Monday, August 10, 2009

If you see her, say hello, she might be in Tangier
She left here last early spring, is livin' there, I hear
Say for me that I'm all right though things get kind of slow
She might think that I've forgotten her, don't tell her it isn't so.

We had a falling-out, like lovers often will
And to think of how she left that night, it still brings me a chill
And though our separation, it pierced me to the heart
She still lives inside of me, we've never been apart.

If you get close to her, kiss her once for me
I always have respected her for busting out and gettin' free
Oh, whatever makes her happy, I won't stand in the way
Though the bitter taste still lingers on from the night I tried to make her stay.

I see a lot of people as I make the rounds
And I hear her name here and there as I go from town to town
And I've never gotten used to it, I've just learned to turn it off
Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin' soft.

Sundown, yellow moon, I replay the past
I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast
If she's passin' back this way, I'm not that hard to find
Tell her she can look me up if she's got the time.

-Bob Dylan

Sunday, August 02, 2009

if it ain't raining, it ain't training...

First a drop, then another and another until i'm soaked from head to toe, boots full of water and a chill rolls across my spine at 55mph I can barely see, glasses fogging, rain on the inside of them now as a shiver begins to develop deep within. I hug the bike closer soaking the warmth from the air cooled motor as we continue down the highway. The light up ahead turns red and as I begin to brake it's only then I fully realize just how utterly soaked I am. There is so much water that the brakes begin to groan and make sounds like never before as this was baptisim for these wheels, nevertheless they brought me to a stop without fail. As I shook my head to the right and left trying to shake off the rain, the light turned green and we were off again, visibility wasn't clear blue and twenty two, more like dark fog with driving rain and we slowed to around 40-45 mph. The rain kept on pelting us like a swarm of bees interrupted at honey time. Another light is coming up ahead, the shiver is becoming worse but we continue to drive on. Noticed I have a death grip on the handle bars about now. Blinkers on, were going right and as I wearily begin the turn, I'm startled by multiple horns blasting from behind as the rest of the pack waves and continues north. The rain is slowing now. I can see once again, albeit not as clear as I should. Through the winding road we go until we are in a familar place even with the fog and rain. The leader takes a right and I honk, smile and wave but continue west to the filling station. As I pull in there are several folks staring in amazement as I pull up to the pump. I grab a towel, take a deep breath, wipe my brow, dry my glasses and smile, what a ride... Pulling out from the station I see a familar white t-shirt several hundred feet back heading north and as I get up to cruising speed the image is becoming clearer. The rains have subsided. At the light the familar image was indeed Dan, "did you stop at Scott's" he said? "Nope, just honked waved and went on", "funny" he said, "I just kept going straight". We cruised on through Wylie and Murphy headed for Plano, probably end up on the cover of their local newspaper as I'm sure we were quite the sight..good times ;-)