Keeping Ourselves from Going Insane in the Off-Season

Jaala announced that everyone should pack up and move to Arizona so that we can ride our motorcycles all year ‘round. The group considered the thought for a moment or two, and then we all snapped back to reality. Sure, it would be nice to hop on the bike in January or February when the Midwest was still locked in a boggy mix of gray snow and misshapen lumps that had once been snowmen, loved by small children. But, we all gently reminded her, in July and August, Arizona was a death sentence to all but the hardiest of souls, something we would never accuse her of being. After all, we were continually shocked that she had not gone and had that bike of hers painted wussy-girl pink and been done with it. She didn’t have a tiara painted on her helmet for nothing, you know.

We can’t go running off to the warmer climates so that we can ride every single day, but we can actually have a blast while we are waiting for the first gentle rays of spring time sun to push the green of grass and the gray of concrete to the light. In other words, we can keep each other from going bug nutty and doing things like beating the old man to death with a tire iron or other frowned upon activities.

One day, one of these idiots announced that it would be kind of funny to have an old fashioned quilting bee. We loudly and rather profanely reminded her that we were not Amish and that none of us really knew how to sew. Then a voice from the back of the room quietly said that yes, she did know how to sew. We turned to find our grizzled and longest standing member smiling gently at the shocked faces of her sisters. Okay, we did not start up some insane biker girl quilting bee, although the idea would have been good just for the sheer giggle factor, but we do go off on some tangents looking for ideas on how to prevent and cure cabin fever.

It can be a long and cold winter, and to add to that, there are a few days that are nothing more than evil children teasing you with a shiny toy, taking it back as soon as you put out your pudgy little fist to take it. One day will dawn, bright and sunny, almost warm but by the end of the afternoon it is raining or sleeting or heaven help us, snowing, once again. The bike stands silently in the garage, patiently waiting for the days of warmth to come back once again.

We get together for movie nights and poker tournaments and video game play offs. We come here to be around others who are going just as crazy as we are, people who understand. And we all wait for Jaala to show up in her pale pink, spring is here jacket so that we can sigh and know that that first day of riding is coming very, very soon.