Leaving work on Thursday afternoon, heading to my car, I spotted a butterfly fluttering in front of me. The butterfly then landed on the sidewalk about six feet in front of me. I moved a little closer hoping to get a photo, but the butterfly took off. He then settled on the sidewalk right in front of me! Better yet, he just sat there at my feet while I took out my phone, gently squatted down, and snapped several photos. He seemed willing to stay there if I was, perhaps drying out his wings after the rain and dampness of the past few days. Of course, I couldn’t just stand there forever, so after getting my pictures (see below), I headed to my car and the common buckeye butterfly flew off to find some flowers.
I include this little encounter because it brought such a feeling of joy, and joy is what I feel when I’m riding my motorcycle. Even when I’m not feeling that great, once I roll on the throttle and take off, I feel immensely better. I also noted during today’s ride that I feel stronger on my R Nine T. A month or so back, I mentioned coming up with a rear brake trick for helping me keep the motorcycle up on the steep camber of the road (see Gift of a Day). I mentioned my trick to Bill, but he pointed out that I should rely on my legs to control the bike. So I’ve been working on that, and on today’s takeoff, I was fully able to maintain the motorcycle on the incline and check the road for clearance.
I also feel my strength as I work on my tight U-turns. I tense up my abdominal core as I pull the motorcycle around tighter, feeling the momentum of the bike and adding or decreasing speed as needed. And of course, I am constantly working my grip as I control the clutch and front brake. The rest of my Saturday workout includes hauling the riding gear in and out of the car, up the steep driveway, and just moving around when fully geared up.
Riding my motorcycle is more fun than visiting the gym. Both are good for me, but I have better luck spotting butterflies on my ride than when I’m inside the gym. It took a while, but I finally spotted a monarch among some flowers halfway into the ride. And, just as I thought I wasn’t going to see any more, a little cabbage white butterfly fluttered into view. I spotted one more monarch among the lantana again, and the large tiger swallowtail fluttered up to the house as I was packing up my gear.
During today’s ride, though, Bill and I weren’t the only ones out cruising. For a brief moment, a Harley rider joined up on our route, qualifying us as a motorcycle gang. We also saw a 1969 Pontiac GTX in its original blue cruising around nearly the same route we took. It was a beautiful car, clearly well-cared for, and it made for one more enjoyable aspect of this wonderful last ride of this summer.
Flutterby Biker 