Pristine and Showroom Condition?... or ... The Patina of Many Miles?

I've seen some blogs lately, and had a conversation or two about the nicks and dings bikes get goin' down the road.

Many riders work and spend hundreds, thousands even, keeping their rides in showroom condition. The other end of the biker spectrum bein' the rat rides that are kept together mechanically... but look like rolling wrecks otherwise. ;)

I gotta say... there's something about those battered but not beaten bikes that capture my imagination. I can't help but wonder about all the roads that old Indian I crossed paths with, up in Tok, has seen...

*a 1936 Indian I met on my Alaska run*

You can't help but wonder about the stories behind that scratch or this scrape... or that bent fender...

When I see a clean, unblemished motorcycle the first thought in my head, right or wrong, is; Too bad that guy don't ride much. He'd be a lot happier! ;)

I've talked and schemed a lot in the past about hangin' some fancy paint on Sonja and some other flashy farkles... For a bit the scratches, dings and worn spots bothered me.

Somewhere in there that being bothered about it got to bothering me and I really started looking around and thinkin' on it. Do that and you start to see a lot. Some riders polish... and some riders ride.

I came to the conclusion that other than making repairs to the mechanical faults, keeping her sound and road worthy, doing much in the way of cosmetic repairs... simply erases miles of joyous memories.

Leaving that road patina alone is like maintaining a 3D rolling book of memories! ;)

That was in my mind when I started doing some mods on Sonja this past summer. I began moving away from that spit and polish motorcycle philosophy as I changed over to the blacked out Hard Chrome pipes and powder coated Yamaha Backrest. The main motivation was to improve function, with little thought about the Showroom appearance.

In the bargain I discovered all that chrome really didn't suit me very well. I ended up with her showing a personality I'm a lot more comfortable with. Awesome!

I believe that the future will continue to see Sonja wearing the battle scars of her travels like badges of honor, and a visible testimony of the miles she's carried me.

*The road is nowhere for a weak spirit*

I can't hide the dings, limps and scars I've picked up. I don't believe I should hide those. They're more like beauty marks to a travelin' man whether they be on me... or... my motorcycle. I can't bring myself to call 'em damage. I want people to know... neither me nor Sonja are some prissy trailer queens! ;)

We ride in the rain. We rattle down the back roads. We take our lumps and we keep it in the wind!

And if somebody thinks it's wrong... He can sit in his garage polishin', paintin' and primpin' all he wants. Me and Sonja will be out in the wind somewhere, dusty, dinged and weathered! ;)

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

The World Demands Its Pound of Flesh

The world doesn't understand. What it doesn't understand it strives to destroy.

To ride, to put it in the wind is to breathe. To leave the key on the hook is to suffocate and die. In the wind on a ribbon of asphalt I am Free. I am Whole. I am alive.

The far horizon forever running before me shows the breadth and depth of my Freedom. The thunder on which I sit flows power into my soul.

Back there, trudging along in the sewer they call soh-sigh-uh-tee I am lost and the light is black.

Out here, head thrown back in the wind on an open road, the light is bright and pure. The taste of my liberty is sweet on my tongue. My spirits soar in their Freedom as if I rode the wings of an Eagle.

The wives, children, girlfriends, bosses, friends and acquaintances all have stood gazing at my tail lights; and the lights of riders like me... throughout our history...

They hear our words yet comprehend nothing. Their understanding does not exist and they make no effort to know or learn.

Their anger burns for us being who we are and our combined refusal to surrender our lives in submission.

That they brand us selfish, uncaring, unworthy is a false burden I will not accept...

If a person truly loves you, why would they demand that you take an action you have warned would destroy the very person they claim to love? If they love you... they back you. They do what they can to help you... even if they can't understand you. They give you what hangs a smile on your face. And that "thing" they give is not a "Thing".

There are many I do not understand. The things that drive them are foreign and beyond my understanding. But I understand THAT. I make no effort to turn them to my way. I tell them to chase THEIR dreams not mine.

Accepting a person for who they are, seems like the only reasonable way to be. But so seldom is it the way it is.

I can only ride off from it for a time.

Ride off, often enough to feed my soul and wash the grime of their disregard off my heart.

... and break the chains they never stop trying to lock onto my soul.

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian