08 Harley Nightster

So I picked up a motorcycle a couple years back and have been riding the tires off the thing. I've been wanting a bike for 20 years now and I finally decided I should pull the proverbial trigger before I get too old (not quite 40 yet). I'm a surfer and a snowboarder, your typical California kid except that I now live in Pennsylvania. Needless to say, if I didn't find something to do, all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. . .you catch my drift. It was everything that has been missing from my life until that point. It's basically stock, a few upgrades like the handlebars, pegs, some RK air shocks and a new comfy seat.
I ride this thing everywhere. I ride until it snows and then I ride once the roads are clear. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I filled up my car this summer. I love it, it is what I was meant to do. It's therapeutic. Let me just put out this disclaimer, I don't care what you ride or what you think about mine, I bought what I wanted and I ride the piss out of it. There, I feel better. It's hard to explain to people who don't ride the feeling I get when I'm on my bike. It's a serene intensity that heightens my senses yet relaxes my entire person.
The last couple years that I lived in Reno, I got into backcountry snowboarding. I'd go out with my dog, climb a peak and ride down. I loved it all. Sitting at the top of a mountain and looking down at Lake Tahoe filled me with what others might consider a religious experience. I felt a connection. Blasting down the mountain in that state of mind transformed my world into a single focused purpose. Nothing else mattered, not family shit, work, bills, etc. Nothing mattered except the ride.
I get that same feeling on my bike. There are a lot of back roads in Pennsylvania and at any given time, you can ride out and be alone. The buzz of my bike has that same serene quality that I felt in my years riding the mountains and the ocean. My tires fuse in the black liquid asphalt and I find myself in a trance. It's a hard feeling to describe and I'm not doing it justice. I think there are times in life when you just know that you're doing something that makes you happy and fulfilled. I thought when I left the west coast that I'd never find that connection again and I held a lot of resentment and bitterness. That's all gone now. Would I rather be cruising down the Monterey coastline, you bet. For now, I've found a place to call home and something to keep me sane. See you on the road, I'll be the one wearing the bug splattered grin.

4 years later. . .

I can't believe that I haven't touched this in 4 years and it doesn't look like anyone was reading anyway. 4 years later and what has changed. Billions of dollars have been spent, lost, earned, borrowed and given away. America seems worse off than in 2008 and we are continually told that progress is slow and it takes time. I feel like we stepped backwards instead of moving forward. Maybe that was the natural ebb and flow of the times, maybe it was as a result of poor leadership and maybe it goes back further than that. A few updates since my last post: we're still broke, China has us by the balls, neither political party wants to work with the other, still at war and the status quo seems alive and well. We've ridden this disgusting "Status Ho" for as long as I can remember and she's looking a little used up. Now don't get me wrong my friends, I'm not against taking the beaten down 2am girl home for a roll every now and then but wouldn't it be nice to get some "strange"? Two parties, same shit different day. We recently had a debate between all the 3rd party candidates, how many of you watched? Come on. . .be honest. . .hardly anyone. I know there is some skepticism when looking at 3rd party candidates and I understand some of the apprehension but neither Obama nor Romney have offered a solution to balance the budget and all the 3rd party candidates did. Now, I know it's easy to say that you'll balance the budget and it's another thing to have the ability to do it. Explore all the options, no matter how different it might seem or how much they smell like that reggae concert you attended when you were 18. Have an open mind and you just might bring home some strange.