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Once again I've been led
astray by my inner child. That kid can drive me nuts at times and he seems to
enjoy distracting me from my adult responsibilities, especially if I've ignored
him for any long period of time. But, what can you expect from a 16 year old
delinquent living in my head.
On Sunday morning (29 July 2006), like
most of my Sunday mornings I had decided to ride some of my favorite back roads
prior to heading over to the radio station in Norfolk.
Some mornings
just feel different than others, and this Sunday morning was one of those. The
earth lined up perfectly with all of the planets in the solar system. The
weather was picture perfect for riding a motorcycle. The celestial alignment
combined to improve my riding skills and timing along with the tire's ability
to find traction.
Phil age 16 |
These are the conditions
that riders dream of, a ride capable of bending time and space on roads,
twisted and bent, rolling up and down; all of them leading to no place in
particular.
Not long into the ride as the fun levels increased my ride
my inner child managed to slip out and take control. He was now doing all of
the thinking. There were times that morning which caused me to question my
sanity for turning this irresponsible devil may care kid loose on such a fine
day with such a powerful machine.
By the time I reached the end of 620
in Ivor; I had traveled some 80 miles and most of that was fueled by pure
adrenaline mixed with large doses of endorphins than any 59 year old could
handle. I stopped in Ivor for water and after a quick cleaning of my face
shield; I realized it would be almost impossible for me to make Norfolk by
10:00 o'clock.
I was determined to arrive at my destination in
Norfolk. I changed directions and headed that way toward the radio station and
my adult responsibilities. Somewhere along the way I made the biggest mistake
of the morning, I let my inner child take over the controls of the "Beast". I
didn't think he could do much harm with me supervising him…
No
sooner did he have control He immediately turned onto a road which neither of
us have had the pleasure of riding before. I kept telling him we didn't have
time to explore new roads and we were not heading in the correct direction. He
kept reassuring me that all the roads in the area always come out somewhere on
a road that we know; and we could always make up time if necessary.
This road was absolutely awesome with lots of corners capable of making a rider
suck up seat covers into his anal cavity. Some of them so blind you couldn't
tell the corner existed, until it was way too late to correctly set it up for
safe high speed navigation. It truly challenged not only skills but nerves as
well.
Ivor
along 460
I have to tell you that
the kid impressed me, his skills and timing was spot on. Corner after corner he
maneuvered the bike into and out them with great ease and precision. Each time
panic would well up in the old guy, the kid would take over and perform
flawlessly renewing my faith in the soft science of motorcycling. He bent
corner after corner on this new road.
You can
get gas anytime in Ivor except Sundays
Just as the kid promised this new road surprisingly intersected
with a road we both recognized and knew well. The new road connected with one
of our favorites and it connected with another favorite. We wheeled over each
crest and drove hard out each corner making our way from one back road to
another.
Phil's inner child ready
to ride.... |
I've never
heard of Sexton Brothers Dog Food, but you can get it in
Ivor... |
Yes we were finally headed
in the correct direction and traveling at warp speeds that only Captain Kirk
could comprehend. The old man being overcome by a strong desire for nicotine
forced the pair to take refuge at a little country store.
The little
country store was closed, the old man and the kid argued over going to Norfolk
as planned or continue riding and enjoying the day. The kid made a good
argument over the waste of the tire rubber, and indeed the tires where flat
spotting in center and showed little wear on the edges. Riding to Norfolk would
only wear out the center of the tires, and it's the wear on the edges we needed
to work on. It was a matter of getting our monies worth out of the tires before
changing them. Staying out riding and enjoying the day would wear the tires on
those fat edges.
His argument was convincing enough and I had to
concede to him that it was a waste of perfectly good tires to wear them out in
such a disrespectful way my just wearing out a thin strip down the middle.
Pulling out of the country store' parking lot the kid turned the "Beast's"
front wheel in the opposite direction from Norfolk and responsibilities and he
promised he would raise the intensity of our ride. Now we were even more
determined to wear out the tires' edges.
Now you know why I wasn't
there, I was babysitting my inner child; that nasty little bastard…
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