I know I've posted this picture before, but in sitting in a room for the last 2 days going through the motions of waiting while serving my time tagged for jury duty, I have had a lot of time to reflect on days past.
Lately, bikes have been almost an afterthought. Family concerns, work, and all the general bullshit that life throws at us from time to time has proven to be more than just a distraction. It has reshaped what is important right now and has instilled a new set of priorities. I'm not bitching. In the end everyone has the choice to attend to the hand that's being played or just walk away from the table, and right now, I'm playing.
Having said that though, I do go back in my mind to times of easy days and warm nights. Where the roads were glass-smooth and seemed to stretched on for days, and always ended at a good time. A time of endless flasks of J.D. and trucks of cheap beer. A time of more smoke and blow than we should have been allowed to do, and still be alive. A time of young sexy women who showed what they had, and then some.
Those were good days. Days of real bikes. Days of riders on the road who didn't have reservations at any place that had a roof. Days of counting on brothers and fellow riders who stopped for each other when they were broke down. Days that mattered.
These 2 bikes remind me of those days. Club bikes heading to a small seaside town for a run, loaded with only the bare necessities. A bed roll or sleeping bag, saddle bags holding some tools along with a clean t-shirt and some dry socks, and of course, heat. Nothing fancy. Just a strong running bike and some free time and the rest will take care of itself.
I do believe those days are still being lived…
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