Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Audrey's first sleep over
My bike had its first sleep over this weekend. My buddy Eric and his family were moving back into town from Miami, so I was helping them move, setup the house, etc over the weekend. Saturday went smoothly enough, although we weren't able to unload the moving truck until 10 o'clock at night, because of delays and weather. I took the rents' cage, thinking we might need some extra space to haul stuff around. No real problems, and everyone headed home by midnight. Sunday, I decided to ride Audrey to the house; it's a decent ride to their location in Hudson and the weather looked like it might hold. I could not have been less accurate with my meteorological predictions were I a professional meterologist.
Literally two minutes from the sanctity of Eric's two-car garage, as I am turning into his subdivision, the sky opens up in a torrent. Less than a mile later, I was soaked to the skin and Audrey saw rain for the second time in her short time with me. So close, yet so far was the situation and a very wet rider and motorcycle pulled into the driveway. As day transitioned to night, we made steady progress on the bedrooms, ceiling fans, and the everything else in the house. Meanwhile, the weather went from rain to monsoon South of us, where I would be headed, were I to ride home. Eric's dad called to let us know that the rain was coming down in sheets. We could see the lightning and hear the thunder rolling from miles away. Making things even more ominous was the fact that the storm was slowly making its way North, directly towards us.
In that kind of weather, with my limited experience on a bike, it's just not worth the risk, so I decided to hitch a ride with my buddy's mom and younger sister, since their house is only a couple of miles away from homebase. Audrey would have to spend the night alone, in a strange place, for the first time since I brought her home in April. I was tempted to make a scene of our parting, but was too tired, so I reassured her that Eric would not put his substantial backside in the saddle, and that all would be well. As we drove away, I stared back at the house until it fell out of sight, tears welling up in my eyes. I whispered, "I'll miss you my love" as the house disappeared and we rolled on into the darkness.
And that's how I got separated from my beloved motorcycle for nearly 24 hours between Sunday and Monday. The bike is back home and she's totally filthy, but it's reassuring to see her leaning in her usual place near the garage door. After only three months, it already seems strange to not see her parked there. School starts in a week, so she may be spending a lot more time on the jiffy stand than the highway, which is going to be difficult, which will definitely be a shame.
A plan is brewing that might see me, the bikes, and the rents heading to Kentucky for Thanksgiving, which should give us the opportunity for some riding, though the weather will be cold in a way that I am completely unfamiliar with by then. Time to get some assless chaps and long underwear, I guess. I'm thinking that a pair of leather pants in the Jim Morrison style might be a good choice for Winter riding. After all, nothing says "hot" like a guy riding a Harley in skin tight with major shrinkage going full effect. I'm gonna look like a total badass!
Labels: motorcycles
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