The tragedy of the human condition is to know oneself well enough to ride across the world, and to write that story out mile by mile, confessing each emotion but still not be able to explain oneself to another person.
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The Return Of The Queen
The Queen is back. After six months in the shop, my Harley finally rolls into my driveway. Readers of Onwards!, few in number though you are, will remember that we began with a cross-country trip, which ended abruptly on the shoulder of I-15, outside Cedar City, Utah. Yesterday, almost six months later, I rode my …
Thanksgiving, 2019
Happy dogs on an afternoon walk. It’s a snowy day in Colorado and has been for the better part of a week. Richelle, Helen, and I traded Thanksgiving-week celebrations for a pre-holiday trip to Ireland. No motorcycles on that one, just a strange little Nissan Pulsar, but it was a grand adventure and included a …
Sunday Ride in October
There was cold in the air and gray in the sky today. For the first time this year, it felt like winter was coming. I decided to take a quick ride in the flats up to Carter Lake, which sits at the very base of the foothills between Longmont and Loveland. Carter Lake from the …
To California and Back Again
I spent today primping. Ducatis are bikes one primps. Comparing the Ducati Monster to the Harley-Davidson Sportster, Richelle announced that it was “Okay, if this bike is more of an art object.” Bless her for understanding. Off and on, I’ve been trying to understand why I see driving 2,500 miles in three days as …
Home
Made it home. Greeted by an IPA and my dog. Tomorrow: Unloading the Bike!
Il Mostro in the can: Fernley, NV
Il Mostro, in Black My therapist chides me for drinking Bud Light. “Don’t only frat boys, drink that?,” she says. “What can I say?,” I shrug, “I’m getting old and I gotta reckon up somewhere.” In one of my more hair-brained schemes, I lit out yesterday morning for San Fransisco to buy a 2007 Ducati …
From the Vault: Best Trip
My best motorcycle trip occurred in the summer of 2009. The trip was both my return to long-distance riding and my daughter’s first. She was ten at the time, and given that she’s a different person now, I figure I can tell it here. We moved to Boulder in 2006. I brought three red Italian …
The Aftermath of My West Coast Trip
The Softail on the lift at High Country Harley Davidson Yesterday, I went up to visit the Harley in the shop. Sort of like visiting a friend in rehab—one feels badly that the friend has fallen apart and still loves him or her dearly. Justin, the service manager at High Country Harley Davidson, took me …
Packing Motorcycles and Unpacking American Minimalism
Onwards!’s First Product Review—Luggage, Literature and More! 1924 in our time, copy number 80, offered for sale at AbeBooks for $39,000. My favorite of Ernest Hemingway’s works is In Our Time, and my favorite story in that book is “Big Two-Hearted River.” I read it as a junior in college and was quick to teach …
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Onwards! 