Riding a motorcycle on these roads is simply amazing.
It's like good ole fashioned exploring. Like wandering the deserts on a horse in the wild wild west. Except there's 35 of them, tied to the twist of a wrist. Charging. Screaming. Stampeding uphill at 70mph and banking into corners, making mud pies the whole way.
But really, words cannot do justice to the experience. My best comparison would be something like this:
1.) Riding in a car is like watching TV. You look out through a square piece of glass and can imagine the touch of wind, the smell of the flowers, the sounds of the engine, and the shifting world around you, all while listening to some tunes or having a chat....it's entertaining, but it's easy to become distracted or bored or carsick.
2.) Riding on a motorcycle feels like floating through a liquid. You are able to experience the medium of air. Air is not nothing. It's not empty. You feel it throughout your body. On your face, up your nose, in your ears, on your hands, down your boots. All of your senses are on overdrive. You are completely connected to 360 degrees of rapidly changing visuals and roaring audio, feeling the texture of the road and the pull of gravity, all controlled by a cleverly constructed machine that pushes you forward at ridiculous speeds with minimal effort.
And, on a motorcycle, you tend to stop more. "Smell the roses," as they say. You can just pull over, hop off and wander into the sticks. Nothing to lock up. Nothing to secure. Nothing to worry about. Freedom. It's no joke.
On a bike, you can cover some serious miles and explore every last nook and cranny. You are able to find the little spots that you'd never have found in a car because you were too busy changing the channel, chatting on the phone, or too focused on "getting there."
So we explore, scanning the horizon for interesting land features, looking for overgrown and rusty old road signs, marking the forgotten roads and trails. Searching the hillsides for the telltale signs of gold mines. Finding a way to that secret meadow, one valley over. Always looking for the hidden gems.
The Halfway House Cafe. A back roads gem.
Last weekend, we also came across the Little Rock Dam. A water reservoir hidden on the backside of the mountains, just 20 "crow" miles from my house, but 40 miles on the curvy mountain passes.
There's a bar and grill there, owned by a great guy named Rick Cooper. A former figure 8 track stock car racer in the 60's. He's got good some stories.
He cooked us up some burgers, served us a cold beer and showed us how NOT to put a crossbow back together.
Good times.
My life feels like it's on overdrive most of the time. Too fast, too busy and not enough time to get it all done.
But when I'm on the road, floating through space, life slows down and I have time to think and relax and enjoy.
Oh yeah,
I forgot to mention the wildlife...
This is a young Western Rattlesnake, common in Southern California. About 3-4 feet long.
The young ones apparently have a more potent venom and it is said they give it all out at once. I didn't stick my hand out for a test.
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