Disappearences
Hmm… Life is a strange thing at times.
I bought the DL 1000 on August 6th. My week was pretty busy, helping my Mom move into her new house, work, figuring out which end is up and ALL the rest. I changed the oil after 150 miles. No obvious metal/crude in the oil. The week started to slide by… I have to do something! Time to disappear…
A new friend from the bike shop is another road warrior, but of a different flavor. Beyond the obvious fact that she’s cute/pretty/attractive/desirable/however you want to phrase it. She really travels, often, far, and usually solo. Hmm… Interesting. Sounds like me. So we agree to partner up for a run. Laura and I will leave Friday after work. First, a trip to the bike shop for a few critical pieces of gear, then my place to load our machines and off. Our destination is not fixed. Somewhere north, with three obvious variants available.
12-Aug 20:30
Still standing in my garage, our plans changed a bit. We will dump the camping gear and do a pure blitz run up to Hwy 99 in B.C. Hotels, dinner out every night, 1200 miles, back for work on Monday. Agreed? Sure. This is my kind of trip. (I hope I’m not being an asshole by pushing the previously agreed travel mode into a different direction.)
12-Aug 21:30
I saddle up on my DL. She mounts my YZF. Her usual Honda isn’t performing well enough for this kind of run. After a few more bike adjustments and false starts, we hit I-5 near Longview, Washington.
12-Aug 23:00
How fast will this sucker go? 100… 110… 120… And the whole bikes shakes. Not good. Not terrible, but not stable enough for cruising. Meanwhile, I look to my left and see my YZF rip past me. She must be doing over 130… I am chuckling inside my helmet.
Chehalis: Denny’s for a late night dinner and discussion of our intent on this night. I can get a free hotel suite in Seattle through work, if we can make it that far.
13-Aug 01:30
Auburn: The hotel seems like a mirage across the overpass. Fatigue has slowed my brain. We are managing to communicate without a word passed between us. Point. Nod. I have never traveled with another motorcyclist before. My group runs have been relatively short and with a very small collection of people. Actually traveling with another rider is something very new to me. We are finding a rhythm as the miles roll beneath.
13-Aug 02:15
“We’re in. Two keys.” “Cool. Where are we going to park these?” … “How far did we go tonight?” “Fuck if I know. Where the bed?” … “Which one do you want?” “I’ll take the one by the window.” “OK” Unpack as needed, change, and I’m asleep within 15 minutes, too tired to even consider the sexual politics of this emerging situation.
13-Aug 07:00
A train thunders outside the window. I’m in hell for a few minutes… Then I realize I’m on vacation. I prop myself up in bed and look over the mini bar that separates our beds. Laura appears to be asleep. I drop back down and cover my head as the light fills the room. A few minutes later, I feel a shadow. “You awake” “Do I have to answer that?” Laughter…
A Pepsi appears on the counter as I shower.
Life is good.
13-Aug 09:15
Loaded and rolling onto 167, north toward I-405. Our communication will be tested in this stretch. She has never done the Seattle run. I have, more than once in/on a variety of machines. We almost get separated, when I drop into the left-hand HOV entrance ramp to I-5. She headed for the right-hand regular ramp. We regroup and continue…
I loose track of time.
Fuel/pit stop in Arlington. Red bull, coffee, water.
Pit stop in Bellingham. Orange juice, more water. We leave the interstate looking for a quick border crossing.
13-Aug 12:30ish
Sitting side by side, we enter Canada. Admonished for not riding through single file, the courteous female Canadian border guard allows us entry. I love Canada. It’s like a light beer commercial. Feels great, less bullshit.
13-Aug 13:30
Burger King in Chilliwack, BC. Time to shift gears. We have made it to the southern point of our scenic loop. Laura now leads. Stops and tourist events are now legal and welcomed. I have never stopped on a solo run. Never. This is something new.
13-Aug 14:30
Overlook on the Frazier River: I strip off my leather overpants, dripping from the heat. Lots of water is drained. Work to relax a bound muscle in her shoulder. A team effort, toward a shared and common goal.
Why can’t life be this straight forward in general?
Why do I ask questions that can’t be answered?
13-Aug 15:00
Hell’s Gate: Air tram into the canyon floor. Ice Cream. Hard candy sticks. Laughs. Photos. Relaxation. I could learn to like this stopping thing. I always miss so much by flying by at 110.
13-Aug 17:00
Lytton: Esso. Give me fuel. Give me fire. Give me that which I desire.
The miles roll by.
New places. New spaces. I learn about my DL. I learn about my traveling companion. Separate. Distinct from those before. Unique… both of these new entries into my mindscape.
The miles rolls by.
In retrospect, I realize that I wasn’t thinking about work at this point in my trip. I was thinking I was thinking about Laura, wondering how she feels on the YZF, wondering if she has merged with it yet. I know she isn’t using the front brake and lecturing her will never work, so I try to use a different approach. I want her to be safe. Faster than light, but safe. Content, comfortable, controlled on her machine. I am thinking about the twisting road, this short cut that I have never traveled before. I am thinking about the miles until Pemberton, our agreed destination of the day. I am thinking about the coming mountain section with the alpine lakes and possibile wildlife. I am thinking about my last trip here, when it snowed on me… in August. I am thinking about all of this as we roll on. Together. Separate. Rocketing through the void.
I am not thinking about the section of road that fell off the cliff south of Lillooet. It was around a tight turn. Without any warning, the road was gone. We hugged the cliff face, rolling over the hastilly installed single lane width, patch-grade asphalt. No railing. Just a couple of cones marked the abyss. Did I tell you I am terrified of heights? I’m working on it, but this event didn’t help. Nope, I’m not going to think about that if I can possibly avoid it. At least Laura used her front brake.
A quick break at Lillooet to prep for the mountains to come. A hitchhiker takes our picture as we are saddled up side-by-side. A moment captured in binary form. Now where did I save that file…
Off into the mountains… Laura stops for a photo op. I circle back half expecting a broken down bike. Nope, just a photo op.
Once we drop into an enclosed valley, escaping the continental climate of the eastern slopes, the temperature falls over 10 degrees. At the next pull out, we stop to close zippered vents, add more layers, and switch to night riding. In a moment of obnoxious playfulness, I squirt water at a certain someone. A gasp and laughter. I’m out of range for her to respond effectively. Just as I planned…
More miles.
I stop to stare at the moon. I become so distracted I forget that I am still in the road, straddling my bike, when a maroon minivan buzzes me. Oops. I pull off… Laura circles back and I make her take a photo. I like this new way of thinking, traveling, being…
Miles and miles…
13-Aug 20:45
We drop into the valley. Pemberton is on the other side… I almost stop at the BBQ place… almost. We have to get to a hotel, then we can stop for food.
13-Aug 21:15
Nothing in the AAA guide? Weird. We find a new lodge, with underground/covered parking. A suite with one bedroom and a fold out couch it is. And the hot tub is open until 23:00. First, dinner. We change into street clothes and walk to the pub. The Wildwood something or other. Mirroring each other again, we both order lasagna. My ever present Pepsi along with her glass of white wine. Uncultured and unconcerned, that I am.
13-Aug 22:55
Sneak into the hot tub. More muscle work on my companion of over 600 miles.
13-Aug 23:35
Get kicked out of hot tub.
13-Aug 00:30
Fold out the couch. Shower off the chlorine. Sleep. Life is good.
13-Aug 08:30
I wake to someone making coffee. She has already been up for a while, showered, journaled, and ready for our day. I am surprised that she could be so quiet and thoughtful, letting me sleep. The sun is already streaming into our room.
A some point we discuss my exposed tattoos: Live, Learn, Grow, Tranquility in Chinese calligraphy. That’s it. That’s my approach to life, successes and failures, ex-wives and bad decisions, hopes and dreams for tomorrow. LLGT.
13-Aug 09:15
Back at the Wildwood for breakfast. Banana Nut Bread French toast. My honey makes it too sweet to finish. A few potatoes, two Pepsis, and a discussion about the principles of light refraction and our individual abilities to reflect/absorb stimuli… and we are off.
South of Whistler, I see a river… Laura sees a river… I see gears turn… then a brake light… and a turn signal… “Wanna?” “Sure.” We double back to a turn-out. I fell into a semi-sleep state on a rather large rock next to the stream…
Back on the bikes, we literally race down the mountain. 4 lanes, very light traffic, we travel side by side, taking the same track in our individual lanes, 120 and climbing… Simultaneously, we roll off. My ego isn’t so large as to not acknowledge that I had the shorter, inside line and that she was gaining on me…
Feeling rowdy, I start popping wheelies while doing 60. I like this bike!
And we flow down to the sea…
Britannia Beach: Pepsi and a cappuccino along with a couple card games, which she lets me win. Life is good.
Vancouver: We are going through a tunnel, Laura in the lead. I look up and see a bird flying with her. A gull of some kind… I am struck by the moment, the symmetry of two travelers. Laura wrapped over the YZF tank flows through the light and dark spaces as a winged creature floats inches beneath an artificial sky of concrete. Both harness the wind to glide through this finite space. As the sun slams into my iris, I loose both creatures. Dilated, I see Laura remains 20 feet up and to the left. The other traveler, gone into the ether.
I have to score fuel.
13-Aug 16:50
Border crossings, the world over, must be a plane of Hell. 40 minute projected delay. Always, the waiting, the uncomfortable physical waiting… We both start stripping off body armour in the 90+ degree heat. She looks much better than I could ever hope to after 3 days on a bike, still laughing and smiling. Revenge for an earlier water event comes my way. The spray barely reaches me. Clad all in black, I lust after the cool water striking my leg and boot. She laughs, points. We roll forward another 10 feet and wait.
13-Aug 17:40
Blaine Washington: Burger King (is there a pattern here?) I step on my headphones, crunching my Shure E2s. SFP! Of well, we all must suffer. My return journey will be sans die musik (use two more languages, poorly)
Miles and miles…
Arlington: I need fuel. This time we take a real break, orange juice, AMP, and some water. More muscle work. I throw away a damaged mirrored visor.
13-Aug 18:00
Traffic jam in Everett WA. WTF? It’s Sunday and the roads are packed.
Miles and miles.
Racing through traffic. We pick up a tag along. An RX-8 out of Oregon. The driver continues to piss me off. I try to evade without success. Laura gets dropped as I slam through traffic like the seasoned road warrior that I am. 100+ My irritation is getting the better of my judgment. Finally, my lit’ voice tells me to stop. I roll off and watch… the RX tries to shoot a very small gap in the traffic. The drivers pushes too hard, yanks the wheel and slides all four wheels, traction bites back in and the car is now pointed toward the center median, at over 100. I am doing 65, watching as the red machines struggles back into a more normal attitude. I can only shake my head, at myself for letting my anger get the better of my judgment, at the idiot maneuver I just witnessed.
13-Aug 23:00
Chehalis: Denny’s again… Laura thought it was funny and disappointed that she got dropped. In the back of my head, I am frustrated at my own lack of self-control and stupidity. A lesson learned.
Our journey is almost over. Only 2 more hours until we reach my garage.
14-Aug 01:30
Back in my garage. We made it. 1106 miles traveled since Friday evening. A hug and she disappears into the night. I am left standing in my garage as the roar of her Honda echoes in the darkness.
We survived. The machines performed without hesitation. Most importantly, our relationship survived. I have never spent so much time with a female that wasn’t a relative or a lover. I keep catching myself, stopping before I wrap an arm around her waist. Old habits, revived by proximity and this shared intimate experience of traveling, eating, laughing, living, just inches apart for days.
How am I going to be ready for work at 09:00?
Total cost: $435 USD.
The best vacation I have ever had. No work. No stress. Just laughter and discussions, quiet reflection within my helmet with Metallica thumping, miles and miles, and comfortable moments of quiet shared with my fellow traveler. Yeah. The best vacation ever.
PS: Of course the first question I get asked upon reappearing. “Well, did you get any?” The question came from Tony’s wife, which I hadn’t expected. I refused to answer. “If you want to know what happened between us, then you will have to ask her.” I haven’t heard any fallout or follow-up on that one yet.
