Imagine a morning so cold but sunny
Your jacket big and warm
Tight around you
Making it hard to move
But keeping some warmth on your body
Thick gloves wrap your hands
Making them hard to use
Think and heavy boots protect your feet and keep them warm
The full helmet protects your brain and keeps some sound and cold out
You push the button to start the growling Harley
The machine under you purrs alive with smooth power
And with perfection
Your anticipation for the ride pushes your adrenaline to wake you further
Both feet on the ground, hands firmly planted on the handle bars for balance
Your left foot pushes the kickstand back
And you turn your gas wrist with precision
And slowly let out the clutch with your left hand
The purring monster pulls you forward
The acceleration tightens your core and pulls your arms
As you hold on automatically and without thought
It is an extension of who you are
The wind whooshes faster and faster
And the engine yells louder and louder
The RPMs raise and raise urging the shift to 2nd gear
So you pull the clutch tightly with the big glove on your left hand
And let off with the gas wrist
And your left boot foot lifts up on the shifter
It all happens simultaneously
Without thought
Just a reflex
As you shift to the next gear like the end is near
Your core loosens for a split-second but then
Your clutch hand lets out and your gas hand turns again
And your core tightens again as the purr grows louder again
The strong and torque-ey engine pulls you forward with power and ease
Again and again you do this until
Finally you are past the speed limit and cruising comfortably
Smooth feel the vibration in your body and you feel it a bit in your feet and hands
It touches your soul and your entire body - the frequency heals and calms
There’s no other cars
In front or behind or left or right
The country is living and passing you left and right
The sun on your right peaking over the horizon and pushing the cold air to you
On the left, the mountain range is colorful from the morning hue and
Clouds with more color of the sun and reflections from sky and the earth
Stream alongside you
Your helmet masks the sounds some and protects from the cold
But the cold sneaks its way in and cools your face and chills your ears
Its a welcome cold - so brisk, it helps wake you further
You are in 6th gear and cruising and cruising
This highway is smooth and safe so you put your booted feet
On the highway pegs as the engine purrs it’s healing perfection
Leaning back on the back rest you set cruise control
With your mind and body at ease
And move your gas hand to the warm engine below
To bring back some life into fingers
And then you
Switch your clutch hand to the engine for warmth
To feel those fingers too
It might sound funny unless you have experienced it
But the cold and wind and passing land
It’s spawns a peaceful state of mind
That wanders but focuses and wanders and wonders and focuses
It’s meditation on wheels
You have no wife, no girlfriend, kids, work, friends, brothers, dogs
No drama or problems and no worries and no bothers
You only have the road and the cold and the sounds and the smells
Of the world passing effortlessly by
It all drifts away as you focus and wander and ride
The warm air from the engine warms the insides of your legs
And the cold air cools the outsides
And you drift and focus and wander and ride
Nothing else matters
Your muscles and mind are all in use and one with the machine and passing earth
You are more relaxed then your mind thought possible
Tightly relaxed - now that’s an oxymoron
But it’s true and
That’s what riding is like