....we had about 85 miles to go to get home....but we decided since we had half a tank of gas we,d wait until we were about 25 miles from home to gas up....

 

....I had the Blue LED,s on the State on all night...a little show while were at the parade that drew plenty of attention as folks strolling by ..detoured over to check the bike out and comment on how much they dug the lights....after the parade we suited up....cranked our Gerbings up to high.....and got in the wind...its all woods from Mackinaw City to our place...85 miles of nothing but deep forest...

 

 

. ...I waited until we were about 5 miles out of town and entering the deep woods before I wicked the throttle and we shot past all the other vehicles and out into the darkness and solitude of the super slab, as it snaked ever deeper into the dark woods.....in the blink of an eye....we were doing 85 mph....screaming ever deeper in the darkness.....and that,s the pace I set....85 - 90 mph all the way down to our Exit. ....

 

 

.....there,s a feeling that one can only achieve when he,s engaged in this kind of high speed riding...years of being in the wind...encountering all types of situations...all come into play....all are part of your survivor skills.....your riding skills.....like I said...its dark out there....real dark....but you are not to be denied....you manuver until you have left all other traffic in your wake....the sound of the engine and its high speed hum fills your ears....the broken white stripe is your only guide....your eyes never leave it....you look down and the needle is pinned on 90 mph....and that,s where its going to stay for the next 80 miles....

 

 

. ...you flip on the high beam and the Twin Phillips Halogen car bulbs you modified and installed... light up the surrounding area like its almost day light....you come round yet another curve at high speed and quickly come up on a few more cars and a pick up towing a camping trailer....you slow up to around 80 and wade right on into the pack...you all come around another curve in the darkness and the danger is clear and obvious.....a tingle slowly runs up your spine....this is what turns you on....this is what you have practiced for years....I feel Chili tighten up just a tad....she is an excellent passenger... soon to be an excellent rider....but I can tell she is feeling pensive at this moment in time....but she has nothing to worry about...I am in total control....

 

 

...you finally break free of the pack and your speed steadily climbs....you have turned the stereo way down as its of no use at these speeds anyway...so all you can hear is the ongoing high drone of the 26 inch Cherry Bombs your buddy Johnny installed in the custom pipes he built for you...

 

 

....the sky is dark and clear with lots of stars....tempature is low to mid forties....its cool out...very cool....but neither of mind....your Gerbings are set to high...and you are very toasty...so you relax a bit....let your mind wander just a little...but your eyes...your eyes never leave that broken white stripe that is going by so fast ...that it looks like it could be just one solid line....this is what riding is really about....everything else falls away...revealing itself for the bullshit that it really is....life and its many distractions don,t matter ...at least not right now....everything around you is raw and smooth all at the same time...you have melded into that machine...you and your woman both....you are bonding at a level that few ever get to experience.....

 

 

...you know...at that speed....for that distance.....that long.....the odds are amped up so high...the chances that something...one little thing....could go wrong....a deer....or some other critter out for a midnight stroll....or an errant piece of an old camper that had been rattling underneath some frame for years before it finally broke loose and bounced on down the road at 70 mph...until it finally came to rest in the middle of your lane....just laying there in the darkness...waiting to introduce you to eternity....

 

 

.....but tonight is not your night....or rather....it is.......you see from the second we left that on ramp onto the super slab...until we finally came up on our exit at a high rate of speed...we were doing 85 - 90 mph the entire way....for 80 long miles...I took her down to a civilized 70 mph as we hit out exit...slowed to a stop....then banged gears back up to 80 as we did a the mile or so to the blinking light.....left turn...almost home...our tiny town closes up early most nights...even Saturday night.....I turned up our street and goosed her...speed shifting a few gears until we got to our place...turning up the driveway I turned the radio way down....

 

 

I hit the garage door opener ...and the door slowly rose infront of us...I coaxed her in and shut her down......dismounting I carefully reached over and shut the LED,s off....we took our helmets off and just smiled at each other for a fleeting moment as our eyes met.....no words were needed....no words would have sufficed....

 

 

...we walked into the house and stripped out of our leather jackets and Gerbings......all that was left was a natural high...........the best high in the world.. 

~ Peace ..