Murphy’s Law and Memories

Today’s ride was interesting to say the least. It definitely felt like Murphy’s Law was alive and well.

If you’ve read many of my past “ramblings” you know that unless I’m headed to work or to visit our parents, I never plan out my ride. I recently thought about a new route I wanted to try out and today was the day I decided to do it. I initially wanted to do it the first time with my hubby instead of alone, but after the way the ride went it’s probably a good thing I was alone which you’ll understand shortly. I had looked over the map on my phone and checked landmarks so I knew what to watch for to get the right roads. You can’t glance at that while on the bike like you can in a car 😀.

Everything started out great. The weather was beautifully sunny and warm and the winds were very light. As I looked at the beautiful sky and saw all of the amazing flowers in bloom in their many different colors, everything seemed so vibrant and alive.

The weather for some reason brought back memories of doing things with my dad, who will have been gone 5 years tomorrow. I was a daddy’s girl and used to love to go hunting with him as well as many other things. I remember the first time I saw the ocean and it was as a teenager along with my mom and dad. Mom doesn’t swim so she watched from the beach as daddy and I played and swam. If any of you are familiar with Maine, you know that even in the summer, the ocean water isn’t very warm. That didn’t stop my dad from getting in the water with me though. That trip was also when he insisted I order “something different” when we went out to eat. We didn’t go out to eat often but I had a habit of always ordering the same thing and he was determined this time I was going to try something new. I decided I’d “fix him” and ordered lobster, much more expensive than my usual ham slice. Well I have loved the ocean and all seafood ever since.

I also remember him letting me climb up on his shoulders and he would “throw me” off into the water, the ocean and also our pond at home. Such fun memories with my daddy and it just took pretty weather and a bike ride for them to all come flooding back.

Maybe it was also because my hubby and I were able to take “mom and dad” out for lunch today to celebrate his birthday. Last year at this time we didn’t know if he would still be with us for Christmas, let alone another birthday. Thank you Lord for allowing him to still be here to celebrate! Any of you not familiar with my past posts, he has a rare form of cancer that he’s been battling for over a year now. God is good –

Well back to the ride and Murphy’s Law. Although the ride started out pretty typical and good for just reminiscing, that all changed. As I approached a busy intersection I naturally slowed down because these are areas that often are not friendly to bikers. Looking ahead I saw a tractor trailer truck pulling out into the highway going the same direction as me. There was another couple vehicles between me and it and I kept a safe distance. It soon became apparent this truck was either fully loaded, or had a very cautious slow driver behind the wheel. Once another vehicle ahead of me turned off I could see that this tractor trailer truck was actually a student driver truck, someone was just learning to drive. That made me think of a fellow lady biker that read my last post and sent me a note thanking me for this blog and asked me if I had any pointers because she so far is afraid to go above 50 and is afraid she’s a “hazard” on the road. Well if you’re reading this now Kelli, have no fear. They can get around you and pass a whole lot easier than someone learning to drive a tractor trailer truck!

As I approached the country road I was wanting to turn on I thought well at least that big truck won’t be going that way. WRONG

Apparently the instructor must have thought this country road with its curves and intersections would be a good training road. Just my luck. I kept at least a tractor trailer length between us most of the way to the end of the road but it still managed to somehow “throw ” a stone which proceeded to hit me on the front of my leg on the bone just in front of my knee. Yep that smarted just a bit.

We finally made it to the end of that road and I prayed they weren’t again turning the way I wanted to go. Fortunately they were not! So now I figure it’s smooth sailing for the rest of my ride.

I started to see landmarks I recognized from the map I’d looked at ahead of time and knew my next road was coming up soon. Just as I got to it, Murphy struck again: Road Closed -DETOUR.

OK so now I am clueless where the detour is going to take me. I proceed to follow the signs, then get to a 4 way intersection and yep you guessed it, Murphy again. No detour sign to show which way to go and no road signs to tell me the names of any of the roads I’m at. I decided to pull over at a church parking lot and take a break. I had a drink in my saddlebag that I’d fixed before I left home so used this opportunity to hydrate. As I watched the intersection, I noticed which direction the majority of the cars were going and decided that was the way I would also go. After going about a mile or so on that road there was finally a road sign and I knew I was back on the road I initially wanted. You see now why it’s a good thing I was travelling alone? Indecision and confusion don’t work well if you have no way to communicate from 1 bike to the other with your hubby.

So I’m at least now going the way I wanted to. I had to stop a few times for school buses and travelled some road that was definitely in need of work, grass even growing up through the cracks in it, but at least I was on the right track.

As I neared the end of this road I knew I’d be back on a main highway I was familiar with so could get up to a good speed and ride comfortably knowing where I was. Well knowing where I was turned out to be true, but getting up to a good speed was not to be. Just ahead of me was a very large dump truck that was fully loaded with something quite heavy apparently and it did not get up to speed the entire time I followed it.

As I approached a local college, it’s usually just an area that requires you to go slow through it to allow for students walking across the road etc. to be safe. Well for the first time ever that I’ve experienced it, must be classes had just let out and there was a police officer stopping traffic in both directions to allow all of the students out of the parking lot-all of them. I used this time to go ahead and put the bike in neutral and stretch my hands and arms a bit while having to wait. We weren’t moving any time soon.

So now I’m all stretched and ready to ride again 😄. By now I need gas so go ahead to one of my “usual” stops to fill up-uneventful YAY!

I got back out on the road and was able to relax and again reminisce about my daddy and about my father in law whose been so special and helpful, especially since my daddy passed away. Then more memories came back about my mom as mother’s day also approaches. I am blessed to still have her here to celebrate as well as my mother in law. Love and spend time with your parents while you can, because one day you’ll wish you could and you won’t be able to. I’d love to hear daddy say “see ya later kiddo ” just 1 more time. He would not have been happy about me learning to ride at first but he still would have loved and supported me, as my mom still does.

I decide to make one last turn and ride by a pretty lake nearby before heading home. Today, they had started to repave a section of this road. This meant only 1 lane was open and that there was some road oil and tar particles in the travelling lane which required added caution yet again. Safely got through this area and thankfully the rest of the ride home was normal with no added surprises which I was grateful for. This is one ride full of memories, old and new, I will not soon forget.