I had not actually been looking forward to my first road trip on my own bike. I wasn't dreading it, I was simply ignoring it. I knew that if I thought about it, I would scare myself. So I put it out of mind until it was upon me.
I had several concerns about being on the road: 1. Would I be able to maintain a cruising speed on that little bike? 2. Would I remember to check mirrors for surrounding traffic as often as needed?
As it turns out, I needn't have worried. Yes, the speed thing took some concentration, but that's because Hwy 98 has lots of hills and you have to actively 'speed up' to get up a hill and remember to 'slow down' as you're coming down the other side. I was able to keep it between 65 and 70 without much trouble. It was mainly the novelty of maintaining speed with my wrist/palm/fingers rather than my foot. And I wasn't surprised by any vehicles moving past me on the road. Well, once I looked in the mirror and didn't see Mr. H behind me, but a split second later I caught him out of the corner of my eye, moving to take the lead into Laurel.
It's difficult to explain exactly what it's like to be out on the road like that. I tried to think of other things than the ride itself, but couldn't do it! Not that I really WANTED to think of anything else, just to see if I could. There is so much to experience.
You know when you pass through a grove of mimosa trees.
You are certain there is honeysuckle growing on that fence.
You don't need to see any buzzards to know something dead is in that ditch!
We got off 98 onto 15 and went through Richton up to Laurel. We went through town in Laurel rather than take the interstate around it. I'm not quite ready for interstate travel. Mr. H wanted to try Hwy 501 and it was a beautiful ride. We were looking for 481 that we discovered last weekend. At one point we got to an intersection on Marathon-Morton Road and I pulled up beside Mr. H. He lifted his visor and said, "I have no idea where we are." I just laughed. If he didn't, I CERTAINLY didn't. But generally a road with two place names in it will take you to those places. And that was the case this time, too.
As I was riding along, it hit me suddenly what I was doing. Have you ever had one of those moments that seemed to surprise you by your being there? I remember having this feeling several times in my life. The first time was the moment I realized I could read music. I remember the exact moment the light bulb came on and all those dots became a language I could read. (It was the introduction to "The Stars and Stripes Forever" and I was in the 7th grade.) Another time it happened was when I was on the field in a halftime show with the Maroon Band. I was standing in my place and the announcer was announcing something and the crowd was cheering and the thought ran through my head, "Wow! How did I manage to get HERE?!"
It happened on this trip, that feeling of "Wow! Look at me! I NEVER thought I'd be here doing this!" That thought was immediately followed by a prayer of thanksgiving for the man who seems to have such incredible expectations for my abilities. In fact, I was in the middle of talking to my Lord, when Mr. H suddenly made a right turn onto another road that I wasn't expecting.
"Heavenly Father, thank You so much for this man who loves me so much and wants me to do so many......Oh,Man!Hejustturnedoffrightthereandexpectsmetobeabletofollowwithoutanypreparation.......
And I was able to do that, too!
It occurred to me on this trip how much joy we steal from those we love by not letting them do things and call it "protecting" them. If someone is prepared for an undertaking, has been trained what to expect, what to look out for, will have supervision (at least in the initial stages), don't deny them the joy of the adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment