It was cold and dark as I left work the other day and the threat of rain was imminent. The gas gauge was on empty. I rode down Street Road in Southampton, a busy four lane road, and tried to turn into a gas station to fill up. As I did I had to swerve to avoid a car doing a u-turn near the pumps. Damn! Had I applied the brakes I’d have been hit from behind by the car tailgating me at the time. Idiot! I gassed up, re-entered traffic and rode a few miles. As I passed under a green light, another car pulled out directly in front of me. Geez, look first moron! I blew my airhorn, but this hardly satisfied my growing need to choke someone. I rode through the Market Square mall and an elderly man crossing my lane from left to right failed to stop and allow me to turn left. Son of a mother! Again, I hit the brakes and the airhorn “Bad ride” joined the cloud of dark thoughts growing in my mind and had me wondering if I’d have been better off driving the car to work.
I finally came up on the open section of my commute and things changed. Throttle opened, the road cleared and “Lazy Eye” by Silversun Pickups hit my ears. I have no idea what the song is about and I really don’t care, it soothes me like a mental painkiller every time. Suddenly my chest started sucking in cleaner air and I processed, treated and properly expelled the stress and angst of the day until it left me, trailing out the back, forgotten as spent exhaust. The rough skin of the day slipped off without my noticing. Maybe it was the simple act of accelerating. On a motorcycle, acceleration, balance, and the beautiful, violent scream of sensory overload forgives and forgets calms and excites simultaneously. Whatever it is I’m grateful for it every time. Riding forward and clearing my mind is the best part of riding.
Bad ride? Nah, no such thing. Just ride out the bad. There’s good coming up, I promise.
Ride safe.