Category Archives: Diary

Be Gone, Diary, For Good, Inspiration

Christmas Wishes

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I don’t know why Christmas always seems like a time of reflection but as It’s a Wonderful Life plays behind me, I find myself drifting to thoughts reserved only for quiet nights near the fireplace.  Each year provides wholly new considerations of the year before and the coming days.  This Christmas is no different.

It wasn’t long ago I was struck with the idea of getting a motorbike and traveling with great friends of mine in order to see more of my world and meeting more of her inhabitants.  I started talking about these travels and one of the first things we discussed was just how we could be a benefit to the people we met along the way.  We all recognized just how lucky we have been in our lives and figured anything we could do for those less fortunate would not only be important but practically our duty.

We put our plan into action and started the ball rolling.  I knew one of the first things I would need to do is get a bike so I could learn how to ride before setting out for our many destinations.  The first step was accomplished last week and we are headed quickly towards each of the other goals.

There are a few things that give me an incredible amount of pride in this venture and the first is simply following a big dream.  For years I have thought about the “what ifs” and “maybes”.  Today, I am driving towards a goal with very real, deliberate steps and it makes me utterly satisfied.  In the new year I will be bringing you more stories of progression towards our ideals of meeting people who are less fortunate than ourselves while we travel and assisting them in any and every way we can.

If you can take one thing from my story this Christmas, it should be that passionate thoughts and bold actions will lead you to places where you can achieve what seemed impossible just weeks, months and years before.  You just have to believe.

Be Gone, Diary, Motorcycle

First Ride

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The bike came home yesterday like a long remembered dream materializing directly in front of my eyes.  The excitement I felt manifested itself in a vibration in the joints of my fingers and a hand reaching through my belly button to squeeze and release my stomach like an Olympian’s grip strength exercise.

The mixture of elation and anxiety swirled in my head with each one threatening to overtake the other moment to moment.  My first ride began with a slow, deliberate dressing process as I donned more gear than would seem necessary for someone scared to go beyond 20mph.  I threw my leg over the bike the way every hero does in the cool biker movies and just like I had practiced in my mind a thousand times.  Once I was on the bike, I tried thinking about all the steps I need to get started and on the road.  It didn’t take long for me to familiarize myself with the bike.  Maybe it had something to do with the hundreds of videos detailing every inch of the bike I watched over the last two weeks.

My first ride felt like I was flying.  Moving, even at that speed, it is easy to lose the front wheel and the handlebars altogether and imagine, like Superman, you are driven by your own power.  It was exhilarating.