Category: Small Town

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Hog Heaven

Is it real? During my 25 degree ride in to work on my Road King, with my head safe and warm in my Fulmer full face helmet, I smelled bacon. Yep! And not that thin sliced bacon, but the thick cut smokehouse bacon that hangs around in the kitchen on Sunday mornings. Well, it’s not Sunday and I’m not in my kitchen. Maybe I was in hog heaven! And the last time I checked bacon is frozen at 25 degrees and quite frankly, parts of me feel frozen as I’m experiencing this bacon aroma.

So how does this happen? With only coffee this morning and knowing I haven’t had bacon for over a week I’m confused. And where this took place there wasn’t a house for miles and not one car on the road. You know, just in case there was someone on their way to work, frying bacon with a car window down. Don’t get me wrong, I love bacon as much as the next person and the smell could put me in a coma. Bacon should be a fragrance for candles or even a perfume for women. Just picture a man sitting around in the garage with a nice candle lit while working on his bike, or the attention he would be paying to the woman in the room wearing “Smokehouse.” And at this particular moment it was nice to have the smell without the fear of grease splatter. Could it be somewhere in the back of my head I had a bad experience on my motorcycle and bacon was involved? Was bacon a sign that I was going to have a good day? Would the smell of oatmeal mean I need to stop eating bacon? So many questions…

With my leathers made of cowhide I can’t imagine where this aroma came from. I was riding my “hog” to work but no, I don’t think that was it. I wasn’t passing a pig farm and even so, I don’t think that would be far enough in the process to give me that “thick cut, smokehouse” sensation. Oh well, as quick as it came it was gone. Maybe around lunchtime I’ll smell pizza.

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The Wheels Keep Turning

The road has a way about it. A way of taking your inner thoughts and creating a one-sided discussion with no one but yourself. A dark side that reveals your hopes and dreams and mixes them with thoughts you are trying to suppress. A life of what could have been, what might be, and what will never happen. Alone with just these thoughts and feelings, they somehow become reality if only for the ride. The highway disappears beneath your rolling wheels into the back of your mind, taking you places that few people know. The sound of the motor is there but you can’t hear it as it pulls all of this to the surface to be seen only by you.

Each ride starts out the same, but as the motion begins and the miles become a blur, the thoughts of where you are in this life becomes apparent. Some answers to questions are clear, some are not so forgiving as they become buried asking only to be answered another day. So you ride. Riding harder and faster than ever before. With a hope of pulling all that tangled confusion in your head back into a straight line. The feelings and emotions owned by no one but you. We twist the throttle as if demanding our head to become clear. But the ride is never long enough. I don’t know if any ride is long enough to create the world I see in my dreams.

On every ride, our reality is right around the corner. It is the Destination, the Stop sign or that final turn down the driveway. Like a bookmark, we mark our place until the next ride. We will pick up where we left off as we try to figure out where this story is taking us. Who knows what lies ahead, but we keep searching for it. The truth. The truth as we see it or as we want it to be.

We may never untangle the mixture of feelings we carry or unload the burden of mistakes we’ve made, so we keep the  wheels turning. In our mind and on the road.

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So What’s Your Excuse?

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Can you smell it? It’s called anticipation, or maybe it’s exhaust fumes from you running your motorcycle in the garage waiting on that semi-nice day to ride. Either way its safe to say we all want to get the riding season underway. For some of us this will be a typical year of a few planned short trips and hopefully a couple of longer rides that require a little more thought. If you’re lucky like me you can ride to work to get that fix on a daily basis.

That’s why we have this motorcycle in the first place, right? You got into this for the freedom and the life-changing aspect that riding gives us, didn’t you? Or was it just to make the neighbors jealous of you because you have that “wild side” they don’t have? Whatever the reason, that motorcycle is sitting in the garage like a dog that is begging to be walked. You’re tired, sitting on the couch and Scout sits by the door looking at you-waiting for that sign that this time you aren’t getting up to go to the refrigerator. So what’s the excuse today?

It’s cold. It’s hot. It’s windy. I’m tired. Should I continue? We’ve all said it before, but really? Remember that feeling you had on your last ride and how you came back from it ready to take on the world? That short ride with your friends that took you down some beautiful back roads? Or was it that time you went somewhere and the weather turned bad and you had to suck it up and get through it. But afterwards you had something to talk about and it even made you say to those that didn’t go “exactly where do you buy your underwear, because it’s not the big boy department!” And yes, you STILL talk about that day and how amazing it was that you survived.

So this year you are going to challenge yourself. Un-plug your bike from the battery tender, un-plug yourself from your cell phone and go for a ride. The more you ride the more you want to ride. The less your ride, the easier it is to make excuses. Make your friends and neighbors really understand the reason you have that bike in the garage. Turn the TV off and get off the computer, put your gear on and go! You won’t regret it. Good weather or not so great, you will come back wondering why you struggled with the decision whether or not you wanted to. Of course you wanted to!

So the next time you have the urge to get on your bike and that little voice of excuses starts talking, you have a choice to make. You can turn the volume up on the TV, or you can fire up that motivator you have in the garage. It’s your choice.

But I warn you. If you are not going to do it, at least take Scout for a ride.

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This Life Of Mine

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I know it sounds crazy but I just don’t feel my age. It’s a younger me that rolls around in my head and there is a constant argument of how young I think I am, and the reality of how I look and feel on the outside. Let’s face it, I think I’m in my thirties and some would say I act even younger than that. What’s the old saying? “Act your age not your shoe size.” Well I would say I act a little older than ten and a half but not by much.

We all have those days when the mind and body are not talking to each other. It might be the weather, our health or it’s simply that time in our lives when no matter how hard we try we just can’t get ahead. Our mental state can be affected by just as much as our physical state. And those rare days when both are humming along at the same speed life is good!

So with age comes experience in life that we don’t have when we are young. But if you think about it, what is wrong with the youthful enthusiasm and curiosity that some lose as they get older? I can appreciate the experience I’ve acquired over the years but I still want to live my life and take some chances that I did when I was younger. I just don’t want to repeat the stupid mistakes that gave me the “life experience” to know better. We need to get that enthusiasm and curiosity back and take those chances with the experience that adulthood gives us to really find that perfect mix.

We all have our ways of feeling young. Some live vicariously through our kids, while some are active in their own forms of recreation. I ride motorcycles. I’ve been riding a long time and it has always been a way for me to connect to my youthful side. Do I think I could go out and win a few trophies at my age? Sure! The key word here is “think” and I do believe I could. Could I go out and ride hard enough to win? Maybe. Would I be embarrassed to try? No, I would always have my age to blame!

I think the secret to that youthful feeling is “living in the moment.” As kids or young adults, we specialized in living right there in the moment. Not worrying about yesterday or tomorrow, or even an hour ago or an hour from now, and that gives you sense of freedom. Some adults are still good at that. But for me? I go on worrying or at least thinking about adult things. For a short time while I’m riding my motorcycle that will usually go away. Right there in the moment, riding nowhere in particular, and for a brief time my head will clear. I’m sure if you had me hooked up to a machine you would see stuff like my heart rate go down, my bad cholesterol clear up, or my waist size shrink, who knows for sure. But one thing I will say is I feel better and I feel like a kid again.

I’m not suggesting we all go out and re-live our youth, that would spell trouble. What I think we need is a double-shot of whatever comes out of the fountain of youth. When I was young the fountain of youth must have been the end of the garden hose because I sucked on it all summer long. Whatever we do that gives us that feeling of “acting our shoe size” is exactly what we need to have that balance of our youth and adulthood. Don’t feel bad when your body says you “can’t”, it just hasn’t received the memo.  

 

 

 

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The Reason I Ride

sturgis100_4434To look back over the forty years I’ve been riding motorcycles is easy. I like thinking about all the experiences I’ve had and even looking at the photographs I’ve got stored away in an old envelope on the shelf. Notice I said “shelf” not “memory stick” or “hard drive”. That’s back in the day when someone had to take your picture and then a conscious effort was needed to get the film developed all the while hoping at least one of the pictures wouldn’t be blurry. If nothing else the old photos prove that at some point in my life I have been in shape and I have had a full head of hair.

So as I look back I often wonder why the motorcycle impacted my life instead of football or any other type of sports or recreation. Simple explanations for gravity or inertia I can give, but an explanation of why I ride might be difficult. But I ride when those friends of mine don’t. They’ll watch football or basketball and I’ll watch Supercross or Moto GP racing. The funny thing is the majority of my friends don’t ride motorcycles. I know what you’re thinking. A guy like Jeff must be surrounded by the latest and greatest machinery out there. He must ride a million miles a year and his house is filled with trophies of championships and with friends who ride and do nothing but talk about two-wheeled adventures. The reality is I do ride a lot and I rarely hang out with my motorcycle friends. My close friends all watch the games on TV and come Monday I’m at a loss for what to say when everyone is talking about the weekend in sports.

Going through my formative years at school in White City, I just didn’t play much football or basketball. In a community where team sports are the talk of the town, I was riding my motorcycle out to the trails to practice, eventually racing motocross until I broke my leg in 1987. Was I any good? From the side of the track I probably appeared to be somewhat awkward and squidish. From inside my helmet looking out I was awesome! Fast and smooth and wheeling away from the pack! But average is more like it, although I finished my best year ranked third in the state.

I think the real reason I ride runs a little deeper than just individual sports versus team sports. I missed my chance to play team sports and if I could do it over I would have played more in school. This is something I’ve come to realize as I have gotten older. Again, from the sidelines at the game I’m sure I would have appeared awkward and squidish, but I would have been there all the same. I wouldn’t necessarily change things as they turned out, but it would have been a life experience to add to the many I already have. So back to the reason… 

Just like those folks that like football or NASCAR, I like motorcycles. It really doesn’t need to be explained at all. We are individuals that have our likes and dislikes and I like the two-wheeled kind. I think most people associate me with motorcycles by now and that’s no surprise. They sure don’t mistake me for a guy in shape with a full head of hair!

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Faith Hope Live Laugh

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Words to live by. I have always felt strongly about this phrase and many times I have needed to say these words out loud to myself. You see, there have been times over the years that one of the four has been missing in my life. Maybe not missing entirely, but lacking might be a better way of putting it. I’ve always tried to maintain a positive outlook on life and I have found rolling along with the punches does make life a little easier. But as humans do, we usually search for those inspirational sayings to help us through. One thing I have always said to myself when the day is going less than good is “this day too will end”. It tells me that no matter how hard it is or how hard it can be, this day is just that. A day. It will end just like yesterday did and how tomorrow will. It will be ok.

Faith for me has been something I’ve needed to work at. I haven’t struggled with it, but I have not been the person I have wanted to be when it comes to my spiritual side. My relationship with God is strong but as a man I can be better. God knows me better than I know myself, and He’s working on it. And so am I. Our Faith gives us strength and in my life when my Faith was on the back burner is when I felt the weakest. Thank you God for being patient with me, I will try harder.

Hope is really easy for me as I am an eternal optimist. Faith and Hope go together, and if you ever hear me say ” I Hope you have a good day” understand that this is my way of saying I care about you and I think about you and I want your day to be amazing. It just always comes out, “have a good day.” Simple words I know, but it’s all about sincerity. And of course being polite!

Live your life as if it is your last day on earth. I know it’s easier said than done, and I really don’t want to leave this world washing the dishes, but you know what? What’s wrong with that? If I die tomorrow doing the dishes I am doing what needs to be done. That’s who I am. I am not above it and I’m good with that. As long as I can leave with those close to me knowing how I feel about them then what I’m doing at the time isn’t important. To die saving a puppy from a well and making the local newspaper isn’t my style anyway. Although “Man dies washing a puppy” might have a nice ring to it.

Laugh and the world will laugh with you. If anyone knows me they will tell you that I think I’m pretty funny. I am usually laughing or trying to make someone else laugh all the while not taking myself seriously. Even on those days when most things don’t seem funny, I try to spin a little humor to lighten the load. We need to laugh. We want to laugh. And we will. Some days it might be harder than others and sometimes it comes from nowhere. But don’t hold it back. Laugh.

The one thing I’ve left out is this; As I go through my daily life and deal with everything that comes my way, good or bad, I rely on all of this to not only help me through but to make it more enjoyable. Surround yourself with family and friends and enjoy every minute.

Faith gives us Hope to Live our life with the ability Laugh about it.

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It’s Never Too Late

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Yesterday a friend of mine mentioned of having thoughts of mortality because of the loss of a close friend. Along with other things going on in and around her life with family, my only comment was “this is what makes us realize how precious life really is”. I too, have had these thoughts the last couple of years with the loss of a couple of friends. Both losses didn’t make much sense and to this day still don’t. But every day I get up, do my best, be myself and carry on with the day-to-day stuff. While most of the “stuff” I refer to is pretty meaningless in the big picture, it needs to be done. But more importantly, it needs to be done. It is the “stuff” we do that gets us through every day, whether it’s dealing with mortality, or stress or whatever. So we do it. Sometimes begrudgingly, but we do it all the same.

My approach to the last couple of years of dealing with these thoughts have been simply to tell those around me how important they are in my life. It’s not something we usually do, I know, but think about it. A few simple words of encouragement, a random message that you are thinking of them, or better yet a “thank you” for being a person in your life can give both parties a clear understanding of where we are in this world. I may not see you or talk to you again before something sudden happens. But if something does, if nothing else, I know we both know. Realize, that if you volunteer to someone what you think about them, and you don’t get the same response, it’s ok. Just know that when they walk away they will be thinking about what you said.

There are a lot of inspirational quotes to fall back on that can bring reassurance and peace to our lives, but the impact of a few original words from your mouth can change people. And the feeling it gives you is the same peace in our lives that we need. Outcomes in life can’t always be changed. And we can go through life thinking people know how we feel about them. Maybe they do know, but what better way to make sure than to tell them yourself?

Live your life and enjoy even the bad days. It’s ok to feel the way you do and to open up your heart even if it hurts. Easier said than done, without a doubt, but today is the day someone may need to hear how important they are to you.  So tell them.

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The Price We Paid in the ’70s

As a teenager in the ’70s I was completely distracted by girls and motorcycles. If I only knew then what I know now, I would be in better shape with both motorcycles and women in general. You see, some of the motorcycles I owned back then have become new again. Highly desirable and worth more money than originally priced. Examples include, Honda 305 Scrambler,  1975 Yamaha DT175, Harley-Davidson X90, 1976 Husky 175, a Yamaha TY250 Trials and the list goes on and on. Sometimes, even in the moment, we are aware we should hold on to something with everything we have knowing we may never get them back. I know now I was never thinking they would be worth more than what I had invested, but living in the moment has its price. And I paid that price in full.

I was a child of that era and it goes beyond just motorcycles and girls. Cars and trucks came and went just as easy. 1966 Plymouth Fury, 1970 Dodge Charger, 1972 Dodge Charger, 1956 Ford truck, 1961 Ford truck Uni-body, 1949 Chevy truck, 1967 Chevy short-wide bed truck…see the trend? What was I thinking? But you have to remember, to me, cars and bikes were just a moment in time. Girls on the other hand were different. Like hair styles and bell bottoms. High School and dating. Transportation and recreation. Buy and sell or trade. Some were great deals and others were, well… not so great.

Even the Levi’s I was wearing back then are worth money! Say what? Yes, and in high demand. I’m not sure the pea green or sky blue leisure suites my mom made for me with her McCall’s Patterns would be worth much now, but who knows? Stranger things are happening. Some people save things from their past with hopes of it being worth something, but when it comes time to actually sell said things, they can’t part with them. They have a name for that. Hoarding.

As much as I appreciate the beauty of the Honda 305 Scrambler or the ’70 Dodge Charger, I can truly say that I am so much happier having owned and enjoyed them without the worry of damaging them or decreasing their value in some way. We rode hard and drove hard back then because we were living life. 8-track music blaring through cheap speakers or our Levi’s bell bottom pant leg chewed up from the chain of our motorcycles. It didn’t matter because we had a date that night!

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It’s Seasonal

As September hits I’m reminded of many things. Mostly, riding in the fall and how the summer days felt when it was unbearably hot. Looking back now those hot days seem like they were tolerable. School for everyone is in session, and growing up in a small town it’s classified as a big event. One particular hot day in August, on the first day of school, I wore a shirt that I was sure would be my favorite. A typical August day, in a school without air conditioning could suffocate a horse. But even your soon to be favorite shirt (that happens to be flannel) can become a sweat shirt in this heat. Really Mom? Sending your kid to school in a flannel shirt? I’m sure it was my decision and I fought her every step of the way until she caved in. Chalk it up to learning the hard way. To this day, every time I put on a flannel shirt I think about this. In the seventies there was no such thing as a “heat day” where kids got out of school because it was too hot. Instead, every day was “suck it up” day. So I did.

It’s a wonder how fast the seasons can change when we are lost in our day-to-day lives. Go to work, come home, ride a little and repeat. All the while trying to do the things required of me around the house. Before you know it the weather is changing and the days are getting shorter. I keep telling myself that it’s only a few short months until Spring and we’ll be fine. But hold on, I still have some riding to do and believe me the chores aren’t done. In any case I will ride this winter as I do every year, but as far as everything else…

Every season has its advantages and disadvantages and some seasons we like more than others. But when it comes to hot or cold or dry versus wet it’s all good. Just remember, it’s all temporary and it’s just a few short months until it all changes again. Apparently as a Freshman in high school on the first day of class, I lacked the depth and knowledge of both fashion and common sense. I made it through the day none the worse for wear and with a valuable lesson as my reward. After all, I was a Freshman and you can’t expect anything more from me. Just ask my mother!

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The Search

We spend our days searching. Searching for answers and places. Whether at work or on our own time, the day is filled with searching. Something to eat? Where will we sit? What’s on TV? Where is my life going? And most of the time we muddle through the food part and what’s on TV with out too much trouble. But life? That’s when I’m stumped.

Can’t find your keys? They will show up later when you aren’t looking for them. Shoe’s? They never get lost in pairs, but they will surface I promise. Friends? When you need them, they’ll be there. Not always easily found, and usually not the person you think it will be, but someone will be there for you. You may not realize it at the time, but they are there. Some random stranger that asks a question, or someone you wouldn’t consider a friend that suddenly comes up to you. Don’t worry, their intentions are good.

More often than not we have more questions than answers when it comes to ourselves. But the answers to most questions lie in each and every one of us. But those answers are to other people’s questions. We are the friend when someone is in need. And the one who misplaced your keys…