Solo Trip

Recently, I completed a 3,000 mile trip from my home in Washington State to Loveland, Colorado.  Just my dog and me. I've done some longer rides where I'm at my destination by nightfall.  This was my first several-days-on-the-road trip, ranging cross-country, into new territory. It was fantastic. No, it was amazing.  Dare I use epic?  You see, I've been unemployed since February 28 and multiple sequential rejections had eroded my self-confidence.  Desperately in need of a change of scenery and the accompanying change of focus, I decided to take up my friend's offer to stay with her.  With a sense of disbelief, I packed (25 percent too much) and loaded the bike.  My German Kleinpoodle, Sophie, was beside herself with joy and excitement.  I had a job interview that morning, then I would change into riding clothes and point my bike south.

My first encounter was in my hometown, at the gas pump. Dressed in a pink Harley shirt and jeans, my dog in her carrier, and the luggage strapped down, I pulled in to fill up the tank. 

"Hello.  Nice bike."  I turned around to face a woman in a full face helmet.  "That's my bike over there," she pointed with pride to a black motorcycle laden with luggage.

We talked a few minutes and it became apparent that she was filled with fear.  Fear of being recognized as a female rider, fear of riding in some ways, fear of the freeway, fear of who she'd encounter along the way.

"How do you do what you do?" she asked, wide-eyed.

How did I get here?  I remember dressing "mannishly" so that others would think I was a male rider.  I remember hesitating before heading onto the freeway for the first time.  But my creator endowed me with a sense of adventure and fearlessness that I strive to take full advantage of.

The answer, I guess, is one step at a time.  I didn't start here, this is where I am now.  I started out doing little rides around my neighborhood, then branched out as my confidence grew.  Facing challenges head on, riding with more experienced riders, listening to others' tales and advice.  Women who have gone before me, who have faced challenges and grown through them to face even greater challenges.  We don't do anything alone.  What I do today will lay down a path for those who come after me.  What beacons of hope can I share by my experiences? What truths can I lay bare for those who face the same questions I have faced?

My life has not been smooth, I have made poor choices, other times I've made better choices.  I've been abused and treated as less than human by the one who vowed before God and family to cherish and love me.  And now I've been fired because my boss wanted to reorganize the agency and didn't know how to tell me I was going be demoted or eliminated.  I'm not the only one to face such challenges; others have gone before me and come through with flying colors.

Thinking all these things, wondering what adventures were yet before me, I checked that Sophie was strapped in and pointed my bike down the highway.