A ribbon of black

Sometimes happiness is the randomness of the universe aligning to make for a perfect moment in time.

I had one such moment the other day. I've been trying to commute to work more on the motorcycle. One it is way cheaper on gas, and two, it's a hell of a lot more fun to ride.

There are factors that fight against me consistently on these commutes that seek to ruin the fun aspect, that's why I've dubbed it "Commuter Combat". Traffic is one of the biggest problems in the Boston area. The main hub around Boston, as well as all its tributary's, are a constant struggle during those busy hours when most of us are on the road. I leave the burbs in the morning and most mornings, within about 5 minutes of hitting the highway, the speeds drop and your at a crawl, your left hand aching from clutching in and out. Or, I'm constantly dodging the cage drivers who don't see me or just don't care as they invade my lane space. It's usually the same on the ride home, except it's as soon at you hit the highway, things don't get above 20-30 mph until your at least 15-20 miles from Boston, and I'm already about 8 miles south of bean town that when I join the battle.

I got caught in one of these traffic snarls the other evening. Things were worse than normal though. Speeds never topped 10 mph. I'm baking in the sun, temp in the high 80's, the heat is pouring from the engine running really hot between my legs. Full leathers for safety do not make for good freeway parking. I saw an opportunity to ditch the highway and took it after 30 minutes of making it forward a whole two exits. I shot to the right and got off fast.

Finally able to get some cooling air to the engine and my body, I start to loosen up. I make my way to a conservation area that has a few miles of twisting roadway that roughly parallels the freeway. I know I'm not going to be the only one though using this bypass, so I don't get my hopes up just yet.

I take the left at the light and of course, there's about 6 cars in front of me. The good news is there's no one behind me. So I slow up, letting the cars get away from me, cruising with one hand on my leg. I'm just taking in the scenery of the woods around me as the elevation climbs, the shade of the dense trees helping drop my body temp by a good 20 degrees.

The first corner looms ahead, both hands back on the bars, I slide my feet back putting the balls of my feet on the pegs, and bring the revs up, the motor singing under me. I lean left, keeping my body within my lane, then the quick snap to shift my weight to the right, hugging the inside corner. The wind whistles in my helmet, competing with the high winding exhaust for purchase in my ears. My mind is on this outstretched ribbon of black in front of me at this moment. My heartbeat seems to slow, the sun flitting through the trees is a surreal background in my peripheral, the wind cools my chest, and the shadows dance across my path. The next corner is a tight right hander, I drop down a gear and shift my weight again, over the right side of the bike, my knee out. The tires stick like glue as the trees flash by and a left turn is right in front of me, careening the bike now left, my body shifts with it as I rail through that corner. I sit up coming out of that left as I'm closing in the the rear bumper of a cab very fast. A touch of brake and all is back in line as a huge smile crosses my face.

In all, it was only about three quarters of a mile of twisting blacktop. But it was all mine for that one minute. No oncoming traffic, no one in front of me and no one behind.

Sometimes the stars do align to to bring us small pieces of happiness.