Cheater

Winter overstayed its welcome this year, and one of the biggest prices we’ve paid is not riding in months. Well, at least I haven’t ridden. Can’t say the same for my husband, who is a bona fide cheater.

Since at least November, when we stole our last late autumn tour through the crisp Ozark countryside, I’ve walked past, around and beside my beautiful red bike leaning on its stand in our garage. Riding weather’s just around the corner, I’ve told myself on numerous occasions. Not really, but my optimistic tendencies kept me going through the depressing gray weeks of January and February particularly. At one point, Raye and I got so down about the inhospitable conditions we spent a week or two planning and eventually booking our next big European riding trip this fall – 10 days touring the Pyrenees in Southern France and the coast of Spain.

Within the past few weeks, however, the weather has started warming up, I am sure the bulbs in our front yard will eventually find a way to bloom, and I find myself thinking about riding nearly every day. I called home from the office late one afternoon this week and asked my son where his dad was – “he’s on motorcycle rides” he told me. Rides? Yes, he’s taking out one bike after another, returning long enough to hop another one of his bikes and disappear again. This is a man who believes you can’t have enough bikes – some of which are theoretically in our garage only because they are beautiful to look at.

Cheater, I told my husband when I got home. What was he doing sneaking out for “rides” when I was glued to a keyboard with a cell phone sticking out of one ear? Just making sure everything was in good working order, came the reply. Cheater, I repeated, acting a little ruffled. But he wasn’t fooled. He knew I’d be interested in the details, so he pressed on, telling me how each bike performed, how the roads felt, how long the afternoon light had held up.

I got up this morning and saw daffodils blooming everywhere in our front yard. Riding weather has arrived, indeed. Good bye winter. Hello warm wind, soft leather, endless road.