Cross Country

  I was excited once I got on the road. I knew this trip was going to be an adventure like I had always dreamed about. There was horrible traffic in New Jersey on 95, and it took me hours to get through that. Once past there, I felt like the trip had really begun. A weight was lifted from my shoulders. I also felt something else - something unexpected. I felt sad, and a little bit sorry. I didn't know where these feeling were coming from so I thought about them. Thinking is one thing you can do in abundance when you are on a long trip on a motorcycle. Every once in a while while I am riding, I start thinking and the road and feelings from the bike almost hypnotize me. I am still aware of everything going on around me, but my mind wanders across my life in ways it does not at any other time. I call this 'rider's trance' for want of a better name. That's one of the things bikers are talking about when they say, 'if you don't have a bike, you wouldn't understand.' My mind was wandering with no conscious direction from me when it suddenly occurred to me why I was a little sad. I knew somewhere deep down that I was leaving a part of my life behind. I was embracing this trip and the realization that it would CHANGE me. I was looking forward to everything ahead, not knowing exactly what I would encounter, but I also had a little remorse for the boy that I was leaving behind. Knowing I was losing a part of my youth.

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