WHATCHATHINKIN'

With a bag full of various prescription glasses, I walked into the eye doctor’s office and happily deposited them into the recyclable bin, including packages of contact lenses, hoping that someone might be able to fix their vision.

A few months ago I pondered on my options for the upcoming cataract surgery, settling on what some called the ‘Cadillac’ option – multifocal toric lenses which would allow me to have near, middle and far vision sans glasses. The date was set, which only meant the clock ticked as I fretted. Miraculously, I got a call that there was an earlier opening – did I want it? HELL YES! Let’s get this over and done.

Well, I will not bore you with details. I will only say that all that fretting and worrying was for naught. Simple procedure, over quicker than a lap at VIR. I was given instructions for aftercare, some medicated antibiotic drops and a clear plastic eye shield to wear to bed so things wouldn’t enter my eye, like Spenser’s paw when he wants me to wake up and feed him.

I was absolutely amazed at how quickly the vision in that eye came back. I was walking around with one eye closed (the unfixed one) so I could focus. It was completely off-putting, as I wasn’t wearing my glasses to compensate for the yet-to-be-fixed eye. What was most spectacular was the brilliance and clarity of the color. Looking at nature with my corrected eye, the greens were so verdant, the sky sparkling blue compared to the muddled, cloudy and muted colors through the other eye. Luckily, I was scheduled for the following week to have that brought to perfection.

The second went just as seamlessly, and I couldn’t wait to look out on the world with 20/20 vision. Each morning, I would open my eyes and look out the bedroom window at the beautiful sunrise, crisp and clear. No more searching for the glasses that Spenser knocked off the night stand.

It was a little while before I could ride and the universe must have been looking kindly on me, as the weather was a gift by the time I could. That first ride without corrective lenses was tremendous. I could actually see the GPS as well as the road signs. No squinting trying to bring things to focus, no having to clean my glasses. Absolutely freeing.

On New Year’s Day, we headed over to the Blue Knights Chilly Chili Run, always a great way to start the year by helping others. We didn’t ride, as Brian had tweaked his back, but the next best thing was driving our new-to-us Subaru WRX STI. It has been a very long time since I’d driven a manual, and this car is as close to riding a motorcycle as can be. Super fun. After the bikes left – and they had a GREAT turnout with the beautiful weather – we decided to take a little drive ourselves. Heading towards High Point State Park, with Brian driving, I was looking around and spotted a bald eagle soaring high in the sky. I pointed it out to Brian and he kept saying ‘where, where? Okay, Eagle Eyes, good for you!’

So, with all that done in the month of December, it was time to start planning for some winter getaways, just as I had said in my last column. We’ll head out to the West coast and borrow some Suzukis to do some riding and visit some friends. We’ll head to Las Vegas and take in AIMExpo to see what the industry has to offer and catch up with folks we haven’t seen in a long time. I’m sure Brian will discover plenty of historic and mysterious sights and I’ll do my best to dig up those elusive ice cream stops in the desert.

Come April, it’s back to Austin, Texas, for that round of MotoGP. With Rossi gone, I have been getting behind Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia and look forward to some exciting racing. June brings our Spring Break Rally, which will plant itself a nice ride from the National BMW Rally outside of Richmond, VA. We are working on a Grand Tour in August, as it is the 25th year that we’ll be holding our rallies. We tried to put this together in 2020 but, ya know what happened with that. Keep an eye on our Facebook and web pages for details, as soon as we get it sorted out.

And now I can really say, I’ll see you on the road!