Brenda’s Blog – August 11, 2020
“Hey, there – you in the cage!”
The billboard on Interstate 75 in Florida caught my eye and certainly made me laugh. The sponsor? Harley-Davidson, of course. Those flying freely down the highway on their roaring cycles look at us in cars as zoo animals in cages.
Two of my friends chose to ride from Texas to California on a bike as their honeymoon of choice – his choice, may I add? She had very few hours of preparation and reported the recovery time wasn’t pleasant. Happily after decades, they are still married, but the cross-country rides are a distant memory.
During a time of change I decided buying a bike and hitting the mountains of Colorado was for me. I cut out pictures of serpentine highways, pasting them on my bathroom mirror. I signed up for motorcycle classes and headed out to fulfill my dream. The “beginners” notation on the course was a true misnomer. How did I know? I was the only one in the class not to arrive on my own very large and loud bike! I got the highest score on the written test. When we actually got to the riding part I failed miserably. So miserably that I was asked to leave. I flunked the class.
Some of us are meant to see the USA on 2 wheels and others are happy to travel the roads locked in a cage with Sirius radio.
I went home, threw away the fantasy pics, pulled out my atlas, and started planning the first of many trips across America. When the bikes whiz by me there is a tug perhaps for a second or two. But when it is pouring rain and they are hunkered down beneath an overpass I am thankful for my dry cage.
All of us have dreams – and to be truly fulfilled we must understand and appreciate when they are honestly ours, and not just a reaction to circumstances. I wanted to embrace change in my life by becoming someone I had never been and would never be. When I saw my cage as the delightful means of experiencing marvelous sights and sounds I learned satisfaction.