Go West Hi-Lites #1
From a motorcycle diary Skip Hunt Go West!
Having no plan at all is only partially liberating. When you have no plan at all, you tend to think about what you’re going to do next all the time, i.e. should I turn here? Or stop there? With a plan it’s easier to let your mind wander a bit because you’ve already carved out what you’re going to do. On the other hand, not having a plan forces you to be in the moment even more because your mind can’t just sit back on auto-pilot. You’re forced to engage in the decision-making process non-stop.
Another issue to deal with is when to stop and make images. There’s something I want to stop and examine closer just about every mile or so. If I keep stopping, I’ll move along too slow. Why I think I should be moving along at any particular speed at all is a mystery. I mean, if I have proclaimed that I have no rules, I should be able to crawl OR fly, right?
Eventually, I just let go. I didn’t think about where I was going or when I would get there. Just sort of settled into a complete awareness of the road in front of me and all of the color and texture, or lack there of passing through my sight.
....when I was about 8 years old and watching my grandpa go bananas as they came across the finish line. This time it was just broken down people swilling warm beer and no one seeming to win anything at all. There’s also an Indian casino there now, but none of the magic I remember from my childhood. It could be that my eyes just can’t see with the wonder they used to.
Or, it could be times have changed and life’s just a bit more raw around the edges these days. I think I’ll try to concentrate and see if perhaps I can summon up the genies again. One thing was odd though, as I remembered my grandfather while I was at the track... it felt like he was right there with me... by the simple act of remembering him, it was like he was alive again.
The land surrounding this city is even bigger and more exposed than the parts of Texas I’d just ridden through. The peachy/turquoise colors they use in their bridges etc. don’t appeal to me much, but after the sun started to set and the clouds lit up with the last light like fire dancing from the heavens all the way down to the rocky hilltops... with a dramatic mountain backdrop in the distance... that light is something truly unique and the way it bounces off those peach & turquoise colors at that time of day makes the most perfect sense.
Go West Hi-Lites #2
From a motorcycle diary Skip Hunt Go West!
"It was the forth of July in South Fork, Colorado when I left. Everyone seemed very excited about all the activities, parades, BBQ, fireworks, etc. Although I’m not a big crowd person, I have to admit to a little sadness when I left there. All that “family” stuff looked enticing, but at the same time... I don’t do any of that stuff when I’m home either. So, down the road I went and enjoyed a beautiful stretch of highway winding all the way to Mesa Verde.
As I glided through a couple mountain passes I was getting all patriotic about the U.S. and how beautiful some of it is indeed. Even the people, when they’re not manipulated by characters who’s agenda is nothing more than dividing folks and generally shills for corporate interests masquerading as being “of the people”.
Soon, I was passing through Pagosa Springs. There was a detour around main street because they were having a giant Forth of July parade and had blocked off the main road through. Oh great! I get to see a parade after all. While I was boiling there on my bike, waiting for make-shift trailer floats to pass and people with there children all dressed up for the parade... stumbling like patriotic zombies right in front of me without a clue that there was traffic trying to pass, etc. I uttered to myself, “Get out of the way you bunch of nitwits! Can’t you see this is a road with traffic on it?!” So much for my patriotic tendencies toward the regular folks. ;-)"
Go West Hi-Lites #3
From a motorcycle diary Skip Hunt Go West!
I’m not sure what it is about luggage on a motorcycle, but I’ve noticed that when I have no luggage loaded on my bike, no one bothers to even notice me. When my bike is fully loaded, everyone stops and asks where I’m going or where I’ve been. They usually get this faraway look in their eyes as I tell them where I’d just ridden from or where I hope to ride to, etc.
I think the desire to be “free” like that must be pretty universal. Not so much the motorcycle component, but perhaps just the idea that someone is in the middle of some trip where they don’t know what to expect, are exposed to the elements, and alone. Something about that seems to be very appealing to folks in general I’ve found.
I mention this because I was hoping to leave Las Vegas fairly early in order to get some miles covered before the hottest time of the day. I didn’t count on the vari- ous visitors outside the hotel as I loaded up my bike. Don’t get me wrong, I love sharing the vibes with anyone who wants to absorb them close up, but it tends to put a dent in any plans of getting anywhere quickly. ;-)
A good two hours late, I was bolting South toward the Joshua Tree National Monument via straight down the middle of the Mojave desert via the Kelso dunes.
I’m not sure if it was the obscene heat or inaccuracies in my phone’s GPS, but I ended up getting a little lost. My chain was really feeling worn and the lack of any other vehicles at all was making me a little nervous. Figured, if I make it to Twenty-Nine Palms I should really bit the bullet and look for a new chain. If my bike were to fail out in this vast desert nothingness, I’d literally be toast.