Monday, September 21, 2009

Postcards From the Side of the Road: The lure of the motorcycle

I left London before noon yesterday, turned south at Nilestown, and a mile north of Belmont I turned left on Harrietsville Rd.

Maybe I’ll spot Jim Jackson cutting his grass, I thought. (Jim and I play hockey together on Wednesdays).

I had the road completely to myself. Only a few buzzards flew overhead, waiting for me to stop and fall down dead at the side of the road.


I pulled over near an old farmhouse to take a few pictures. I didn’t fall down dead. The buzzards looked elsewhere. [More pix here.]

(Spellcheck just alerted me that ‘farmhose’ is an incorrect spelling. More about farmhose later).

Familiar smells filled the air and I removed my helmet so I could feel the slight breeze blow through what’s left of my hair.

Alone on the country road I could sense that time was slipping by very slowly... one second... one second... one second at a time.


Freshly rolled hay caught my attention, as did the sound that soy beans make as they’re maturing under a clear blue sky.


[“The 1994 Virago is first rate, but I miss my last one”: photos by GAH]

I heard a car approach so I stepped off the centre line and gave a slow wave as it passed.


I got a slow wave back.

***

Did you get out for a short ride yesterday? End up at Shutters in Port Bruce? Good coffee, eh?

.

2 comments:

Crazylegs said...

Man, I got a minimum 10 years until retirement. Maybe I should starting making my short-list of bikes so I can hit the ground running when the time comes.

Nice post, Gord. Makes me want to lie down surrounded by breezy tall grass and listen to those seconds saunter inside of their clouds.

Anonymous said...

G. Harrison wrote... (from outta town)

Crazylegs,

If you like cruiser-style, a Virago (1984 - 96) is a deal. And I've got a long list of roads that are worthy of exploration. GAH