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
