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Copyright © 2004 Edward E. Williams
A new rider was talking with me the other day and was commenting on how great his first "real" solo ride was.
Yup, you always remember your first time.
One day, you'll take your first road trip. On one morning of that trip, you'll decide to hit the road a lot earlier than you had before - like before dawn. You'll be a little cold in the wee hours, and the bike will take a little longer to warm up. You'll have your face shield cracked open just a little to cut down on the fog inside, and even with the fancy heated grips on your new bike, you'll have to flex your fingers to keep them moving. You'll cruise along through the countryside with nothing but your headlight beam to guide you through the twisties and hoping like hell that no wildlife comes jumping out of the bushes at the last moment, fascinated by that headlight. There'll be a mixture of fear and anticipation as you plow along through the inky air and you'll marvel at how great it is to ride without traffic and out of the heat of the day.
A little while down the road, you'll pull in to an all-night diner to grab a cup of coffee and warm up your hands. You'll pick up a local paper to see what the news of the day is and chat up the waitress a little. Somewhere along the way, while you're sitting there inhaling the steamy aroma from your mug, you'll realize that you've never felt quite like this in all your life. You've never felt so ... alive.
Once the coffee's done and your hands are limbered up again, you'll be back out on your steed and headed off down the road in the gaterhing light. You'll start thinking about breakfast, the next gas stop, how the bike's running and when you think the day is just turning routine again, you'll come around one particular corner, top out on a hill and get a view of the most spectacular sunrise you've ever seen - the filmy mist in the valleys looking like a blanket that the world hasn't quite thrown off this morning and the golden-red sunlight filtering through the trees. You'll actually pull over and stop to look at it and enjoy the moment as you get a little lump in your throat - that you won't really be able to figure out.
Yeah, you'll always remember those first times.
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