Morning awakening

[Huzo]

I’m convinced that the best time to re digest the bond that you have formed with your bike, is in the very early morning as the pre dawn Sun is beginning to colour the Eastern horizon.

It was the very early hours of such a freezing morning, in the Riverina district of country New South Wales here in Australia.
 The engine was singing with the same steady beat that it relentlessly provides and at the time, was the only form of comfort when every other aspect of my existence was at or near my personal threshold. The air at 5am in the Aussie mid winter although freezing cold, was crystal like in it’s clarity and each time I moved a new opening would present itself, for the icy shards of wind to penetrate through the smallest of openings in my jacket.
But it was raw, real and uncompromising. The stars and full moon were lighting the road ahead with the edges bathed in silver.

I began to realise again why we do this to ourselves…

At home is a nice Toyota Hilux, with every convenience I could have indulged in to make myself comfortable, but I chose to do this and I wanted it no other way.
Staring through the new visor at the twin beams from the auxiliary lights on the V85, I remembered the hours I’d spent fitting them and became reminded of the things that I’d done to make my bike better for moments exactly like this, as a kangaroo appeared 200 metres ahead and was startled by the splash of light, he disappeared off into the scrub as I hummed by.
Seconds became minutes, minutes became an hour and the Eastern horizon began to glow with the familiar orange turning to yellow then gold,

as the Australian morning Sun began to push the night away and with it the uncertainties of night time travel in wildlife infested forests, that can easily end in pain and regret.

Yet there is a drive, that will not allow you to walk away from the lifestyle.

Coming into a mid sized town, I rolled back the lightweight throttle and remembered the time spent modifying it so that my ageing wrist could cope with the demands that are more suited to someone half my age and mentally thanked my bike again. All the homes were shrouded in a weak honeyed golden hue and lights were beginning to be switched on as people were rising, ready to face what their day had in store for them.
I stopped at a lone red traffic light and wondered at the irony when there seemed to be no other vehicle in my immediate universe, the light was there to talk to someone and I was fortunate enough to be there to listen. The ticking sound that you hear when the pedestrian light is showing green, sounds ten times louder in the frosty silence above the sound of the gently idling 850.

I must have disturbed the tranquility somewhat, as a small terrier came out from a doubtlessly warm cottage to harass me with a tirade of barking and threats directed at me to move along, just as his owner appeared and clicked a leash onto his little dog’s collar and they made their way off down the street. The old man stopped and looked at the bike as his little dog strained to start the walk to who knows where and he lifted his collar against the morning cold.
With a knowing nod, he and his little dog disappeared into the gloom…

As I swung onto the main thoroughfare through town, the smell of a bakery mixed with coffee, floated in my direction and I knew that I would stop.

The cafe was warm and the young girl who had opened minutes before, already had a nice smile as she started her day’s work. I thought how many of her contemporaries would be just getting home from the night before and sleeping half of the next beautiful day with a hangover and here was this young lady at just after dawn, working to better herself and make her way in this beautiful place.

Her Mum and Dad must have been proud of her.

As I ate my toasted sandwich and sipped the hot coffee, my hands were lightly shaking as the warmth had not yet infused into me, but it was beginning to and after some more time, I became aware that the cafe was beginning to buzz and hum with the sound of it coming to life. The crackle of morning chat mixed with the gurgling coffee machine was punctuated sporadically with the ding of the bell on the door, as a regular entered for the coffee and morning paper.

I finished off my breakfast as the morning Sun now shone fully through the front window and it’s warmth through the glass was easily discernible, I had become awake and warm, the condensation on the V85 outside was dripping onto the pavement as the temperature rose to 5 degrees Celsius.
As I got up to leave, a young man smelling of cologne in a designer T shirt who had just got out of a Subaru WRX, ran inside to escape the freeze and said to me…
“I don’t know why you put yourself through this…”
There is no question mark because he didn’t pose it as a question, he directed it as a statement. He was not seeking an answer.
At the same time, the old man with the terrier came in.
He picked up his paper and pre ordered coffee and said……”HE does…”

I turned around to acknowlege him since we’d crossed paths earlier….

But he was gone…..
I know I will meet him again, he will be in a different town and have a different name but the nod will be the same…

[lucian]

I've always loved early morning rides the most, for all of the reasons you so eloquently put into  words. What a tremendous ability you have for writing and capturing the feelings so many of us share but  are unable to articulate. Well done sir!

[Huzo]

I've always loved early morning rides the most, for all of the reasons you so eloquently put into  words. What a tremendous ability you have for writing and capturing the feelings so many of us share but  are unable to articulate. Well done sir!

Knowing it is 90% Lucian.
Telling others is the other 10%

[lucian]

Knowing it is 90% Lucian.
Telling others is the other 10%

 Agreed but, to know, you have to force your arse out of bed and subject yourself to whatever awaits. And only then do the rewards come , usually in hindsight. I had forgotten how important all of this is as it relates to motorcycling until I read your post. Thank you for sending me off to bed with child like enthusiasm for a morning ride. Never under estimate the power of what sharing personal experience can do for others.   

[Huzo]

Agreed but, to know, you have to force your arse out of bed and subject yourself to whatever awaits. And only then do the rewards come , usually in hindsight. I had forgotten how important all of this is as it relates to motorcycling until I read your post. Thank you for sending me off to bed with child like enthusiasm for a morning ride. Never under estimate the power of what sharing personal experience can do for others.   

You get yourself to Melbourne Lucian and I’ll collect you there in a….CAR…!
You can take the same V85 anywhere you like for as long as you like here in Australia free of charge…..
Just do it…You know you want to.
Name the date and I will be there.

[Scout63]

It’s always rewarding to hear from a true romantic Huzo. The only moments comparable to early morning pre-breakfast rides are midsummer late night solo rides downshifting two gears to listen to the engine wail. Then sitting in the dark afterwards at home smelling the hot engine as it cools.

[Huzo]

It’s always rewarding to hear from a true romantic Huzo. The only moments comparable to early morning pre-breakfast rides are midsummer late night solo rides downshifting two gears to listen to the engine wail. Then sitting in the dark afterwards at home smelling the hot engine as it cools.

Perfectly true Scout.
There’s more to bikes than nuts and bolts. I also truly believe that the imperfections in a bike can make it better.
If I had good hand guards on my V85, my hands would not have been as cold and therefore would not have felt as good warming up..!
If it wasn’t a bit hard, it wouldn’t be as good.
I do like the Denali spots though…You can’t enjoy it if you’re dead…

[Huzo]

It’s always rewarding to hear from a true romantic Huzo. The only moments comparable to early morning pre-breakfast rides are midsummer late night solo rides downshifting two gears to listen to the engine wail. Then sitting in the dark afterwards at home smelling the hot engine as it cools.

In response specifically to your post. I was in a similar situation not long back and felt a certain emotion and  I’m glad I was alone.
Nothing that a little bit of rapid blinking didn’t fix. Some say that bikes enhance your life, I’m not sure it’s true.
Sometimes I’m sure they define your life. Whether I’m too old to ride or not, I will own my Norge until I die.

[cliffrod]

There’s more to bikes than nuts and bolts. I also truly believe that the imperfections in a bike can make it better.

This is the part that I like about my bikes, but that seem to lead others on an endless quest to achieve a perfection that cannot be found.  Humility is one of the best roads to contentment.

As a boy bringing in the cows at 4:30AM for milking instilled an awareness of the early day- the dry grass & air before the dew sets, the cool breeze & temp drop to expect just before the sun rises and the difference or transition in many smells at the same time of day.   It’s a good chance to read likely weather for the pending day.  Riding a bike provides the same sensory experience.   Whatever season it is, it’s like being a kid on the farm again.

During my year of doughwork, I worked at a bagel bakery in Knoxville, TN.  I had to arrive by 4:30 to have the oven up to 500F and 50 gallon kettle boiling by 5AM.  Riding my V7 Sport alone across Knoxville on I-40 when it was empty was great.  Many of the highway lights on the interstate would cast a shadow of me against the center wall which I would chase, catch and quickly pass.  It was like being in a race with a dozen or more V7 Sports and passing all of them at full speed.  But that was topped every day when I got off the interstate and passed a small swampy spot on Lovell Road that always smelled so musty at that time of the day.  Whether riding or on foot, you couldn’t smell it any other time.  Then no matter how cold it was, I would be in a blazing hot kitchen at the end of my ride.     Sadly, that boggy musty spot is now adjacent to the entrance to a large commercial development (Turkey Creek) and I expect the swamp is no longer the same.

Years later, the cold late winter and spring morning rides at 6AM on my old HD FLH to the granite studio in Vermont were much colder.  As long as it was 15F-20F, I rode because it was getting warmer after the long cold winter.  Nothing like real cold air for clarity. And nothing makes the bike run as well or sound as good as that cold clean air.

[Huzo]

The cold solitude and peaceful singularity of such snapshots are enriching and romantic times.
Feeling the bike tossed by crosswinds as the pre dawn full moon shines through turbulent clouds, is for me a metaphor that encapsulates the struggle that we experience to navigate the complications of our lives.
I’m reminded at such times of some Bob Seger and Dylan songs, but none articulate it better for me than this one…

https://youtu.be/FxSsol3Zd7k

I feel that time is like distance..
You stare at the road ahead through piercing white beams of light and cannot make out what lay ahead, but the indiscernible shadows become real and approach ever more quickly, until they fly by to again become dark in the fading red light.
Your future is like the road..
Hazardous, uncertain, rewarding and waiting to be discovered, but you cannot know what’s around the bend until you’ve lived it.
Yesterday is in the mirrors, today is on the seat and tomorrow is over the fairing screen.

Close you eyes, turn out the lights and listen to Robert Plant’s message….

[nick949]

 Beautifully written Huzo. I was with you the whole way.
Some people get it, most don't. Suffering is part of life and there is a certain elegance to embracing less-than-ideal conditions. Too many people work hard to avoid the slightest inconvenience or discomfort. Their loss. I don't think they're actually alive.

Nick

[Huzo]

Beautifully written Huzo. I was with you the whole way.
Some people get it, most don't. Suffering is part of life and there is a certain elegance to embracing less-than-ideal conditions. Too many people work hard to avoid the slightest inconvenience or discomfort. Their loss. I don't think they're actually alive.

Nick

Yes it’s a paradox Nick.
We struggle our whole lives, so that we don’t have to struggle.

[Huzo]

Again I find that if you wait long enough, the esoteric merry go ‘round will arrive at your feet again.
The blossom trees are beginning to come out and the Australian birds are beginning to stir at 6 am. It’s starting to feel like a good time to go somewhere.
Several times I have been out and intended to take my V85 somewhere, but found myself on my Norge again.
It’s time for the ‘85.
Reading the opening post has brought back recollections of that morning and I think I must head off once more. Darwin is a good trip, although I prefer the Norge, the V85 is beckoning….
It’s time.

[SmithSwede]

Well written Huzo. 

I’ve often been asked by co-workers, motel clerks, people at gas stations, etc—why are you riding when it is so cold, so much rain, so late at night, so early in the morning, so far from home, etc. 

I often just say: “because it makes the coffee taste better.”

You either understand that.   Or you don’t. 

[Huzo]

Well written Huzo. 

I’ve often been asked by co-workers, motel clerks, people at gas stations, etc—why are you riding when it is so cold, so much rain, so late at night, so early in the morning, so far from home, etc. 

I often just say: “because it makes the coffee taste better.”

You either understand that.   Or you don’t.

Touche’ SS.

[Scout63]

I simply love this thread. Early morning rides always end with a small sense of loss when the rest of the world wakes up.

[bikeridertim]

Thanks Huzo, definitely nothing like it.  May I "steal" this?

We struggle our whole lives so that we don’t have to struggle.

[Huzo]

Thanks Huzo, definitely nothing like it.  May I "steal" this?

We struggle our whole lives so that we don’t have to struggle.

Certainly BRT…
I thought the other day, we struggle for 40-45 yrs of adult working life, so the next 15 will be good.
We are a funny bunch, in that we will put up with anything hard for a long time, if we have the prospect of something good for a short time.
If you were told that at the age of 18, you can have a retirement lifestyle until the age of 33, but then you must work until the day you die at 75, you’d probably say no thanks.
But really, that would be a better time to have your retirement…
You just wouldn’t do it….

[tris]

The only way to match a morning ride, and I'm a fan too, is to ride through the night.

Several times I've ridden the National Road Rally over here, that starts midday on Saturday and finishes at 0800 on the Sunday via a number of controls

Seeing the sunset and then riding until the sun comes up is a wonderful experience
If you weren't in tune with the bike at the start you are at the end

But the best part was meeting the people in the dead of night manning (and womaning) the controls to get your control card stamped

They all understand why we're there.

Unfortunately there was a move in - times towards unmanned controls and it looks like that will be the norm

[Roebling3]

Many thanks Huzo. I've enjoyed your shared feelings and will 'til I soon cannot.  Good fortune to you, always.  R3~

[John A]

I was going west at sunrise along the Texas Oklahoma border alongside the Cimmeron River. A deserted two lane following an old trail as I thought of past travelers. I thought I should shift into fifth and get going, only to discover I was already in fifth at about 85 mph by a typicality optimistic Guzzi speedometer . It’s one of my favorite memories that wouldn’t even exist had I been in a car. So there is a great deal in your description, Huzo.

[Huzo]

Yep.
We all take something different from the road, gifts that she freely gives.
The only stipulation…? (from the demanding mistress that she is)
You have to be there and collect in person.
These were moments of deep reflection.




This was taken a couple of hours later…


image uploader



The Northern Lights route one was the loneliest.

[Huzo]

I simply love this thread. Early morning rides always end with a small sense of loss when the rest of the world wakes up.

Yes Scout.
There is that sense of feeling slightly bereft, but I don’t lament.
My green, white and red Arai remembers everything…

[MotoGuzzi750]

I've always loved early morning rides the most, for all of the reasons you so eloquently put into  words. What a tremendous ability you have for writing and capturing the feelings so many of us share but  are unable to articulate. Well done sir!

Love early morning rides too ( whenever I can manage to do it ). 

[Huzo]

Love early morning rides too ( whenever I can manage to do it ). 

[Huzo]

I will remind anyone in Europe or the ‘States…
It’s starting to come good weather wise here in ‘Oz and I’ll repeat my offer to anyone who wants to come over and take my V85 away for some time to tour Australia. My Son Christopher currently has it in his care, but I’m sure a slot can be made for anyone who wants to take up the offer.
I WILL collect you from Melbourne International and it’s a 1 hour trip to where I live from there. The bike is free, the only stipulation is that there’ll need to be appropriate insurance on it and the tyres/service will have to be up to speed.
It’s a nice thing to ride.


You’ll never see Australia cheaper…

[Ratso88]

That, Mr Huzo, is an incredibly generous offer.

If I wasn't planning a trip south is the past, I am certainly considering something now.

The what, hows and whys are now whirling around in my head.
I looks like my employer flies into Tullamarine making it even easier, damn it!
Excuses are becoming thin.

Unfortunately not this season.
Life keeps getting in the way . . .

Someone should, literally, jump on this!

[inditx]

Extremely generous Huzo.
Well written btw!
inditx

[chuck peterson]

Always a special treat to ride at…

O Dark:30 Dawn Patrol

Thanks Huzo!

[Ncdan]

Well done my friend.
👍