beautiful day

A few weeks ago, I sold my motorcycle, and it marked a big change for me. For many years my motorcycle was an important part of my life. I spent my free time riding the highways of New Mexico and our surrounding states. When I wasn’t riding, I was planning a ride. It was a big part of who I was. I was an all-season rider that spent a lot of time on his bike. I started making trips with hotels so I could explore farther from home. Then I added camping because even a cheap hotel used money that could be spent on gas and extend my trip. The cell phone and its internet access allowed me to take a laptop and work while on the road. There were many trips where I had the bike on the side of the road fixing a problem for work. Several years ago, I blew a back tire going over 80 with my wife on the back. I got the bike off the interstate without incident. However, it was close, and it took all my skill to stay upright. The thought I almost put my wife on the pavement scared me. It put a small seed of fear into me that made being responsible for her life while riding the motorcycle too great a risk.

Seeing the country from a motorcycle is a unique experience, one I’m not going to attempt to explain. But it did teach me that life is all about the journey and easier isn’t always better. In my mind, the best ways to see the country go in this order; 1-Walking 2-Horseback 3-Biking 4-Motorcycle 5-Convertible 6-Car 7-Train 8-Jet.

Because I want to explore with my best friend, we changed from motorcycle to convertible to do our wandering. My picture for 07/31 is of the replacement for the motorcycle and my beautiful wife. Today was the first of what I hope will be many great road trips.