WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

We got a thing, that’s called radar love

We got a wave in the air…radar love

Golden Earing

For some, well, maybe most, motorcycle riding is an escape of sorts. From work, family, the day-to-day grind or ‘must do’ tasks.

Although I oftentimes quote songs, and certainly Golden Earring applies here, another tune also does, and as much as I cringe at quoting 80’s Chicago, Cetera wasn’t off the mark when he sang:

"Everybody needs a little time away

I heard her say, from each other

Even lovers need a holiday

Far away, from each other.”

Few couples we know both ride motorcycles, and even fewer hit the road together consistently. But there are those rides that are the exception.

For the last number of years, I have been on solo trips. I’ve found that a few weeks alone on the road is good for my soul, just as much as a little Kevin McCallister time was for hers.

With some couples, motorcycle riding is just one of their passions, but the other, at best, wants them to follow that passion, and is encouraging. At worst, the spouse is even less than apathetic. HTS. Home Team Support is important.

I have a few friends who are married, at least we think they are, but we have rarely seen the other half, and the few times we have seen them, I wonder how they can be so lucky to hire the same actor again and again. I jest. Maybe.

But we are a positive publication, so let us stick with the better halves that really are just that.

On a recent rally, we had one friend tell us that he had just gotten a text from his wife, and she was worried about a big storm that was approaching, and she tossed out the idea of him getting home sooner, rather than later.

Our friend (Let’s call him Richard Anthony) knew that it was not that she didn’t want him out riding and having fun, but rather was concerned that the week leading up to this point was chilly, but pleasant, and that was all going to change in a few hours. 

She could see what was coming on radar. She loves him and wanted him safe. Awwww. Sweet.

Most spouses, and some friends as well, try to keep half an eye on the whereabouts of their loved ones.

Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and such have made this a lot easier. Even if the rider out on the road is just an acquaintance, and not a Main Squeeze, your two-wheel family (the ones we choose) has a general idea of where you have been and what you have been doing.

When on the road, alone, for me, there will be some days that Shira knows, more or less, my route and my expectations for the day.

I am a Road guy, and if I know where I will be and where I am traveling, I will do a little research, and look for places and points of interest, history, and the Realm of Dr. O’Life. Sometimes things go as planned, other times not. Like Richard Anthony Shira was concerned a few months back when I was deep in Kentucky, and sitting under a radar swath of greens, oranges and reds, and a little relieved when I texted her, that I had parked the bike, and got a room at a Marriott outside Lexington. Okay, maybe there was another text wondering why the Motel 3 & ½, around the corner, was not adequate enough – but I had already showered, dried, warm clothed, and was Moto GP’n by the time I got that one.

Most days, she might reach out in the mid-afternoon and ask where I was, and where I ‘thought’ I’d be come evening. Then, lighting up her Cool Hotel Radar that is her Mac Studio, and with the skill of a well-seasoned lapidarist, she’d cut through the stony moraine of places to stay and almost always come up with my bijou for the night.

HTS, baby, HTS. We’ll just call it Radar Love.