be at your back, and may your wheels never be parallel to the ground.

(bikes shown are 2020 Honda Grom MSX125 and 2010 Honda NT700V)