u/wire_crafter

Warmest day of the year so far today, so I figured I’d ride the 30 miles to a nearby town for my sister clubs monthly meeting tonight. Meeting ran long and it was after 9 when we adjourned. Been a while since I’ve ridden this late. But little did I know I would need it.

It had definitely cooled off, wind off the bay was blowing pretty hard, and temps were prob now in the low to mid 50s. No worries. My new riding gear was keeping me warm. I finally invested in a decent jacket and pants, mostly for my second bike but it’s got all the nice reflective elements for a night ride.

As I left town and made my way out to the salt flats. The Cross wind was shoving the old Road King around pretty good. I decided to make a break for high ground and out of the wind on the flats. Hate leaning into the wind at 60 mph. Takes a lot out of you.

Bikes running really good, in the cool weather and the bark and burble out of the S&S Pipes was just what I needed tonight. The top end no longer sounding like I had marbles up there. The rocker lockers did the trick. And seems like it’s getting more and more power as it’s breaking in. The 543 Cam definitely likes to pull hard. And it was hard not to have some fun leaving a stop, or coming out of a roundabout. I Cant wait to see how it pulls the passes. Just got to get my jetting finalized and those showed up tonight from CVP. Got a lot of shit on the forums saying the Reaper 543 cam wouldn’t be a good bagged cam. But with the 10:1 pistons and top end work. It has no issues pulling the front up topping the shocks off on a hard pull. Can’t wait for dyno day.

It’s Been an emotional few weeks. Lost another good friend, but was a good pain day today so I felt I could just keep riding. But it was cooling off fast. And I was getting tired.

I wanted to. With everything on my life the way it is right now. I just about took the exit to the freeway, got in the freeway hammered and just disappeared. To where? As the old line said “No place special”. Just need the pretty lady to climb on back and join me.

Something about the bikes, it’s my freedom. Freedom that I can’t feel anywhere else. It’s just me and the road. Whether it’s on the slab with the King. Or a back road or gravel forest service road on the X-Cape. It’s hard to explain to anyone who doesn’t ride.

For a moment in time, nothing matters. Things seem clearer. The constant barrage of voices and noise in my head become silent. My medical issues, all the meds I had to take, and the constant doctor visits mean nothing presently. All I hear is the pipes, the smell of the salt in the air, passing fields of various crops, to even the dairy farms. My senses allow me to relax a bit. Something I wish I could feel more often. Something that cannot be duplicated on anything other than a motorcycle.

For some reason tonight was different. I was comfortable in more ways than I can describe. Maybe because this month marked the month I became debt free, maybe because I have realized that things in life I really want, sadly I will never have , and I have grown to accept it. Maybe it is because I am riding a bike I rebuilt myself and made mine. Or just maybe the spirits were with me tonight, I know one was. For sure. Tonight would have been someone that was once important in my life’s BD.

But that open road was calling more than I had ever heard it before. Calling the loudest I’ve ever heard it.

I am planing on about a 1000 mile or more ride this summer. Originally I was going to trailer it between places. Just in case I had a flare up medically. Now I’ve decided I will ride it all. Hell or high water I’m riding it. It’s been 15 years since I’ve done any distance due to medical issues. Rode to Sturgis (from Washington) a week early stayed a few days and left as people started showing up. Not a crowd person. I’ve been pretty much limited to 150-200 a day and I’m done. Absolutely best to death.

But in the last month I’ve done some serious gear upgrades. New Schuberth Modular helmet. Set of moto ear plugs. But the new helmet kills 90% of the wind noise. New Sedici Adventure Jacket and pants. Most of my gear has been pawn shop finds, other than my Harley Mesh FXR jacket that’s summer only I was given when I bought my first New Harley at the Dealer.

But the jacket is modular as well multiple liners to adapt to weather and has flaps that open and unzip to make it an all season jacket. Being comfortable for the first time in gear that actually fits has been a huge help.

Hell or high water, I’m going to ride it even if I have to take a few extra days. My guardian angel will be with me all the way. For you CC. Happy BD baby girl.

I’ll admit. I’ve pushed it a bit too hard the last few months and I’m beyond exhausted. Plus I’m on some new medication and some of its side effects are still unknown.

Lately I get my spurts and get stuff done and I’ll have to stop sit down and close my eyes for a min. Last two Saturday mornings I’ve had class I’m helping instruct. But I’m sitting down in the back waiting for my turn. I can nod off and I had just gotten 7 hours of sleep.

Seems like now of if I have any real down time or I’m done for the day and sit down I nod off.

But every time I nod off it seems I immediately go into a weird dream.

I’ve had dreams where dead actors are yelling intelligible words to me. They look panicked and scared. I’ve had dreams where I’m being chased. Dreams I’m rich and popular. Scary ones where I’m lying in a hospital bed, nobody aside me as I hear my own heart monitor flatline and everything goes dark.

Some of these dreams flat out scare me, but never in my life have I ever fallen asleep that fast and won’t into dream mode.

I wouldn’t call them hallucinations as I think I am asleep. My co worker at class actually kicked me on the leg to wake me up last class because apparently I was snoring. (I’ve got major bad apnea, deadly kind)

The death ones seems to be the most common one. Same hospital every time. Different from my other reoccurring hospital dream where I actually chat with Azreal.

This one is a very basic room. No window, my bed. A wall of monitors next to the bed. Me hooked up to just about everything imaginable. I’m barely coherent. It’s all washed out in white light. I can’t feel my body at all. Nobody in the room. All I hear is the machine pushing air in and out of the airbags on my legs. And a beep beep beep of the heart monitor.

I look around again to find nobody. I take a deep breath and exhale and the monitor flatlines. And I lie there hearing the flatline beep till it all goes dark. And I shake myself awake back in the real world.

Heck even a monster can’t hardly keep me going right now. Drowsiness is a major side effect of the meds. But the doc wants me to monitor if i can remember the dreams. Not any detail. Just. Did you dream. Basically.

Hard part is with all these occasional knock offs it’s hard for me to get to sleep normally. I slept all day today, and am more tired now than usual due to the dreams beating me up but I’ll lie here half the night now.

Call the sleep doc in the morning as well as my Apnea AHI has jumped from a consistent less than a .5 to anything from a 3 to a new record 11. So my machine is definitely working harder. But I don’t wear it when I nod off randomly.