The Ride
“Wow! Another Post! Look at him go!”
I can hear you all the way from here.
One of the ideas swirling around my head the other day was that I really had yet to see a lot of This Vast Country. Another idea swirling around was that I could really use some time entirely removed from day to day routine to really start thinking about things in my life. Yet another idea in my head was how much I liked that really neat motorcycle of mine.
These ideas all bumped into each other, and at first each was a little indignant at being run into by the others. After a few tense moments, they realized that they all really liked beer and that they should all sit down for a pint together. Thus was born the idea of The Ride and The Book.
So we’re about to enter silly daydream fantasy land. We are entering a world where suddenly all of my large bills are paid off, I have quit my job, and I have months and months worth of salary saved up in the bank. In short, this land bears little resemblance to reality. However, this land is certainly has some very pretty sights, so lets go for a ride.
The idea is like this. I’m most likely in my last year at Pitt. In the spring, I’m supposed to start looking for a new job, one higher up the ladder. What if, instead of pursuing career advancement, I simply take a year or so off, hop on the Shadow and ride.
This country is a big place, and I’ve seen just a small proportion of it. What if I just head off in a direction, lets say West, and see what’s out there. When I run out of roads to the West, maybe I can go North, and visit Canada, or turn South and explore more America. And what else could I do, but write about all of these adventures.
The Great AntiDJ Road Story. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance with out any of the Zen, and none of the tirades about bike maintenance. American Gods, with out all of that crazy mythology stuff. You get the idea. Me. My Motorcycle. The Road.
While the general route seems like it should stay open and unplanned, already some stops that need to happen leap into my mind.
Maryville, OH. What’s there, you ask? Well, that’s where the ol’ Shadow was built. If I’m going on a journey to find myself, it seems only right that I should help my iron horse find herself too. I’ll be spending thousands of miles with the bike, visiting it’s birthplace seems like a good way to ensure I understand my machine.
A large bike rally. You know… Sturgis, Laconia, Daytona. Something like that. It wouldn’t be a cross country motorcycle trek without at least hitting one rally and writing about it. I’m not someone that people would categorize as a stereotypical biker. I don’t know what I’d find at such and event, but it seems like this would be as good of a time as any to find out.
Vegas. Of course I have to hit Vegas on my bike. Maybe a run at one of the WSOP events is in order. What? You thought I wasn’t going to work poker into this somehow? Man, you’re pretty silly. Also, do you really think I’m going to travel all across this country and NOT going to hit up Quark’s Bar for at least one Warp Core Breach? You don’t know me at all, do you?
L.A. How could I not hit Los Angeles? Based on all stories you hear and stereotypes and such, L.A. is completely and un-Me sort of place. What better way to find out who you are, than to find out some things that you definitely aren’t?
There are plenty of other places that warrant a visit from me and my bike. Use your imagination; I’m sure you can think of some. But mostly, this is about the ride. What does it matter where I actually end up visiting?
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Now, all I need to work out is that whole issue of money…