Slaying the demon....

It's just a road, an ordinary mountain country road. Beautiful scenery, guardrail-less twisties, steep drop-offs, but nothing that I hadn't ridden before. So why has this road become a demon in my mind?

I had only been east, past my house, once since moving here two years ago. One Sunday I asked my husband if he wanted to go for a drive, just to pass the time. He'd been having a tough time and I thought a drive in the sun, seeing some new scenery might help.

So, we headed east on the highway in front of our house. We stopped beside a small waterfall and watched the river for a while. We continued on, up and around the mountain, slowly winding our way to the top and then back down a bit, ending up in a neighboring town. All in all, it was a great afternoon and left me with a fond memory.

That said, for the last two years I have been unable to do what every other motorcyclist in this area has done....ride that wonderful, wandering, twisty road. Not because of the difficulty level but because of the difficult memories.

I tried to do it two months ago....thought if I rode it in the opposite direction that it would be easier. I'd approach from the eastern side and ride towards home. I headed out northerly, following route numbers that I knew would eventually get me to my starting point....but I missed it. I had a wonderul 100 mile ride, but no demon slain. I knew I wasn't ready.

I didn't start out today knowing I would slay one of my personal demons. I headed out about 9 am, the temperature was still in the upper 40's. Ate a leisurely breakfast, reading and chatting with the locals. When I finally got ready to leave I was surprised at how much it had warmed up. I switched to lighter gloves, snapped open the top of my jacket and headed to the gas station.

Initially my thought was to just head home, knowing how much there was there that I needed to do. As I approached my street I knew that I wasn't going to turn.....I was going to continue east. I was going to slay my demon.

The weather was perfect, upper 60's, and the sun was high in the sky. As I passed the farms with their ancient barns, new homes with their glossy exteriors, old homes that should be deserted - newspapers taped to the windows told a different story, and the never ending panorama of mountains, forests, water and pasture, I knew this was the right day.

I never found the spot where we pulled off....maybe I wasn't meant to. But I rode my demon into the ground, twisted its tail and tweaked its nose. It felt good!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna