“Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing”
– The Penguins of Madagascar
The road stretched on forever, or so I thought, at least it did in my mind, as I continued riding East on Highway 40 through the desserts broken lands of California. This road never ends.
Then it occurred to me. My grandson Greyson who is not yet four is playing with Legos that are for a 5-7 year old.
And, am I now riding an age appropriate motorcycle? An old person motorcycle. A BMW. Could there possibly be a thing. Now for sure a Gold Wing or a Harley Road Hog is an old person bike but, not my bike, I thought.
And then I thought about my 2001 Z06 corvette. Is this also age appropriate for me? It certainly wasn’t twenty years ago. These were definitely old people cars back then, as they were the only ones that could afford them. Aha! Maybe that’s the way it works with toys like yachts and airplanes and other cool toys.
And now I thought. The Occasional conversation with other bikers on Packtalk does have a way of helping to break down the monotony of a drive through the desert and on any major interstate without traffic.
As I continue on passing trucks, cars, and the occasional RV there are also nods to other riders coming the other way and then they’re gone.
How many have I acknowledged today I wonder, stay alert, focus on the road, soon Ill be in Nevada. Did you know that the slower I go the more gasoline and the more miles remain in my fuel tank? True.
The slower I ride, the bike starts computing and then I look up at the fuel gauge and there it is – more miles remaining till empty.
There’s very little I remember of this stretch. Across the highway came a procession of very large specialty trucks carrying things like wind turbine blades; the length of those things is amazing, well over a hundred feet. At some point in the day, I look back in my rear view mirror and California disappears.
Maybe Ill do my own survey about riding an old person bike. Similar to that group of engineering students from Purdue University who built a licking machine, modeled after a human tongue. They say it took an average of 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.
Twenty of the group’s volunteers assumed the licking challenge-unassisted by machinery-and averaged 252 licks each to the center.
What? You don’t know what a Tootsie pop is? Man. Now I know I really must be old.
Trawlercat
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