Dear Diary... a glimpse into the pages of a journal written by a woman rider.Sunday
May 2, 2010
Dear Diary,
Friday morning, I found myself riding solo as I rode my Glide to Panama City to meet up with H and several of our friends for the Thunder Beach Rally, and my infamous Derby party. Big Ed was putting his RV down on the beach so we could have a place to stay and be right in the middle of all the festivities for the weekend. Since that can be a pain in the ass sometimes, H decided to ride down on Thursday to help him get it parked and set up.
I intended to take off early so I could get there by lunch, but only got 5 miles down the road before my engine light came on. Since I was riding alone, I found a place to turn around and headed back toward Montgomery and rode straight to the Harley shop. I explained to them that I was loaded up and headed out of town, so they got my ol' girl right on back to see what ailed her. About an hour and a half later I was on the road again! (Thanks, guys!) Just a minor voltage issue that was probably a loose wire. No light... no problem. Let's ride!
As I got past the point of my previous u-turn, I rode about 20 more miles before I felt myself start to relax and settle into my seat. That's when it hit me...
Snifffffff... ahhhhh! I wish you could smell that! My favorite smell in the whole world... honeysuckle!
One of the pluses of riding a motorcycle in the South during Spring... is how wonderful it is to ride through a fragrant cloud of honeysuckle! I kept relishing in the intoxicating aroma as I rode down Hwy. 231 through the gauntlet of short bushy trees laden with the pretty white blossoms. Even when an intruding whiff of something else, recognizable but not necessarily pleasant came into the mix, it would only be a mile or two before the overpowering sweetness of the honeysuckle would take over again.During a fuel stop in Ozark I met a trio of riders who, when realizing we were all going to the same place, invited themselves to ride along with me. So the three amigos and I took off and rode together for a little while before we came to the shortcut I like to take that bypasses me around the busy Dothan traffic.
A right turn later and a quick wave to the others, and I was off on my own again. Alone... just me and my honeysuckle.
Partnering with the air of sweet sensations, was the clean crisp smell of newly fallen rain (yes, I got wet a few times!), and a tickle in my nose from someone's freshly mowed grass. Cruising across the miles, swathed in sensory stimulation, this was definitely one ride for the books.
When I got to my destination, I met up with H and the gang at Joe's Bar on Bus. 98, where you can eat THE BEST chicken wings in all of Panama City! Yummy!
Flame, greeted me with a hug and asked me how my ride was. I just smiled and said... "My ride never smelled so good!"
Me
17 comments:
I love the smell of honeysuckle, just got a good wiff of it driving to my parents house from the airport, too bad I wasn't on a bike at the time. :)
I'm glad you're solo ride turned out so good, and that you're mechanical problem was an easy fix!
Honeysuckle eh?...lucky you...around here we're used to horse manure smell which happens to be just as good... if you're used to it. loll
Electrical problems are not only hard to predict but hard to find sometimes...glad it was minor. Enjoy the weekend and if Whiskey don't kill us we shall drink till we die.
The scents of spring air is one of the many things that make you glad to ride. I love the smell of lilacs and honeysuckle We still are having cold rainy weather here allot. Tomorrow we should have 60's and only partly cloudy....looks like it should be good for riding. I can't wait to have the kinda weather that we can ride in tees.
I love the springtime smells while out riding. Great diary post!
jasmine here. sniff sniff ;) ahhhhhhhhh :)
ALL the springtime smells are great. That's why 2 wheels is so much more enjoyable than 4 with the windows rolled up and the A/C on.
Sounds like ya'll are living the good life for sure. Can almost smell it in your words. Thanks!!
Do you do this on purpose?
My mind conjured up all kinds of things when you said your ride never smelled so good......Do you really have to make it so damn hard for me to behave??????
Excellent post..as always.;]
B.B... I hope you have a nice visit with your family. I can't believe how close you are right now. (Well... compared to Cali, anyway!) I don't know if you know anyone back home who rides, but if you could take a little southern spin... it would sure be a treat for ya!
Baron... Our office used to be across the road from a small field that was home for some cows. The land was sold and a developer came in and started leveling and grading the field to build (you guessed it... a strip mall) After the first day of all this earth moving, I came out of work that afternoon and took one whiff... ahhh... smelled just like home! IOWA!
My friends thought it was funny that I thought stirred up cow shit smelled like home, but it was that familiar manure odor that reminded me of all the farms and livestock that you smell while traveling across my great home state of Iowa.
bikerbaby... I agree... delicious smells are like the cherry on top of an already rewarding experience!
I love the smell of lilacs too. We had a lilac bush in our yard when I was a kid, and in the Spring, my mom would cut some and put it in vases all around our house. (What a lovely memory I just had... thanks for the trigger.)
BTW... hope your weather treats you right so you can get out there and have a smelly day. :)
Dean... Yep... Spring smells are the best! Have you been able to do much riding yet?
I understand you have a wonderful reason to be too busy to post, (wink, wink) but maybe you can throw us a contemplative bone every once in a while.
We miss your blog posts! Have a great Spring D-Day!
Mq01... Ooooohh... Jasmine is another favorite! I have a huge creeping Confederate Jasmine right outside my backdoor next to my screened in porch, and the fragrance knocks your nose off when you step outside. It's like walking into a flower shop! :)
Canajun... I've decided... if I couldn't ride anymore, for whatever reason, I would have to own a convertible! It's hard to go back... to cages that is.
AZD... Sometimes, I have to pinch myself too. "Living the good life"... it's all in the attitude!
Big D... (giggle) Who... me? Besides... behaving is way overrated! ;]
ahhhhhhh...I gave you stank and you gave me honeysuckle...what is that saying about me?!?
Alright, alrightl...a southern ride is in order because I have to smell this for myself. I also want to ride as dusk with a zillion fireflies around me....that is a big fantasy of mine.
Thanks for the smells!
Brought back thoughts of eating the honey from the honeysuckle as a kid. I do love the smells of spring here in the South.
Ride Safe,
Ronman
Dave... Whether we're wafting through the sweet aroma of honeysuckle or getting drenched in stank from a terrible shit storm... it's all about the ride!
You and I know that! We've talked about it before, how the road dishes it out... and we take what it's got... just to say we can.
That's what makes us good little road whores... so, keep up the good work.
BTW... Your such a tease! You've been telling me your coming down here for two years now! LOL!
Ron... We would do the same thing... Pick off the tiny white blossoms and suck the sweet nectar from the little stems. Ahhh... precious memories!
Lilas are coming to an end here and I have honeysuckle in the lane to the woods. It is my favorite time a year to walk to the woods. About a 1/2 mile walk. Love it. But riding so long in it must be intoxacating.
The smells of the road. Gotta luv em’. Some how I seem to ride faster when passing a pig farm. Maybe all that ‘gas’ in the air makes my bike run better ;)
Webster... you can find honeysuckle along the highways from here to the beach. 3 1/2 hours of riding through the sweet aroma is heaven on earth!
Willy... we just gotta take the good with the bad. I guess that means every thing from shit to shinola!
May the smells... be with you. ;}
Keep up the good work! I invite you to see my post, I hope you will find interesting too.
Post a Comment