The Hill Climb...

A cool thing happened yesterday. Besides being on a dirt bike all day, that is. We found a really fun (read muddy, steep, rocky, v-notch) hill climb in the woods. The guys went up, one by one; some with more success than others, some with better form than others. The first time I tried, I fell half way up, laughed, had help turning my bike around, and coasted back down. Which gave me an appreciation for how steep the thing really was! With all the guys at the top, betting against me I heard later, I tried it again... First gear, wheels spinning, pushing my bike over the top with my boots, victory was mine! Much cheering ensued, pointing at my slick mud packed back tire, and a high five with my fiancée; I felt on top of the world. 

It's no small feat to look at a mountain and think "I can get up that." I reflect on times in my life that I just put it in gear and got through it... Baby in college, kiddo with cancer, grad school, divorce... Life changes give you the option of getting through or falling apart. Even with the guys betting against me yesterday, there's not a one that wouldn't help get me out of the woods injured or ride my bike up something I couldn't handle. Knowing this gave me the courage to try. Life is the same way; because I've always had people in my corner ready to lend a hand if I fall and cheer when I succeed, I look at opportunity and say yes. Want to try something new? Yes. Want to meet someone new? Yes. How about a life style change? Yes. Oh that didn't work out? It's ok, you'll figure it out. We're here when you need us. (Which yesterday, I totally did later, but that's another story.) I may not tackle things with style and fineness, but you know if you ask, I'll say yes, and I'll give it 100% of my effort, I'll laugh when I fall, I won't blame anyone else when things go wrong, and I'll be grateful every moment for the love and support of those around me.

This may or may not give an idea of this feat. 

Darron got video! 

http://youtu.be/gVmwWN3naow

Meme for the day...

The Tulip Ride....

Talk about a great fundraising idea.  Let's get on our motorcycles, grab some bagels, get a couple of adorable movie stars who ride, and raise some money for The Humane Society and The Red Cross!  Ok!  Let's go!  Sunday, April 27th, was my first group street ride.  It followed a sleepless night, where I almost bailed on the ride, but I am ever so glad I went.  First, it was nice not to be the beginningest beginner on the ride.  (The poor dear with the messenger bag... I don't know the story, but he or she seemed to struggle to keep up!)  But that wasn't the point.  This was a ride to bring the community together and have a good time.  And it was truly amazing to crest a hill on I5 and see bikes as far as the eye could see.  It was cool to ride the back roads as a group; to look behind me and see the same tinted orange windscreen the entire ride, without knowing who that windscreen belonged to.  It was fun at the tulips to have someone come on up and say "thank's for letting us in on the freeway!"   When you are with other riders, there is no shortage of things to talk about.  We compare rides, bikes, dreams, and adventures, as well as mishaps, close calls and past accidents.  We liberally give out unsolicited advice with the best of intentions.

And then we face the weather.  Rain or shine, around here, riders are riding.  On our way home, we saw sun, light rain, heavy rain, and hail.  And then sun again. I suppose somewhere in this ride there were tulips.  Nathan and I got a cute picture in front of some. But it reinforced the idea that the destination is never the point.  Sure, it was nice to have a hot dog and pop.  But the real reason for going is the ride; the tourist attractions simply happen to give us a reason to stop for a bite to eat.

Which I find to be a wonderful (though needing often repetition) life lesson.  When we get too focused on the shoulds, the musts, the fantasy, or the plan, we miss the beauty of life rolling by.  We forget to enjoy the stunning views, the intense smells, and the earth vibrating under us.  We look at our phones and miss the deer, we are so busy working on our calendar, we don't have time to go for a walk, we worry so much about the future, we forget to enjoy the moment.  That day, I remembered that life is a journey, not a destination.

City Hall...

Tuesday night, we were at Cycle Gear, and a guy said "check out our meetup.  We're going to City Hall Thursday for Taco Thursday."  Thursday came, we decided we had some free time, so off we went! Enjoying the back roads from Kent to Enumclaw, we wound our way, with only a couple of U-turns, and arrived at City Hall.  Where we found 3 sport bikes, a triumph, and about 837 Harley Davidson's.  Ok... Now, when we did the tulip ride, there were hundreds of bikes of all makes and models.  It was amazing to be out with so much variety, and feel so connected.  At City Hall Saloon, while everyone was super nice and the taco's were great, there was not as much diversity.  It was a bit strange to be surrounded by motorcycles, and feel a bit out of place.  The entertaining part was that it did feel just like a movie... Live band, lots of beer, beer bottles clanking in the garbage, and leather and tattoos everywhere.  It was fun to be outside with the band, watching the bikes come and go past on the side roads.

I don't know that I have a great lesson from this story, but if you want good tacos, great music, and lots of chrome, go to Taco Thursday's at City Hall Saloon in Enumclaw.