My Musical Motorcycle Journey Begins

While I had been planning for June 4th to be the day I left Sarasota on my motorcycle, Vivian, for a few weeks, my impeccable timing forced me to wait for the postal worker to bring me one last package, rain gear that would allow me to ride in inclement weather. Because I knew that I would be riding through storms that day, I took the morning to do some last minute cleaning and take some time to meditate before I set out on my journey. Once I got my package and tried it on to make sure that it fit, the last thing I did was drop off my key to the cottage at Discover Sarasota Tours before riding out of town.

Weeks before, I had a sissy bar installed on the motorcycle so that I could strap my guitar to it. Covering the entirety of my baggage with my waterproof motorcycle cover, and holding most of it down with bungee nets (arguably the most significant invention for motorcyclists in the last several years), my belongings were secure from the rain, but the bulk of all that I brought with me wrapped in all of that fabric became quite an effective sail. The day before, I had the opportunity to ride in the rain for the first time as I was caught in a storm on the way to my parents house, finding myself drenched by the time I got there.

this is not nearly as safe as you might think
My dad was thoughtful enough to put Rain-X on my helmet so that rain would bead off and help me see better. That, coupled with my new rain gear, made riding in the rain an actually enjoyable experience. Nevertheless, the way the wind caught the sail strapped to the back of my motorcycle was a bit more challenging as it pushed Vivian and I back and forth across our lane.

My first day on the road, as I traversed the back roads of Florida, I rarely got above 50 mph. I realized that this was probably a nuisance for those who wanted to speed through the rain at 70, but I had very little concern for those who rode in the automobiles and trucks behind me. With a white knuckled grip on my handlebars, I apologized to those who got stuck behind me, but did not feel inclined to risk my life at higher speeds in inclement weather just because they wanted to hurry.

I reasoned that our society needed to slow down more anyway and that too many people are in far too much of a rush. Nevertheless, every now and then, when I noticed that there was more than one car on my tail, I would pull my bike to the side of the road and let them pass. Although they could not see my…