Clearly, Franklin D. never rode on the back of a motorcyle on a very windy day.
very, very windy, let me add and emphasize.
Ok, yes, i am an incredibly wimpy person. but i can’t help it.
the last time kevin and i took a ride of any consequence on his motorcycle was about four years ago. we took I-72 to Hannibal, MO, a ride of about 100 miles, just less than two hours. i remember that i wore a full helmet and i frequently felt that my neck was going to snap off because of being buffeted around by the wind.
but it was never so terrible that i felt IF I CAN’T GET OFF THIS MOTORCYCLE I’M GOING TO GO COMPLETELY INSANE AND THIS IS DEFINITELY THE WORST EXPERIENCE IN MY WHOLE LIFE.
that ride was in the middle of summer, and i do remember being kind of hot on the way back. but all in all, it wasn’t so bad.
this morning, kevin and i met his friend wayne at mcdonald’s for breakfast. this in itself was a glorious thing because i never, ever go to mcdonald’s for breakfast. i had an egg mcmuffin and a yogurt parfait and it was fun and a beautiful day and i was looking forward to our bike ride to arthur. wayne wanted to look at some cabinets there. arthur is about 72 miles away.
the ride to mcdonald’s was good. we had taken a short ride on the bike a few weeks ago and my only complaint was that the wind was kind of annoying and my glasses didn’t do enough to shield it. i wore a new half-helmet that kevin bought me.
this morning kevin gave me his safety goggles that he must use for painting white things, because there were quite a few white flecks on them, but it was OK. i knew i looked like the biggest dork in the world with my safety goggles over my glasses, but i didn’t care. they seemed to work well on our trip to mcdonald’s. kevin offered to buy me some real motorcycle goggles before we left town, but i figured i wouldn’t need anything else.
then we got on the highway. OH MY GOD I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW WINDY IT WAS. IT WAS HORRIBLE. DEFINITELY THE WORST EXPERIENCE IN MY WHOLE LIFE.
i kept saying to myself, “grace, get a grip. it’s not that far, only about an hour and 15 minutes, you can deal with this. it’ll get better.”
IT DIDN’T.
i tried to crouch down behind kevin, but that didn’t work. i started to feel like the goggles were going to blow off my face and take with them my lovely new glasses with matching clip-on sunglasses. i was sure my neck was going to snap off. i had massages scheduled for the afternoon, but i figured i would be the one needing a massage plus i’d be crippled from the whiplash.
it was not a pleasant experience.
i tried to close my eyes and think tranquil thoughts, but the wind continue to slam into me. i thought about somehow making it all the way to arthur…and then i thought about having to ride all the way back home.
we had been riding for about 20 minutes, and i pointed at the exit sign for Buffalo. kevin pulled over at the exit and then wayne stopped right on the highway and then turned his bike around and rode right down the highway going the wrong way, which was certainly a sight to see.
i told them i was sorry but i just couldn’t do it. i felt like crying, because kevin loves to ride his motorcycle and i would like to go with him.
but only in theory.
we drove back home, and i got to ride on the back of wayne’s bike. kevin’s is a BMW F-650, if that means anything to you, and wayne’s is a honda goldwing. wayne’s is more plush, and it was a smoother ride and there was a backrest and armrests. but the wind was still blowing like crazy.
we made it home alive and i was so happy to get here.
kevin thinks that the solution would be for him to buy wayne’s motorcycle and sell his, and then it would be better.
but what if it isn’t?
sitting here in the wind-free living room where all is calm and peaceful, i feel that surely i could build up my tolerance to motorcycling.
but maybe we’ll just go out on days with no wind.
ok then,
thursday grace trying not to be such a wuss but it’s almost always very difficult.