Live to Ride

Friends,

Thank you for accompanying me on my journey.

I’ve been home 48 hours now, and I’m no longer sore.  A bit weary.  And a bit distracted with work, but also quite refreshed.

I didn’t know what to expect as I set off on the ride.  

I had a number of surprises, all positive.  By the last day I could do things on and with my bike that on the first day I couldn’t even conceive.  Even the distance of my last ride (569 miles) was unimaginable on day 1, when my single-day record, attained only once, was 300 miles.  I had never gone above 70, and then only in a spurt.  On the last day I was above 70 most of the way, at 80 much of it.  I even found the speedometer drifting toward 90 a few times, but throttled back when I noticed.  

So Why do We Do It?

The biggest surprise was what happens on the bike.  

Riding is a very intimate experience.  Unlike a car (known in biker lingo as a cage), a bike requires the rider to be completely aware of his or her environment.  We use all five senses.  We feel the bike, its vibration, the texture of the road.  We see other traffic, obstacles, the condition of the road and the way ahead.  We hear our own bike, attuned to any sudden changes, pings, dings, or rattles.  We listen for other bikes, for cars, and for any other distractions.  We smell and taste the air as we move through it.  Also the car and truck exhaust.  And the must of the pastures as we ride by.  And even the changes in the weather.  Mostly we’re attuned to the ground.  We notice the slightest shifts in road surface.  In the grade of the roadway.  In the amount of gravel, or sand, or roadkill ahead.  And to the air, the weather, the wind.

In short, we are completely in the moment.  All the time.  That’s why it’s so exhausting. And perhaps why it’s so rewarding. It’s the same kind of in-the-moment experience I feel when teaching a good class.

Vital Statistics

Several of you have asked for details about particular parts of the ride.  To share the answers, here’s a compilation of facts and figures.

Hogger’s Index

Total number of days in transit: 17

Total number of days in the saddle: 7

Total number of days working: 10

Of those, number at my mom’s: 4

Total miles: 2,586

Average miles per day: 367

Most miles per day: 569 (last day)

Fewest miles per day: 80 (Dayton to Oxford, Ohio)

Number of stops for gas: 57

Number of stops for the pause that refreshes: 57

Favorite stretch of road: Trans-Canada Highway, Route 17, between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Sudbury, Ontario

Least favorite stretch of road: Interstate 76 between Youngstown and Akron, Ohio

Best meal on the road: Appetizer of garlic shrimp in the Westwinds Restaurant, Pembroke, Ontario

Worst meal on the road: Main dish of pork schnitzel in the Westwinds Restaurant, Pembroke, Ontario (same meal)

Best meal when not on the road: My mom’s Brazilian feijoada, Oxford, Ohio

Worst meal when not on the road: no such thing

Favorite moment: Riding in the HOG Parade of Flags, with 7,500 other riders through Milwaukee on Saturday, August 30 (In the words of an enthusiast from Australia, one of the 10 things one must do before one dies)

Least favorite moment: Saying goodbye to Joseph after our third day, in Oxford, Ohio

Number of times I dropped my bike: 0

Number of raindrops that fell while I was riding or attending Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary events: 0

Total cost of the trip: Don’t know; don’t care

Value of the ride: Priceless

 

I want to thank all those who posted comments on the blog; and also those who sent me private e-mails of encouragement and admonition.

This concludes the hfghogblog for now; the blog will go dormant.  At least for a while.

In the meantime, here’s the final slideshow.  Highlights from the trip.

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Stay safe.

Vroom,

Fred

 

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