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August 15, 2014
The Open Road
One of the things I'll miss the most about being on the open road is rolling into some small town on a filthy adventure bike, walking around in riding gear like a soldier-of-fortune, and having people come up to me and say "Christ, man...where are you coming from? Where have you been?"
Like, I used to have to tell people my destination. Like, when you're starting out, and still in Colorado, saying "I'm driving to Alaska" shocks people. But it's hard for them to objectively evaluate whether you're truly suicidal, or just a pathological liar.
When you're coming back from a trip to the Arctic Ocean, you don't have to say anything. Total strangers approach me, look at the mud-caked bike and gear, and they say...."Lord God, son...where are you coming from? Where have you been?"
I had total strangers buying me dinner on the road. Buying me drinks. And high-fiving me in the parking lot.
"My friends would never do this. I want them to go with me, but they won't go," they say.
"Just go. No one else can take a month off from work. And if they could, they wouldn't do this. Just go. You'll meet people on the road. There's nothing wrong with your friends. They just have different demons."
I miss mostly riding up to Harley riders and saying "which way you ladies heading?" and having them all bust out laughing and then ride with me for days. That's so crazy fun. Because you're forming these intense bonds with total strangers because, you can see, they're all chasing the same dragon. They're all haunted by the same demons, or they wouldn't be out here.
I was so fortunate to run into my friends doing the Hoka Hey cross-country endurance motorcycle race from Key West, Florida to Homer, Alaska. Learned so much about cross country riding from them that there just aren't words. They taught me how to get on my motorcycle (using the pegs). How to put my bike on the center stand. How to drive a thousand miles in one day.
So crazy fun to think back on all the beautiful places I went. Like eating the heart out of a melon.
Posted by Rob Kiser on August 15, 2014 at 12:33 PM
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