Chasing After The Wind 3:3

3

It was late in the morning before I could rouse Johnny from his hungover slumber. I finally resorted to jumping onto the bed and shaking him awake as I bounced on the mattress.

“Ughhh….I’m hurting dude.” He said as he rolled over with his eyes still half shut and bloodshot with the smell of whiskey yet lingering on his breath.

“Looks like ‘just one’ turned into just one too many, pal.” I said plopping down next to him as I continued to antagonize his condition. He shoved me away crawling out from under the covers before lurching for the door and then into the bathroom. I heard the shower running a moment later and the horrible sounds of Johnny groaning from behind the door so I went to the kitchen to whip up some scrambled eggs and country ham for breakfast, hoping mostly Johnny could soak up whatever was still sloshing around in his belly from he and Gracies night out. Ally helped once she joined me a few minutes later by making English muffins that she buttered and spread jam onto. The two of us were laughing while we set the table thinking about the condition both Johnny and Gracie were in.

“How’s Gracie feeling” I asked.

“I’d say about like Johnnys groans do.” She said as she started to laugh while we listened to his continued agonizing complaints to the bathroom walls from down the hall.

“What time did they get in? I was out. That couch of Gracies is magic, I swear.”

“Gracie woke me up after 2 am and she could barely stand up. I all but carried her back to bed after that.”

“Man I’m glad Johnny didn’t try to get me to carry him back to bed.” I said as we both chuckled.

“Oh.. well… he did try briefly to sleep in bed with Gracie and I.” She replied as we both laughed hysterically now.

“Fucking Bravo!”

“Why do you say that?” Ally asked me.

“Oh its just something me and the guys say when Johnny is being Johnny and up to no good. It’s our term of endearment for him really.” I told her continuing the amusement.

“well it suits him. He’s something else. But he sure does care about you, Henry. He kept slurring through his whiskey breath last night asking if you were alright.”

“Yeah…that’s my brother. I may give him a hard time here and again and vice versa but honestly he’s like blood to me so we both take it with a grain of salt most of the time.”

“Do you think he’ll be able to ride today?”

“Well.. brother or not; he’s gonna have a hard time catching up to me before Sturgis if he’s not.” I said to her half jokingly as I smirked while thinking about the pitiful condition he was in, especially to be riding in the desert heat.

“You wouldn’t leave him here would you?”

“Na I wouldn’t do that to you girls. I guess it’d be more likely a roadside motel somewhere between here and Albuquerque.” I answered her.

We couldn’t help ourselves from giggling at the poor guys expense a bit more; but we got quiet a couple minutes later once we heard him lumbering down the hallway. And, man, Johnny came barreling into the kitchen like tornado sirens should’ve been issued as he rummaged from counter top to counter top in search of a coffee mug in the cupboards above. It was horrible looking and I felt almost sorry for the damn fool but I figured it wise to save my pity for when we were 50 miles down the road with the scourge of the sun beating it out of us both. So I did my best to ameliorate his struggle,

“Looking for one of these, brother?” I asked him as I dangled a cup from my index finger. And he turned around looking just like an emaciated bull having been run through by a matadors blade and he huffed and snorted just like one too as he seemed to thrust himself off the counter only to come tumbling into a seat at the table beside me.

“Damn, bro, I don’t think I’m going to make it. I’m serious, man. It’s bad.” And the way he said it too was almost as if he’d thought he’d been injured in some way and it was honestly all Ally or I could do not to laugh out loud in front of him but I think we both felt empathy for him. I, more so for what awaited him than how he currently looked as he sat before us because I already knew what riding in the desert heat would demand. And the way he looked as he rest his full upper body weight on his elbows on the table and lurched over the mug with his head bobbing ever closer to the scalding hot coffee that simmered between his hands was something tragic and fitting, man. He downed the first pot like it was a cold refreshing soda pop just heaving at it in deep gulps and I’m not even sure how he didn’t burn his throat or tongue as he did so because the coffee was freshly brewed and Ally and I could only sip from it ourselves. Next he set into the scrambled eggs using his fork like a plow more or less and then lifting it like a pitchfork as he stabbed the prongs into the ham and didn’t even bother to cut it into pieces at all just worked the whole slice of meat into his mouth as he chewed his food with contempt. It occurred to me that Johnny was going at the plate of food in the like manner that I had set into the piles of sand back at the cabin… only in his case it was a clear act of desperation as he labored in a clumsy effort trying to work off his hangover.

“Should I go get my bike and then come back, Whattya think, buddy?” I asked him sincerely.

“Nooo……no…….no……..I’ll be good, man, just give me a bit more time.” He said between pants.

Gracie too came walking into the room only she was as chipper as a morning songbird. She sat down and reached for the pot of coffee and seeing it was empty looked around and steadying her gaze on Johnny she said,

“Well…, that seems about right. Jesus, y’all should have seen him last night. It was something. I’d never seen someone go through whiskey like that. There was this girl he was hitting on, well… okay lets be real, there were these girls he was hitting on and every time they’d sweet talk him up for a shot of something foo-foo ol’ Romeo over there would be taking a shot of straight whiskey with 'em and going on and on about the ride you two were on, Henry.” She said finally as she pointed to me and I pursed my lips and scrunched my eyes thinking to myself that only my fuckin’ boy Johnny could get rip roaring hammered while trying to impress girls with the details of a ride that he hadn’t even logged one mile of yet and now as I looked at him was in real jeopardy of landing himself on the injured reserve list before he ever would. I laughed so damn loud that Johnny actually looked at me for mercy and I quieted down too hoping it might just give that to him and help him with his headache. Like he was actually in such bad shape that he’d become superstitious of the silence and was sure that if only that was achieved then his curse would be broken. Man it was a sight.

“How is it you aren’t in such rough shape?” I asked Gracie and she said matter of factly it was because she stuck to the bottled beer and didn’t divert no matter how hard Johnny begged and pleaded. And we all laughed again but in a respectful whispering sort of chuckle from behind our cupped hands in front of our mouths hoping not to further disturb Johnny’s vain attempt to cure himself.

It was an hour later after I had packed all of Johnny’s and my stuff into Gracie’s car and done a twice over to make sure nothing was left behind before I was finally able to get Johnny outside. The first blast of heat nearly took him down as he doubled over and dry heaved for a minute in the yard and that was probably best, anyways, as it took that time to get the air conditioning to cool the car off. Fucking with Johnny as I walked over to help him to the car I said,

“Hey man, you think you’ll be alright in the jeep?” And I swear he looked at me with the most desperate eyes I’d ever seen on his face as he said,

“Bro….no, man …please.” And I laughed again as I pointed to the girls sitting in the air conditioned car next to the jeep and it was like a prayer had indeed been answered as he looked at me with his doleful eyes that actually and truly shown a glint of received mercy. It was a short drive to the dealership and once there the three of them stayed in the car while I went in to pay for my motorcycles service and to look for a helmet for Johnny. I text him they had the same style of the one I had so he mustered his strength and walked in to buy it only once inside he saw the same helmet but in a glossy white finish and bought that one instead on the whim. A couple minutes later we were back on the highway, I on my motorcycle and the others in the car, and headed towards the Eagle Riders dealership so Johnny could pick up his bike for the road also. It was 110 degrees, man, and it was also now almost 1pm so there would be no relief from the heat for many hours. I hoped only that a higher elevation east of Payson might offer a dip in temperatures but that would be a couple hours ride away I figured. Once we arrived at the Eagle Riders dealership I took the time to secure my pack quickly and to do a once over making sure everything looked snug and ready for the road. The bike was ready to romp also. The boys at the Scottsdale dealership tuned her well and finished her off with a wash down so the motorcycle looked as close to brand new as it had since the day I bought it back in Kansas City the months now prior. Ally and Gracie both got out of the car and we all began our goodbyes while the service rep went over the details of the bike and the riding contract with Johnny.

“So where to for tonight do you think?” Ally asked me.

“I’m hoping we can still make it to Albuquerque. But with this heat, Johnny's condition, and the late start thats probably asking a lot. So we’ll play it by ear and see.”

“Do you honestly think he’ll be alright to ride?” Gracie asked.

“Not sure but I’ll know sooner than later. I think he’ll make it. Especially if we get some cooler temps up there somewhere.” I said as I pointed to the mountain range that was rising up to the northeast out in the distance. I had been anticipating an awkward good bye but that concern had been assuaged by the previous nights event . So instead of the rush of trying to say everything all at once now it was more like a ‘see you soon’ than it was a ‘sad so long’ and even if Ally and I knew it might be a while before we saw one another again we promised to keep in touch. Gracie gave me a hug and then walked over to do the same to Johnny before she got back into the car to cool back off. Ally was holding it together also. And that made it easier. She had a knack for making things easier than they should be.

“Will you make it to Australia?” She asked me as she scraped the loose gravel in front of her foot.

“I’d like to. But who knows. I hope so.”

“Just be good, Henry… thats all I really ask of you. Remember last night. Do you promise?”

“I’ll never forget it.”

“Okay good. And take care of Johnny too. And let him watch over you also. I don’t want to have to worry about you.”

“I got them angels you keep telling me about, right?”

“I believe you do.”

“Want to borrow a couple of them for your journey Down Under.” I said as I gave her a big smile.

“You do break my heart, Henry Wolf. I’d be grateful.” She said.

There was that ache in the chest worn on the look in both of our eyes… but,… then out of nowhere and true to form as Johnny was that morning we were both startled from the moment by the THWAAP… bwaap bwaap bwaap! of Johnnys motorcycle. We both looked quick over to Johnny who stood there egregiously twisting the throttle and in between cranks was working to secure his pack down like the instrument he was about to toss a leg over had strings.

“That friend of yours!” She said while shifting to laughter at the sight of Johnny ransacking his motorcycle as he maneuvered into place. “Looks like you have to go.” she then said to me. And man, I was burning. And I just took one deep breath in and I let it out as I took hold of her to hug her. I heard  her sniffle so I swept the hair from off her face and I looked at her and when she looked at me;… I kissed her. At first her lips were terse but then they softened and she kissed me back. Finally she pulled back from me and I from her and I said,

“Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing, right?” And I winked to the sacred feminine stunner standing before me. Man, I am blessed by fierce women, truly, and I know it well. And she sighed deeply as she wiped away a tender tear.

“That is right.” she said now grinning in its wake.

“Well then…” I replied mirroring her grin now also and she lifted her hand to my cheek and ran it down along the slope of my jawline where she lightly pinched my chin between her thumb and index finger before shaking my head gently. I just kept looking at her and smiling.

“Off with you, Henry Wolf.” She finally said as she let me go and she was smiling too as she turned and walked back to the car, and once there she waved to me one last time before she got into the vehicle… and then the Ross sisters drove off into the desert mirage. I stood and watched them go until they had disappeared from sight and I did so with a wild thumping in my chest. I really did love her.

After a moment of staring at the road in the direction Ally and Gracie had disappeared I turned towards my oldest pal Johnny Denton, and he was wiping his eyes too, man. He really was such a mess that morning, God love him. And anyways, I just shrugged as if to say, “so it goes”, … I knew I didn’t have anything else wise or clever to speak anyways. And I walked over to help him with his pack. When I got to his bike he put his hand on my shoulder and then he gave me a big brotherly hug and I sighed it out.

“You gonna be alright?” He asked me.

“Me?! Yeah man, the good ones heal ya.” I answered him and I smirked and I thought of Jake up there in the Grand Canyon hiding out and how he had said that to me, and it was true. “What about you, Bravo? You think you can ride?”

“I’ve already felt the worst I’m likely to feel today, brother,… let’s roll” Johnny said back to me; and we both had the devils grin on our faces.

“Alright then. But I wouldn’t be so sure of that just yet. Let’s get ourselves outta this heat as fast as we can.” I said to Johnny.

“I’ll be right behind you, Henry.”

And, man, did we. We caught up with Highway 87 on the outskirts of town. The stop lights gave way to stop signs which gave way to the winding open road that weaved its way from the desert valley up into the sandstone rock formations of the Tonto National Forest. The low laying cacti and sage brush gave way to pine needles and pulp, the smell of which wafted in the air. It was an easy incline and not any great variations with which to concern ourselves. Johnny was true to his word at the start in that each time I looked into my rearview mirror he was right there, head trained on the road ahead with his white helmet that looked like that of a storm troopers and we were making good time. But by an hour in he began to fall farther and farther back and I began to worry that he wouldn’t make the days ride all the way to Albuquerque. At a stop sign on the southside of Payson I waited for him to catch up and when he did he hollered over to me, “need a pit stop!,” from over our motorcycles lope. So as we sauntered through town and on the far eastern side riding now on Arizona highway 260 I saw a gas station with a canopied fuel island and I pulled over and Johnny followed me in. Once we killed the motors next to one of the pumps Johnny hopped off quickly and ran for the air conditioned service mart. I fueled up both the bikes and then I made my way in also. I scanned the place but didn’t see him anywhere so I walked back to grab us a couple waters and bottled cold brew coffees which from that stop onward was the standard by which we each adhered to while we rode. I noticed a younger kid walking out from the bathroom and when he saw me he walked over, “saw you guys pulling up on the Harleys.” He began. “Your boy doesn’t sound so good in there, bro. Is he alright?” And I laughed and it seemed to catch the kid off guard as I replied, “yeah man, he just had a few too many last night. He’ll be fine.”

“Ah right on, I’m heading out for one of them nights myself, bro. I just thought I’d let you know.”

“I appreciate you did. I’ll be sure to give him hell about it.”

“I don’t know bro, sounded like he’s already giving himself enough hell as it is.” the kid said to me and I laughed again only this time so fucking loud I should have been embarrassed by it but the kid was laughing too and we were both still full bore as Johnny walked back out of the bathroom, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t look brand new. His hair was soaking wet and slicked back beneath his bandana and he had a pep in his step just like he’d had when I picked him up at the airport. And he walked over to us and grabbing the water and coffee from my hands, both of which he slammed down right there in front of the kid and I with a few deep heaving gulps; and then all he fucking said was,

“Good as new, man! Let’s rock n’ roll!” And he flashed the hand sign too and the kid just stood there dumbfounded and now I felt like I might be the laggard so I slammed my drinks also and Johnny paid for the emptied containers, “did you get the gas, bro?” He asked me.

“Yessir!”

“Well that’ll be it then, sugar.” He said to the kindly 60 year old woman behind the counter as she too looked dumbfounded at my boy and I think being wary of his sanity even said, “well…thank…you…” like it was almost a question or something and off we went. Johnny asked me once we were outside if Arizona was a helmet law state or not and I told him it was my understanding that it was not.

“Okay dude I gotta ride without the helmet for awhile. I couldn’t breathe back there.” And I didn’t disagree with the logic so we strapped our helmets down under the bungee nets we each had and Johnny doused his bandana in water one last time and I did the same to a riders skull cap I’d been wearing underneath my helmet while in the desert to absorb the sweat; and once we soaked those down he asked further, “is this the road we’ll be on for awhile?” And I looked at him and was amazed at how his energy had shifted just like that and I was stoked to ride once again feeling we could romp some mileage now and maybe still make it to Albuquerque before sundown after all if we rode hard enough.

“Yeah man 260 here runs into 60 on up a ways and we take that all the way into New Mexico before turning off again.”

“Okay awesome! Keep up.” He said, and again I looked at him somewhat confused by his about face. But I figured maybe getting it all out must’ve done the trick. Added to that the temperatures had cooled to the upper 90’s which didn’t feel so hot after the heat I had been riding in for most of the last week. So I hopped on my bike and he onto his and we hit the ignitions and gave the throttles a good twist to blast the stale air from the exhaust and Johnny kicked his bike into gear and he was gone, …and I mean gone. If the speed limit said 55 he was doing 85 and it was all I could do to catch up to him as we weaved our way out of the Tonto Forest  and into the Apache-Sitgreaves national forest along the northern border to the Fort Apache reservation. On either side of the road were the high desert conifers that continued to fill the air with the smell of pine and when I finally caught up to Johnny who had been a speck on the horizon for 50 miles or better he looked over to me like I’d been riding in his hip pocket all the while and he cupped his fingers to his nose and mimicked the word “ahhh” trying to draw my attention to the smell in the air. It was a clean and otherwise desolate stretch of road and when we had slowed down as we passed through some small town he hollered over to me, “reminds me of Colorado.” And I just nodded that I understood why that was and we rode on. I was riding back out front when we came upon the New Mexico border crossing east of Show Low some ways and Johnny once again blasted by me and just as quickly signaled for me to slow down and pull over as we came to the sign at the state line where he wanted to get a picture of each of us with the bikes in front of the “welcome to New Mexico,” sign.

[side-note…We wound up doing that at each of the state lines we crossed and Johnny was able to do a bit of photo editing after the fact where it appeared as though we were both in the same picture. And I thought it was cool.]

And well anyway once into New Mexico the arid high desert returned and by now the heat had peaked for the day so the temperatures began to cool relatively so into the upper 80’s and made for perfect riding weather. In a small town, or village really, in New Mexico called Quemado we pulled over to fill up and have one last coffee for the day. As we sat there I suggested we ride north on Highway 36 towards another desolate stretch that would run us into interstate 40 so we could make Albuquerque by sundown. Johnny had no qualms as he was now vibing with the road perfectly and it rested my concerns absolutely to see him dialed in just as I was,

“Bro, these roads are incredible.” He said to me as we leaned against our bikes listening to the ting ping of the motors as they cooled in the afternoon desolation calm.

“We made up the mileage fast, man; I thought you were down for the count,..not gonna lie.”

“Oh I was. I puked my guts out back at that gas station earlier.”

“Yeah dude that’s what that kid told me. That’s why we were laughing so hard when you came out.”

“Oh okay,” he said as he started to laugh like he was finally let in on the joke, “I wondered. I could hear you guys over my last bit of heaving. It was rough.”

“Yeah but you rallied. Honestly I can’t believe how well. Hell since then it’s been me trying to keep up with you most of the time.”

“Oh dude, I popped a couple adderall once I was done puking. It’s an old pilots trick.”

And I started laughing because now I too was cued in on the joke from his side as to how he had come around so quickly, “an old pilots trick? Man, get the fuck outta here. That’s a party is what that is.”

“Oh no man for real it levels me out. You know I have A.D.D. I pop an addy and I’m dialed in.”

“Yeah well I pop an Addy and I’m dialed in too, but I guess in a different way, Bravo. That shit is rocket fuel for me, man. Certainly seems so for you also, despite what you’re saying, if the way you’re riding has anything to speak for it.”  I said back to him as we both laughed.

“It’s different if you don’t have A.D.D., Henry. It’s like meth if you don’t take it for medical reasons.”

“Yeah like a hangover in the desert heat, right?” I said as I laughed again. “But do you, brother; no worries here. This coffee is enough to keep me dialed in so far.”

“Oh it’s helping too. Shit man… after the pot of it I had this morning and the two we’ve had riding I gotta be pushing a thousand milligrams of caffeine also. No way I sleep tonight.”

“I got a remedy for that.” I said as I winked. “But let’s get to Albuquerque first, whattya say?”

“I’ll follow your lead, ‘cuz I don’t have any clue where we are; and I sure as hell don’t know where we going, regardless.” He said as we were mounting back up to ride out.

It wasn’t a half hour later that we made the lean off of New Mexico Highway 36 onto state highway 117 and then for a long stretch we rode across the high desert to the south of the Navajo Reservation before then cutting a more northerly path as we rode in along the high desert buttes that line the El Malpais National Conservation Area. Deep into the jagged valley we pulled off at a small roadside lot where in the crescent arch of the canyon walls were varying petroglyphs and pictographs left behind from the centuries gone by. I ran to go see them and Johnny stayed back to rework his pack. By the time I got back Johnny was chatting with a native woman who had pulled in in an old chevy pickup just after I had begun the short walk. They were deep into conversation and she was telling him about this being her favorite place in the world to come to and that she was now bringing her grandson for the first time to see the petroglyphs left behind by her ancestral people. Johnny and I marveled at her brief stories and finally when she saw the wolf sticker on the back of my bikes fender she said, “ah the wolf. A majestic creature. Revered by my people for centuries.”

“Henry, here, designed that symbol.” Johnny said pointing to me with his thumb. “He and I are going to be tagging them all over the west as we ride.”

“Tagging?” She asked.

“Yeah its called tagging kind of like leaving your mark as you pass through.” Johnny explained.

“Oh I see. Kind of like my ancestors have done to these canyon walls.” She said.

And Johnny and I looked at each other and we were utterly amazed by the insight that neither of us had even considered on our own and that came to us from the kind woman as we all stood there in the hawk squawk silence and so I reached into my pack and pulled out a sticker for her and her grandson to have as a gift. In a way I felt it was a peace offering to honor and pay tribute. Or to make an offering for safe passage. I don’t know, really. But what I do know is that I’ve always felt most at home in the sacred spaces of the West. And El Malpais was no different for me in that regard. I often wonder if I must have been among the people who once roamed the lands in a former life. Or maybe it is that the idea of that way of living resonates with me yet now and I draw nostalgic tethers to a time gone by that I have no stake in whatsoever but for the true feeling that I revere it greatly. Who knows?  But whatever the origin of it all, I do know this; I feel compelled to seek an answer to those mysteries wherever they call to me from and it is that searching for answers that is also at the core of my wanderings.

“Are you two boys on a spirit ride?” She asked us.

“I don’t know about that, ma’am. But Johnny, here, is my oldest friend…” I replied with my thumb now pointed at my pal in return.

“Yep, I’ve known him since the day he was brought home from the hospital.” Johnny interrupted me to say,

“…it’s true. And he and I are just riding the roads of the West together… he’s never been out here on a motorcycle, and we hope, I think, to connect to some of that adventure that we feel we’ve lost in our growing older. So maybe,…who knows.”

“Spirit riders indeed. A vision quest.  Keep searching,…you will know. I’m sure of it. I wish you blessings on your travels.” She said to us. Johnny and I stood there unable to speak or move or do anything but look at one another.

“Thank you, and same to you.” Johnny finally said to the old lady as she began to walk off after her grandson. But she turned towards us again and said something to us in her native tongue and when she finished she translated a part of it for us to understand.

“Go with God.”

And she turned again to go look after her grandson who had wandered off up the open trail and was standing near the canyon walls in the elevated distance peering up at the artwork of his ancestors. I could hear his little voice echoing against the rock face.

“Henry, what just happened?” Johnny asked me. His head was swimming in it and I could see it plainly in his eyes and now I knew sure as I knew anything at all that he was on the road.

“Johnny you’re going to find now that things like that happen more than you’d have otherwise believed. ‘You will know’ she said. Incredible.” I said to him before musing also to myself as I shook my head straight.

“What’s that mean, ‘you will know’?”

“Not sure yet, brother. But I’ve been hearing it more than I’d think was merely by chance since I hit the road from Ben’s house what seems like a lifetime ago. Sometimes it’s as a voice within, and sometimes a voice beyond it seems.”

As we rode out of the canyon the road straightened like an arrow and on either side was the dark green desert brush that covered the arid ground pocked with wild grasses, sage, and cacti. In the distance, far ahead was another plateaued range of rusty high desert buttes. Forming on either side of them and creating almost the appearance of a cats eye in the center were two massive cloud formations and I could see the rain coming down from them in torrents like shading in the distance. It was the first weather that I had seen since leaving Southern Illinois at the beginning of the month. I looked in my mirrors and saw Johnny pointing to it as well so I signaled to pull over and he stopped along side of me in the middle of the road. There wasn’t another car in either direction for as far as I could see.

“Better gear up.” I said to him as I hopped off the bike and began to pull my rain gear from the saddlebag. I changed into my hiking shoes also knowing they would dry the quickest of the shoes I had with me.

“That looks like a hell of a storm, Henry.”

“Yeah but see that break right there.” I said pointing to the center of the cats eye. “Maybe if we get lucky we can sneak in between the two cells and make it to Albuquerque unscathed.”

“Yeah that seems likely.” Johnny said to me deadpan.  And I laughed.

“Hey man, never know.”

Once we were as geared up as we could be with gloves and rain jackets we hopped back onto the bikes. I wasn’t worried about the pants we were sporting, as they were of the quick drying material; so after pulling our helmets back on as well, we throttled straight at it. I knew that interstate 40 had to be up there somewhere also and I hoped that we would run into it sooner than later and that maybe the storm was to the north of the interstate just the same. A few miles up as we romped over 100 miles an hour trying to time it just right, and by just right I really mean going all out and see what happens, we blasted passed a sign that said ‘interstate 40 …   17miles’. And I pointed to it as I flew by and Johnny in the rearview nodded and we rode for it. Mere miles from the interstate the road turned black with water but the first cell had passed us by and now I realized the storms were staggered and not in a straight line so I got my hopes up that we had in fact been fortunate and would slide in between the two. And, man, we did all the way to the interstate; and now throttling through the gears due east on 40 we left the second cell behind us in no time and the other cell to our south, and ahead of us a ways, seemed to grow more distant with every mile. And I got all big in my breeches and was feeling like I had in some way actually manifest the path through the storm somehow when woe is my luck and don’t be so proud boy either the road turned to the south and now I’d gone and done it I thought to myself, couldn’t just remain humble but no you had to become haughty in your thoughts and I was running myself through the gauntlet too when, boom! the thunder rattled our handlebars and the lighting cracked like it was right beside us, and then the torrent of rain enveloped us and the wind gusted so fiercely that it nearly pushed us both off the road, and I looked down and I was still doing 80 and the cars all had their hazards on and were either driving well below the stated speed limit which was 70 or they had pulled off to the side of the road entirely as we flitted by. Only the semi trucks, with their trailers completely washing us out as we road into the blindspot off each rear axle just to be shot out the frontside into a crosswind that we had to fight to keep the bikes upright against, were still running the line. And we were soaked and I couldn’t see much at all for the car wash effect on my helmets visor and I began to slow down only for Johnny to sidle up along side of me and nod as if to say “fuck it!” and then he passed right on by me and I cracked the throttle back to 80 and we romped like two lunatics across the high desert floor on a long sweeping stretch of asphalt and nearly, and in all likelihood, hydroplaning our way for quarters of miles at a time like we were trying to outrun the storm like two horsemen of the apocalypse trying to get to Albuquerque just in time to warn the unsuspecting folk of their coming doom.

And man, did we outrun it too. For within a span of fifteen minutes we were flapping dry in the wind again and the mighty storm now in the rears bore down on our backs yet but wouldn’t catch us until we stopped and let it. Crossing the needle into triple digits again we set into the road and within half an hour Johnny tossed on his turn signal and I followed him onto the offramp and he pulled the bike under the canopy of a roadside motel and we killed the ignitions and walked in with our helmets in our hands and the front dest clerk who helped us asked us straight away,

“Well boys, what sort of storm are you seeking shelter from?” . It was accidentally Dylan, man. I was in wind fury’d disarray. And I just looked at her deadpan and I said,

“The one that’s coming.” And I winked like it would make sense to her completely, and Johnny and I laughed out loud and the pretty lady just shook her head at the both of us as Johnny flopped out his credit card for the first nights room.

“You don’t mind if we leave the bikes under the canopy do you?” He asked the lady and she had no problem with it at all.

So after checking in we walked out and pulled the motorcycles back into a corner and had begun to unpack our bikes when the storm rolled in overhead. We stood beneath the canopy for a few minutes breathing in the air that smelled so fresh and when mixed with the heat rising from off the blacktop gave it that summer smell that I loved so much. That feeling that all is right and blessed; almost like a modern rainbow in that promise it implies. Man, I felt reinvigorated completely. I walked back out into the torrent and raised my hands to the sky. I got soaked by the rain all over again. I didn’t care. It felt good.  And I sensed the adventure that lay ahead for me and my oldest pal too. We’d made it to Albuquerque after all. All the worries that I had about the ride vanished. Washed away with the running water as the steam rose from the blacktop into the late evening sky.