Freedom on Two Wheels

For the last 7 years, my freedom moments have come mostly while I was on 8 wheels. Derby; my place to be completely, and wholly me. Recently though, I've been lucky enough to enjoy the roadways on a Honda Shadow 600 motorcycle. My commute to and from work is a new and wonderful experience. 

It's a 30 minute drive for me. A full 30 minutes of feeling the wind, enjoying some tunes, and mostly enjoying the view. That view!

For anyone who hasn't been on a motorcycle, it's hard to explain how different the view is, from a vehicle. It's so...open. My favorite is my ride home in the mornings. Although it's a colder ride, than on the way in, it's definitely worth the temperature difference. Sunrises are amazingly beautiful things. The beginning of a new day. Several times I've wished there was s way to accurately capture the view, with a photograph. Unfortunately, the only camera I have is attached to an iPhone, and taking a picture while riding isn't exactly the safest idea. Which means, I am left captivated my entire ride home, without any proof of what I've witnessed. Surprisingly, this has helped me to take in every bit of it while I can, because once I get home, it'll be over. My favorite, are the storm front sunrises. One morning I was racing home to beat a storm. Before me was a sky filled with clouds that looked like they were a heavenly fire! Behind me was a rainbow, and dark clouds, lightening filling them every so often. The contrast between the view in my mirrors, to the view before me, could not have been more stark. The beauty of the beginning of the morning leaves me in awe every morning.

Something else that I find entertaining, is the varying in temperatures as I ride up hills, down hills, across bridges, and past open fields. You can feel the differences, that wouldn't even register if you were driving that same road with the windows down. Also the smells. I love the smells, (most of the time), the smells of wild lilies, fresh cut grass, newly plowed dirt, the pavement as the first raindrops begin to fall. My mantra, with rain, is that I'll ride to work, as long as I'm not going to get wet on the way in. The way home is fair game. Sometimes the smells aren't so amazing. Like the cattle trailer I just passed, or the rotting plants from the field that flooded, or the roadkill. For the most part though, the it's the smells of nature that I would've missed with my windows up.

The most intriguing thing about riding my motorcycle, is I feel almost like my voice disappears. Yeah I could sing, or talk, but not only can I barely hear myself over the wind, or the wind and my music, but no one else would hear it either. Feeling like a mute, is weirdly freeing. I'm just listening, and watching the world fly by me. 

It's such a freeing feeling, riding a motorcycle. Like derby, I plan to continue feeling this freedom on two wheels, as long as my body will let me.