Skip to main content

#Scattered_Day 13



New Orleans, LA to Tallahassee, Fl = 385 miles
Tallahassee to Home = 277

"There seemed to be no cure for loneliness save only being alone." ~ John Steinbeck: Travels with Charley

Long distance riding is fertile ground for daydreaming and thinking. In all my years I have not found any other activity that produces more thought than riding my motorcycle for 500 miles or so. I embrace the aloneness of solo travel; even when I'm with my Wingman, I am 'alone' on the motorcycle. I've been asked 'do you wear a headset so you can talk to each other?' NO. We will talk when we stop.

I know people who listen to music while riding, not me. First of all, the music sounds horrible with 70 mph wind rushing around you. I'm too much of a music fan to ruin the melody or backbeat. Secondly, music tends to produce a little too much melancholy for me while I'm riding solo; too many memories of people, places, and experiences that I prefer to savor with just the music. Lastly, I prefer the roar of my V-Twin and the rush of the wind over any song on my playlist. 

Five hundred miles on two wheels translates to roughly 10 hours in the saddle; give or take an hour for gas stops and pee breaks. Ten hours is a significant amount of time to think. I have recreated entire scenes from my life. Scenes with dialogue, vivid topography, and an ending that is satisfying to me. As all scenes from my past don't always end well or in my favor. And then there are the scenes you wish you would have handled differently. I can always correct that in my head. Thinking and riding provide ample opportunity to correct conversations - yes, I will play my part and the other person's part - and have them progress the way they should have at the time they took place.  I've written long, detailed letters to people that I will never actually write, let alone send. The process is cathartic.

I have created future scenes with my daughters which may or may not take place. I have written the dialogue for future conversations with my grandchildren just in case I'm gone and they read this. I have written short stories in my head, chuckling and sometimes laughing out loud at my witty sense of humor. I have created future scenes so vivid I am brought to tears with the possibility. I have dredged up memories so painful I sob, creating the need to pull over, compose myself and wipe the tear stains off my sunglasses. Why? Why would anyone want to do this? Because I'm alive; with dreams, memories, regrets, and possibilities. And I'm pounding the ground on interstate travel; if I were on a challenging backroad I wouldn't have time for the deep, futuristic, archeological type pondering.

I felt more physical discomfort on this long haul than previous trips; yes, I'm another year older and felt it at times. The hip hurts and the knees start to ache; but is that age or 500 plus miles in 100 degree heat? I vote for the latter. As always, I questioned my sanity a time or two on this trip. My daughter brought me to my knees though with her social media post. Exactly when I needed to hear it. I simply don't give up; never have, never will. I've faltered many times, but you would be hard pressed to find 'quit' in my vocabulary or past behavior. Yes, I've been divorced, but that doesn't equate to 'quitting.' It takes two to make a marriage work. 

My goal on this trip was to think about my new book project #Scattered and prompt the characters to 'talk' to me. I realized there is more of me in the character Della than I originally intended. I 'experienced' Sedona; now I can write about Della's skepticism and create accurate descriptions of the area. My character Tish is always vocal, it was the character Ann that was very quiet. And I'm not gonna lie, my other goal on this trip was simply to move away from home base to gain a fresh perspective. Wind therapy works every time.

Bessie and me rolled into our driveway exactly 14 days from the start of our journey; a little over 6,000 miles. Although I keep a daily mileage count (for future tax purposes) I've never focused on the miles, only the smiles and the experiences along the way. Grateful that my higher power watched over us and brought us home safely.

Debi Tolbert Duggar is the author of 'Riding Soul-O'
Part Memoir, Part Travelogue, Part Spiritual Salvation
Available at Bessieandme.com and online wherever books are sold


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Knew Better

July 3, 2013 Typical Pennsylvania Road I always hate saying ‘Goodbye’ to my Dad. He won’t travel since Mom passed several years ago, which means I don’t see him except in the summer when I travel North - or every few years during the Holidays.  I’ve learned many things from my Dad; some of the lessons came hard, some of the lessons were difficult, and unfortunately, most of the lessons were learned much later in life. Had I paid attention the first time, my journey would not have been as rough, and my ability to grasp the many opportunities presented to me would have been easier. As my Dad and I both age, we get a long better, and our relationship had deepened after my Mom passed...for this I am grateful. I left Indiana early this morning - taking 35S  - the fields were shrouded in a chilly mist as the sun cast a pinkish glow to the East. I was filled with anticipation that I was going to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘Falling Water’ home south of Pittsburgh.  Wh...
1 comment
Read more

Plan? What Plan?

"Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have titles until much later." In the last few months I've been asked from several readers and followers, 'How do you plan your trips?' I also see the question asked numerous times (like over and over and over and over...) on the various biker-related groups on social media.  Penny Tours I confess: I'm not much of a planner! I ride in the spirit of the intrepid Bessie Stringfield, a pioneer of the sport of motorcycling who in 1930 became the first black woman to ride solo across the U.S.. Bessie was notorious for her 'Penny Tours.' She would toss a penny in the air and wherever it landed on her map of the U.S.....that is the direction she would travel. And yes; I've done the Penny Tour many times. Just a few weeks ago in Indiana; I had a 'free' day between events and tossed the penny on the map of Indiana. It landed in the northern part of the state near the ...
2 comments
Read more

Summer Road Trip_The Warehousians

June 16, 2012 In the summer of 1969, when everyone old enough and hip enough was flocking to Yasgar's Farm in upstate New York for a music festival called Woodstock, I and most of my friends were looking forward to starting high school. The tidal wave of rock n roll, free love, tye-dye, psychedelics, and peace was just beginning to roll across the country from the west coast; it would find willing participants in the sleepy little mid-western town I grew up in. It was music that brought us together in the early '70's at a seemingly abandoned building in downtown Marion Indiana (righteously name The 7th Street Warehouse), and it was music that brought us together Saturday night in a building once occupied by Freel and Mason drugstore in downtown Marion some 40 years later for a first attempt at a 'reunion' of sorts. Our 'Prophet,' Duke, started a Facebook Page about a year ago, called the '7th Street Warehouse People,' which mushroomed (no pun intend...
Post a Comment
Read more