Last week I picked up my Harley after waiting for weeks to get it out of storage. I was finally on the road! As I was coming out of New Richmond, Wisconsin, I saw the thunder clouds start to build and I was overwhelmed with a feeling of anger and fear. I have been waiting for the perfect day. The weather app said that it was going to be ‘sunshiny’ all day and I was angry because I felt cheated. I was afraid because, well, I drive a “touring“ bike, a Harley Davidson Road King series, in other words … a tank. It’s a big bike, it’s a really big bike on two wheels and if not handled properly, she will turn and bite you.
As the droplets began to gather on my windshield, it only accelerated my feelings of frustration and anger and by the time it was raining, I was almost to the point of full panic mode.
Then, from out of nowhere, a tiny voice whispered in my head, it spoke of things that had not occurred to me … and the voice was getting louder. I swear to you, it was as if the bike literally spoke to me.
‘First of all, this is what you wanted. You wanted to get out onto the open road. You wanted to feel the wind in your face. You wanted to get away from everything. You wanted to be outside. Well, this is what happens when you’re outside, weather changes, plans change and it’s not about the storm that rolls in, it’s how you roll within the storm.”
“Second, while you’re out here, you should enjoy the ride! You have been thinking about this for a year now – every time a snowstorm, blizzard, or winter advisory came along, you thought about the times that you could look forward to riding the bike again. Is this an ideal situation? No. Is it ice and subzero weather? Again, no. So be happy that it’s not! It could be worse!”
The next thought I had was that I should stop and pull off on the side of the road but what rang through my head was quick and assertive, is it dangerous to be doing this right now and could this cause me harm? I reverted back to my firefighter days of, “water is your friend.” If there’s no real reason to stop, the sooner you get through this the sooner you’ll see the sun so, don’t stop, you’ll get through it faster.
As the light sprinkles picked up, I down-shifted a gear so I had better control of the bike and while the thought crossed my mind to stop, the voice of the bike, now clear as ever, encouraged me to do the math. “This is what you wanted.” + “Enjoy the ride.” + “Don’t stop, you’ll get through it faster.” all must equal … stopping is not an option.
As I finally cleared through the rain storm, the sun came out, the road dried up and I was soon back to normal speed and drying off.
Unless you ride, you will never know the smell that I was awarded coming out of the storm. My senses were enhanced and I felt alive. It felt as if this was a reward for sticking to it through the storm. It was the smell of summer as a kid, of sprinklers and garden hose water, freshly cut grass and trimmed flowers. I thought to myself that many will never know what that smell is because they will never open their windows and take time to notice.
The voice concluded, “Appreciate that you’ve made it through the storm, let the experience add to your ride and tell others what you saw.”
In other words, be thankful!
I was thankful for the bike, the road, the day, the sun, and then it hit me, I was also thankful for the rain; because of it, I could know what it was like on the other side of the storm.
Heading towards home, I stopped and visited my wife, Shannon, at work. She was also thankful … she had dropped me off to pick up the bike and saw the looming clouds headed our way and she was thankful that I hadn’t broken my neck riding through a thunderstorm! Last thing to be grateful for, someone, anyone, who cares enough for me, about me, as I travel through my storms.
Who knew that you could learn so much from a Harley ride?
Go make your mark!
