Day of Motorcycle Riding

The Indian Scout in front of the USAF Bone Yard at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ

Riding my motorcycle always clears my head, but riding all afternoon alone did much more than that.

I woke up this morning to find Steve already gone. I assume he went to eat the hotel breakfast without me. Last night I asked him to let me sleep in the morning because I haven't been getting enough sleep. At 9 am I awoke to realize I had indeed missed breakfast and Steve. His laptop was gone, so he was probably working in the lounge.

Steve and I needed a day apart, so I packed up and headed to a coffee shop nearby. I had visited the Crave Coffee Shop a number of times when we visited Tucson in 2013 and liked it very much. With a Hummus Flat Bread Wrap and Chai Latte on my table, I was able to knock out some work.

But after working 5 hours, I was ready to get off my ass. The sun was shining and I just knew the temps were in the 80's. I had heard about 2nd Saturdays in Downtown Tucson, a festival of sorts, with food trucks, local restaurants, live music and shopping, so I decided to go.

Rarely do Steve and I take time apart. I know we should do it for our own sanity, personal growth and for the health of our relationship. But frankly, it's just not easy for either of us. We are so attracted to one another it seems impossible to stay away. Even when we fight, there's an enormous passion and energy we are creating. Neither of us want to fight, but we've gotten into a terrible cycle of arguing. It doesn't happen too often, but when it starts, if one of us can leave, we can stop the fight before it gets out of hand.

So today was my effort to walk away.

As I pulled out of the parking lot of the coffee shop to head Downtown, something tugged at my heart.

"You don't want to go to some street party. Why not just go for a ride?" my little inner voice whispered.

I turned my handlebars and took off heading east. I rode east until the road ended and found I was still in traffic, surrounded by homes.

"How do I get out of here?" I wondered.

Tucson is remarkable sprawling. I was shocked to find it is 224 square miles! Combine that with the fact that there is no crosstown highway system in the area and you have a riding nightmare.

"To get anywhere in Tucson, you must use city streets, which is nothing but cars and stoplights. It takes an hour to get from the west side of the city to the east," Chris, a Tucson motorcycle rider told me.

At the end of the eastbound road, I chose to go south. I rode for about 20 minutes to the edge of the residential area and stopped to get gas. After filling up the tank, I rode around in circles, exploring roads, finding interesting spots, and taking in the sun and the scenery. I rode by the NASCAR track, a shooting range, the Davis-Monthan Air Force base and the USAF Bone Yard. I stopped to marvel at the hundreds of aircraft and vehicles resting unused on this fenced stretch of wasteland.

Bone Yard seemed such an appropriate term for the place. The planes seemed to be fading in the relentless Southwest sun, rotting away as yesterday's newspaper. Our society has become one of such consumerism. With the advent of 777's, our government just parks DC 10's and forgets about them. This must be why we bury human remains. Imagine the smell of thousands of dead people, stinking piles of rotting flesh in the desert sun. It is much easier to ignore this scentless disintegration of thousands of machines.

I pondered my fate as I stood on roadside staring at the Bone Yard with despair. One day I'll be useless. I certainly hope I don't live that long to be a nuisance; an albatross around the neck of a younger family member. I would rather lie in the Bone Yard.

After all of this introspection, I slung my leg back over the Scout and continued my ride. Around sunset I rolled back into our hotel parking lot and pulled alongside Steve's motorcycle, Blackbird. There was something soothing about simply seeing Blackbird. Perhaps because I know that wherever Blackbird is, Steve is not far behind. Blackbird is much like our family dog in that way.

I racked up only 70 miles in the 4 hours of riding, mostly due to the traffic and stoplights to get away from and back to our hotel. But as usual, the day of riding was exactly what I needed to clear my mind and settle my emotions. Upon arriving in our hotel room and relaxing after a hot shower, I was filled with gratitude for this life.

Others may do yoga, eat, shop or exercise, but for me there is no better stress reliever than my Meditation in Motion; motorcycle riding.