Cycle Nuts

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Darlene_Snyder]Darlene Snyder

Ok, I will admit it; my husband and I temporarily lost our minds. Before judging us though, I want you to consider the whole story. We were in our late forties, our only child blissfully married and on his own. Maybe we were going through a mid-life crisis, or that empty nest syndrome, I am not sure what you would call it. We decided to purchase a motorcycle. Actually, we traded a boat for one.

The desire to ride started slowly. We began by just hopping onto the motorcycle and taking short rides around the local countryside. We gradually progressed to riding further away and staying out longer. Because the Honda was so small and did not have a backrest, I started whining. "Mike, if we are going to ride very often, we are going to have to purchase something larger. This motorcycle is killing my back. I want a bigger one."

He agreed and we began our quest for a larger motorcycle. A man whom we knew personally had one for sale. On the very day of my whining, we went to visit Mr. Calico, after checking it out and eventually taking the motorcycle for a spin, we bought the Yamaha 1300. This was about the precise time that we witnessed a minor change in our children, Eric and April. April is actually our daughter-in-law, but I refer to both as our children. They took on the role of concerned parents; mocking the manner in which we grilled them when they left to go anywhere. "Where are you going? When will you return? Be careful, call us when you stop so we will know you are all right. Let us know when you get there."

Thus was the routine before we left to go riding. If we failed to phone, there were explanations and excuses to make later. There are a few things different from when we rode motorcycle as teenagers. First, getting on and off the motorcycle is certainly not the same. My arthritic, paunch body does not afford me an opportunity for a graceful exit off the bike. I can step up, swing my leg over, and get on ok, but practically every time I get off, I just about break my neck. I struggle with raising my leg high enough to be graceful and generally will hop as I try to extract my leg. I am quite sure onlookers have laughed at me.

Another disparity between riding when I was younger compared to the present time, is back then I had to have plenty of clothing on or else I would get cold, even on a sunny day. Now though the hot flashes take care of that little problem! One more difference is apparently our decision-making ability has flawed with age. Take this explanation as evidence.

Scheduled to go to a weekend conference in Bowling Green Kentucky, which was roughly three hours away from where we reside, we elected to make the excursion on our motorcycle. If I packed lightly, we would have ample room for our small overnight bags. The week before our journey, we tuned in to the local weather stations periodically to track the weekend weather forecast. Our local forecasters called for stormy weather but the prediction for Western Kentucky was for storms to be of the hit and miss variety with mostly sunny skies. Remind me not to rely on weather forecasts in the future.

We were resolved to make this journey on two wheels. After promising our children, we would be fine and after accepting our expected instructions and directive to phone them when we arrived at our hotel, we were on our way. The beginning of the excursion was nice enough, but as we proceeded on, we began to observe the formation of the menacing sky very closely. We believed we were traveling in advance of the storms when in fact we headed straight towards them.

The Cumberland Parkway appeared all but deserted as the winds picked up and the rain started to bounce off our helmets. Luckily, we donned water resistant jogging suits or we would have been soaked. As it was, the rainfall was not the predominant issue. Mike had to wrestle hard against the wind to hold the 1300-pound motorcycle in the highway and upright. We could occasionally see the trees bend from the force of the wind.

Mike pointed to the sign indicating that we were going to take that exit. As the wind blew harder and the downpour persisted, He continued to concentrate on keeping the cycle upright. Suddenly, I began to wave my hands and arms in front of Mike pointing to a tree, which had fallen across the parkway. He had not seen it; luckily, I had. He was able to maneuver around it. Our exit was just in front of us and we were able to make it to McDonalds where we stopped to wait out the intense storm.

We took off our helmets, moved inside, and phoned our children, as good parents should. We expressed to them we were fine, excluding the graphic details of our nerve-racking journey. We downed several cups of hot chocolate as we waited out the storm. Eventually we made the impending decision to get back on the highway. The rainfall halted and the wind receded. As we moved out of the parking lot, pointing to the sky I said, "The lightning concerns me practically as much as the wind did. Maybe we should remain here a little longer." Shaking his head in the negative, we continued toward Bowling Green. A cold rain began to fall once more. I constantly looked toward the sky, frequently seeing the lightning dance all around us. I thought about what I had heard about rubber tires keeping the lightning from striking. I sure hoped this implied motorcycles too. I felt exposed and unprotected. The only thing between the lightning and me was my helmet. That was not reassuring.

The stars were out in full force; actually, it was a beautiful night. The lightning was high in the magnificent sky and did not seem to be striking anything. It was playing across the sky instead of aiming down towards the earth. That was the only consolation I had. I previously had a relationship with the Lord, but before the evening was over, I had an intimate, up close and personal relationship with Him. I sure did a lot of praying that seemingly endless night.

Now, do you understand what I mean about losing our minds? Is it a normal thing for 50-year old mature adults to behave in such a way? We didn't make good decisions but maybe when we get older we will. For now, we are continuing to enjoy our motorcycle rides. Thankfully, our children have eased up some too. I realize motorcycles are not for everyone. However, if you are fifty, don't live like life is over, live life as if it were just beginning. Actually, it is just beginning.

Darlene has articles published in the Outlook magazine, a feature article in the Kentucky Monthly with one of her scenery photographs chosen as the cover of the June 2007 issue. A short story was published in The Storyteller. On Mission, Working Nurse and Hopekeepers magazine, all have purchased or accepted articles for future publication. A Christmas story she wrote was published in an anthology titled I'll be Home for Christmas. She writes part time from her home in Central Kentucky. She has been married for thirty-two years to the only man she has ever loved. She has one child, a son who is married.