Reconnecting with the soul

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  Posted by MarkNTexas May 31, 2012 - Filed in Personal Journal - 830 views
  

  Of late, riding has taken on a whole new level of meaning for me...perhaps it's age creeping up on me, father time making me more nostalgic, or maybe it's a renewed exuberance for life now that I can truly spend some "free time" being free...LOL...whatever it is, I'm diggin it. 

  I grew up around motorcycles, but my teen years and a large portion of my adult life were devoted to rodeo.  I guess some would say I was an adrenaline junky.  I rode bulls and bucking horses for almost 20 years of my life, but as much as the adrenaline rush, it was the romance of the cowboy life that held me for so long...the travel, the endless parade of towns and faces both familiar and new wherever I went, the sights, sounds and smells washing over me like a flood as I'd pull into the fairgrounds...but mostly it was the adventure of getting there, seeing the endless panorama of views as we rounded the next curve or topped the next hill.  I was usually in too big of a hurry getting to the rodeo on time to stop and really partake of God's handiwork other than what I could see and appreciate through the windshield of my truck, but I would always tell myself "One of these days I want to come back to this or that place and really spend time exploring and enjoying the natural beauty of the place..."  Little did I know that "one day" would come on the back of my Harley.  

  My dad had always had bikes when I was a kid, and when he'd see me getting stressed out, he'd toss me the keys and say "Let's go for a ride."  Sometimes it was in the truck but other times it was on his bike.  When I was 12 he started letting me ride his Suzuki 550 street bike around the yard to get used to the balance and weight of it.  Before long I was takin it around the block, and then he'd climb on back and say "Let's go.  Let's see how you do." (brave man...LOL)  We rode many a mile on the back roads around our little town, he'd even purposely have me take roads that were topped only with gravel so I could learn to handle different road conditions.  Like I said, he was a brave man.  But no matter where we went, I always came home feeling relaxed and proud my accomplishment in handling this "big" bike without dumping it (and without making him have to put his feet down to help me hold it) and relishing the proud pat on the back from my dad when we'd park it for the day.

  When I got my first Harley, he was as proud of it as I was.  When I got my second (and present) Harley, the bug really kicked in for him again.  When he retired, he went out and got another job and used his paycheck from the new job to save for his Harley which I got to help him find and go pick up (but that's another story for another time).  For the past 10 years or so, my dad and I go riding together whenever possible, only now we're each on our own bike with our own thoughts, but still enjoying the closeness of sharing something we both love to do and getting to do it together as father and son. 

  Riding has always been my escape, my means of shaking off the day or blowing the cobwebs out of my mind and soul when the day to day started pressing down.  It has been my release, my way to get lost with my thoughts and have uninterrupted time to get em lined out where I can make sense of them.  But lately, as I started off saying, riding has taken on a new and deeper meaning  for me.  It has become a portal, if you will, to sights, sounds, and familiar smells of the past and the gateway to new memories and adventures. 

  As we all know, there is nothing like experiencing beautiful countryside from the back of a bike. You can feel all of the subtle changes in air temperature as you drop into a dip in the road, cross a bridge over a cool clear stream, or top out on a hill; you not only see nature, but you feel it, smell it, taste it, experience it for all it has to offer. 

  Of late, I have taken time to spend at least one day off each week doing what I like to call "soul riding".  I pack up a cooler with drinks and lunch stuff and just take off.  I'll pick a general direction and then just let my soul guide me from there.  Staying mostly on the FM (Farm to Market) or RR (ranch roads) that criss cross Texas and allow you to see the true beauty of the state away from the major hiway arteries that get you from point A to point B in a straight line (booooorrrring).  These FM or RR roads are state maintained and therefore usually in good shape, but take a much more winding, interesting route from point A to point B...from the forests of east Texas to the rolling prairie and ranch land in central Texas to the rugged beauty of the hill country, one can't fully appreciate it til you get off the main hiway and see what's hidden out there around the many twists and turns of the farm roads. 

  It's these roads that have reconnected me with my past and opened a new exuberance for the future.  I've made a point to revisit my "one day" places that have always held a special place in my memory...I've gone to places that I remember as a kid traveling on vacations with my family...I've stopped and walked where I'd walked as a young man and felt the quickening of the spirit that comes from remembering that first impression and seeing it with new appreciation now, I've travelled to the rodeo towns of my past that I'd grown to love.  I've stopped and just rested and communed with nature where formerly I was always in too big a hurry to stop and truly appreciate the natural beauty around me. I've ridden down beautiful winding roads without the slightest clue where I am, but knowing that it goes in the general direction I want to go and knowing that a "Farm to Market" or "Ranch to Market" road is just that...it get's the produce or cattle from the country to a "market", so it will eventually end up in a town somewhere, and once there, you can always find a hiway if you need to that will get you back to familiar ground. 

  In a way, I guess you could say that I've actually found a way to truly fulfill the romantic cowboy nature within as me and my iron horse discover Texas all over again.  Only this time, I'm not in any big hurry to be anywhere.  I'm taking my time so as to truly experience the feel of the places I pass through, stopping on a whim to just walk around or perhaps sit by a stream for a bit; no watches, no maps, just a general sense of direction and an unwavering desire to see what's over the next hill.  I ride daily.  I ride to and from work, I ride to run errands, to visit friends and family, but it's those days when I just get off to myself and get to do some real "soul riding" that keep me sane and renew my zest for life. 

  Thanks for allowing me a little time to ramble.  I hope you can find the time to do your own soul riding.  We only get one life, I want to use mine up and wear it out before it's gone...LOL 

  Next week I'm heading out west to ride the Three Sisters aka the Twisted Sisters in the hill country.  Hopefully I'll have plenty to share and some pictures as well.  See ya next time...Keep the shiny side up.