Ok then

[Kate]

You are excited to go; your guts clench in anticipation, you joke & laugh with the one you know & smile to acknowledge those new to you. The group is small, & although you have known one of the riders for a bit, you have only ridden with them once before, & it had left an odd taste in your mouth.
The weak excuses you offer to not go, are ineffectual & so the decision is made silently to ride shotgun, feeling it is safer to be last. Since all are fine with it, you relax a wee bit, & offer up a silent prayer to the Powers-that-be for safe passage wherever it is you are all off to & back.

Doesn't matter if it is two bikes, four bikes, or any other number that throttle up together... that rush stirs your soul & butterflies fill your throat like hundreds of tiny smiles, bubbling to get out.

And when you swing your foot off the ground & slide into second, all is right with your world. In a way, you are home again.

Now you watch. Now you are hypervigilant to your surroundings. You who should still be in judgement yourself, are judging others & acting accordingly. Riding with any one person who is new to you can be a bit nerve-wracking until you figure them, & your own self With them, out. But to have basically all three new.. the phrase 'ride your own ride' comes fleetingly to mind & you smile. Grimace, really, as your own ride, will be adapted to this one.

Quickly you see how things are for this first part of the ride, & feel your arms & shoulders ease off a bit, aware of just how tightly you were gripping. Stops & starts are made, & the lead changes but once. The rest alternate positions, & hopefully all have learned from the others. I am surprised to find I like the lead this time!

There is laughter & stories once the destination is reached & wonder if men are the same... asking ride questions, discussing the sights, the passers-by, asking why someone did or didn't do something in particular at a specific spot on the road, & miscellaneous trivia that means nothing to the motorcycle world.
The new consensus of the day is that men would Like to have their buddies go to the can with them just to make sure they are 'doing it right' or not being a loser orthey are looking good to the woman they are hitting on, but they can't because it would revoke their imaginary "man card"...yes, it is exceptionally good to be a woman & revel in ourselves some days...

The ride back was far far less worrisome; each was more at ease with the other, & there were smiles & laughter, intermingled with cursing & gestures at the ineptness of summer tourists. "What a bunch of badass biker chicks!!" is yelled & we howl with laughter, no doubt the reason there was suddenly room to pass them all...lol

The small group was divided in half near dusk, handshakes were firm & hard; friendships had been made, the offer to 'stop in for a cold one!" was not taken lightly. Women are funny that way I think.. there has to be an offer made, & an offer accepted.. one wouldn't just stop by without it.

The two of usremaining set our sights on home & discovered we ride well together; opposites do attract.. she the fast & furious, looking as though she were born on a bike, & myself, more careful & cautious yet equally at ease in the saddle.. although how I look on it to others, I am not knowing!

And suddenly, with a wave & shouted "thank you!" I am on my own.
I slow down to savor the deepening shadows & the sweetly scented evening air on the back road. Back on the highway, the air is stuffier, hotter, the pavement feels softer & I am glad to turn off onto my own roads again.
As I dust up my driveway & see my daughter's pleasure at my being home & hear the dogs joyful reactions, I have to smile, nothing ventured, more not gained that I would have ever thought possible...

[FATboy05]

:10: Another very good work Kate!!!