2 The Next Step

I still do not know the whys or where this is taking me, then, remembering Laozi’s quote;

“A journey of a thousand miles 
begins with the first step”

Getting stuck asking the how’s limits us, there are so many possibilities we could not envision.

Take a step and it will land on solid ground, giving direction to the next step.

So, the first step….. writing my thoughts gave my mind and body temporary reprieve.

“Stop asking ‘how’” I screamed. Just keep taking the steps!

Trusting my writings, they were given to a select few; their expectant feedback sparked a glimmer of faith.

I pondered a different question, 

“What’s the next step?”  The answers came.

Next…..”Broaden your words.”

I let go and wrote my first blog, sending it to everyone I knew.

Next…..”Record the journey.”

Camera in hand, we set off to the park and filmed our first video. 

We knew it had to be real, raw and from the very beginning.

 




Next…..”See and feel where you want to be.”

Off to the Harley Davidson dealership in Alexandria.

Momentum was building!

Standing there in all her shining glory, the gleaming Softail Deluxe beckoned me yet again, 

“Sit, absorb the familiarity, you are on your way.” She said.

Respite warmed my body. I exhaled.

As I sat, basking in a vision and her magnificence, my daughter asked me if I knew where the accelerator was.

Y.E.S.! the right hand handle bar!  Then she said “which way do you turn it?”  Forward of course!

I glanced towards the young salesman sitting on a bike watching our actions, he slowly shook his head.
Really?  I tested it, dam!

Ok, a mere formality,
I would have worked it out when I wasn't moving forward!
"Where are the brakes, clutch etc.,?"  my daughter asked!
Most I pointed to was wrong!

The salesman's face broke out into a bemused smile.
God knows what he was thinking!


All of a sudden I felt ditzy and clueless.
The obvious stuck me........I can't ride a bike!  
Why hadn't I considered that before?

Trepidation set in once again, movement came to a shattering halt!

That seed growing inside my body blinded me.
Your body will let you know when you are two stepping backwards.
It screams at you, you feel sick; anxiety sets in; slowly take a deep breath and ask;
"What's the next step?"

I leaned forward and whispered to the Softail;

"You are the one who dragged me into this!  
Why?      What are you doing to me?"

The Softail responded;
"Be patient,  keep moving"  she appears to know what needs to be done until we meet again.  So glad one of us knows!

Slowly closing me eyes,  I inhaled deeply,  
"Have faith,  keep taking the steps."


Next........
Off to learn to ride a bike.....motorbike!

2 The Next Step Video

1 The Beginning Video

Hi everyone,   this is my You Tube video.   I am recording an incredible journey a gleaming Softail Deluxe is taking me.

1 The Beginning

Here I am!

Apparently, my quest is to 
ride a Harley Davidson motor bike to places well beyond my home.

This is absurd and a little on the crazy side.

Good grief, I am a 55year old female baby boomer!!

Strange, it wasn’t a lifelong passion, although the pull has been immense.

About 10 years ago, I had a thought of owning and riding a Harley Davidson bike, even going into a store a  to sit on a few.  However, family and work suppressed that urge and the thoughts faded.

My daughter gave me a Xmas gift one year of a Harley bike ride around Sydney, a most remarkable experience, the rumbling sound traveling through Sydney’s Harbour Tunnel still rings in my ears to this day.

Nine years later, a few thoughts would pass through my mind quickly when I heard the rumble of a Harley.
A dormant seed was sprouting.

I took a boat ride to Bundeena one lazy Sunday afternoon and was instantaneously attracted to speak to a couple who were clad in bike leathers, walking to their parked Harley bikes.

I felt a strong connection and conversation flowed, noticeably centered on the bikes. Sonya gestured me to sit on her rich red gleaming Softail, Max encouragingly took a photo, me, smiling like a Cheshire cat on Christmas morning.

We exchanged e-mail addresses and that night I received the photos, which went straight on to my desktop.

Again, work and commitments got in the way and I suppressed the urge.

I didn’t know at the time, that seed was determined to grow, no matter what I was to feed it. 

My ears became radars to that distinctive rumble sound wherever I went.

My eyes became beacons scanning every bike on the road, 
mesmerized by a sense of freedom.

My body involuntarily stopped to gape at the glistening polished chrome and the artistry of lines and craftsmanship synonymous to Harley's which were parked. 

(Mind you, I am no way mechanically minded, yet can appreciate utter beauty.)

Thoughts flickered though my mind at lightning speed; I dismissed them with all the excuses one could muster. Yet that seed was winning.

Sonia phoned to catch up for a drink one night, mentioned they were going to the Harley dealership with friends the following day and invited me to hitch a ride, ‘Yes’ flew out of my mouth faster than my brain could comprehend.

The ride to the dealership was exhilarating, three Harley Davidson bikes rumbling side by side, I felt connected with life, all senses finely tuned to living in the moment.

Oh, a black one with studs, yep that’s the one I would want, isn’t that synonymous with a Harley?

Sonya and Max urged me to sit and ‘try’ on various models. I was amazed at how different they all felt, then I realised I was not going to choose a bike, a bike was going to choose me, I let go and allowed it to flow.
It was the last one I would have visually chosen, yet the Black Softail Deluxe called me.

As I sat, the Softail embraced me with all her might, feeling contented, every muscle relaxed, my entire body dissolved into her.

The Softail said, ‘Put your feet up, you’re home’.

Again, I made excuses, and they were valid ones as to why I could not have a bike, time, money, work etc you know the routine, however, I was becoming restless in all areas of my life.

That seed was entrenched in my body and mind whether I liked it or not, it was growing roots exponentially.

My brother came to visit for 8 weeks from Canada, and my daughter came back from a cycling holiday and was to stay with me also, see, no time!

The stories of traveling so openly grew, my brother and I spoke of Alaska, where I had longed to visit, then, he mentioned how incredible it would be to ride a Harley around Alaska! 

Every vision, sound, smell of that trip detonated in my entire being in one explosive instant! 


That seed had grown into a colossal tree 
that was not to be felled.

My excuses fell on deaf ears. “How?” I screamed!

I was pacing like a caged animal, my body shook with panic and anticipation.

Time sped and synchronicity of events bought me to here, unsure of the how’s and why, however it has given me a sense of reprieve, it is out of my body, for now.

Resigning to the compulsion and the facts, I can’t ride, don’t have a bike, or the funds.

What does this have installed for me?
I am unsure, yet I will record the journey to wherever it is to take me.

It reminded me of a quote from Thoreau,

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”