LKS

I'm home from work for now, ignoring chores and busywork; annoyed with crisp weather and muddy trails. The warmer days, even at 40 degrees, are warm enough to aggravate my brain rot and so I dream of the moto season ahead. I got into a Basic Rider Course with a friend coming up in June. I don't imagine a bike of my own (yet) but at least I'll be a "more informed passenger" on the back seat, so my biker chauffeurs say. I think they are a bit nostalgic of last summer when cruising me around and someone to sample random diners with. They might be a tad worried that I'll go solo and leave them behind. Truth is, I doubt that. It's my favorite place to be. So after taking the free motorcycle learners permit class and getting the B-Jezzus scared out of me; I am upgrading my lid. With all the sites on line, there were hundreds to choose from. The safety instructors insisted on DOT (federal safety standard) "full face to save your face" an or a 3/4 face minimum but full-face was the best. Cost did not guarantee better safety, better comfort maybe...soooooo...I narrowed it down to two lids that I liked, allot. Pics are included here.(though I already made my purchase given the preference of my chauffeurs and all of their highly respected wisdom) My current lid is DOT approved open face/half lid. I love it; the wind is in my face and once last summer, a bug (it has no shield, just my sun glasses). So when you see the pics, let me know. The full face is very safe, stylish (a must for my turnout) and looks mature and sophisticated. The 3/4 with shield has a kewl graphic that resonates deeply within me. It is a copyrighted design with a skull, heart and saber with a banner encrypted: Love_ Kills_ Slowly. Wow. I find it more a testimonial than a grim reminder of perilous roads. If one gets too narrow in their vision, even of love, it will kill you. My love of horses has blinded me to the other potentials, sustainable potentials, of my little farm. In the name of love, it kept me rooted in a marriage that was toxic. It stifled the expansion of a vision of myself, my identity that would fostered growth. In my love of VT, I perhaps stayed too long and unwittingly sabotaged any chance to move on. My love of my kids anchored me to this single-parenting paradox leaving me little time, energy or opportunity to grow as a whole person. Don't miss understand, I love VT, I love my farm. I love my kids. But I sometimes wonder what would have been for my dreams, interests and possibilities if I had not held on with such a very tight grip to my love of these passions. Have I learned how to ease off the throttle, let out a little line, pause and see the biggest view? A great horse trainer has said: "when you have a horse on the end of an 8' rope - he's got you on the other end...a good trainer knows when to let go" The power is in the process; learning when to hold on-when to let go...it can mean the difference between the pain of losing something or the relief of letting it go. I'll spend the rest of my life learning how to tell the difference. It is a compelling graphic: "Love_Kills_Slowly.".....ahhh, but what a fabulous way to go.

Which lid did I buy? The survival stats were more compelling, I bought the sexy red, full face; my chauffeurs approve with a wink of their eye. "Let's ride"
peace ~ ell

winter wonders

Winter in the Lamoille Valley has finally loosened its grip. Looking up at Mt. Mansfield from the horse barn (it has the best view from my place); I take inventory of the bounty of winter wonders. I'm a winter hiking guide at Smugg's Resort, logging 328 miles over the mountainous trails on mornings M-F, December thru March. In the afternoons, I get to rip down the mountain on an airboard; peaking speeds of 42 mph when we clocked it on the GPS. It is pure fun; my favorite way to slip, slide and carve on snow. We filmed 4 different clips for various promotional companies to promote this growing game on snow. My favorite was the piece we did for Armed Services Network. Hopefully, they will send me the finished clip and I'll post it here to share (just in case any of you want to come up and give it a twirl). We broke every rule of Airboarding at Smuggs to make a good demo for the military folks posted abroad. In airboarding, no skill is required; that's why I love it. We are riding belly down, face first, in an agile bench press, on an inflatable wedge shaped sled. Nimbly shifting our body, weight and legs, we can turn it, roll it, stop it...riding only 6 inches off of the snow, there's no where to fall; we're already on the ground - "just roll off", if you can't do the swift stop. The only laws that truly matter? The laws of physics prevail and teach us all about snow rash, that which is in motion...mass, acceleration, inertia...gravity....I should have paid closer attention in school. ha ha The safety clinic for all newbies: "don't use a tree to stop, don't use the trail sign to stop, don't use bamboo to stop, don't use the skiers or snowboarders to stop, don't use the lift house to stop, and don't use your instructor to stop....ROLL OFF! It's comical watching people try to master the mountain. The stories about the people who come to play... the kids, the couples (almost always ends in a bitter row), the foreign guests who don't know enough English to understand the "don't list"...the folks who just plain disregard the "don't list"...
I'll save these for a future post, one at a time with some clips of this fun little rig.For now, I'm immersed in the work of repairing and recovering the horse barn from a winter's worth of neglect, finalizing the business plan for the soft fruit orchard and getting the Learned Horse Project ready for spring and summer programs. And, as promised to myself and my moto buddies, the anxious anticipation of the Motorcycle Endorsement Basic Rider Course in June. I'll get my endorsement (if my brain rot will allow), become a more informed passenger and someday ride my own bike. I am psyched, feeling primed for summer and praying for more rain-less days than not. It's going to be an interesting summer. More stories to tell....
be well to all ~ peace ~ ell

a summer's worth

I'll begin with a glowing sigh as I reflect back upon this fanciful summer. Total satisfaction overcomes me when I think of the wind in my face on my adventures along the roads of these Green Mountains in the company of good guys on shinny motorcycles. I finally have a few pictures of the bikes, the roads and the expanse of space when we're out there; even one of my usual riding partner. Last weekend, we managed to ditch chores and abandon the firewood drill we are all obliged to perform every fall; instead we cruised one more, high mileage, ride through the North East Kingdom. Careful to stay out of the shady corners, veiled in perilous black ice on this mid-October weekend. In these pictures, the leaves are all down, so the views even more vast. A different experience from summer when all was green and the lanes enclosed in their emerald shag. In last Sunday's ride it felt other worldly, immense and powerful; a different planet in time and place. We went north and west, north and east and finally just plain north. We hit the Canadian border twice at remote, rural crossings with one patrolman (heavily armed), and the yellow road paint encircling the border post tarmac.
We often had the road and even the village centers to ourselves. Bakersfield, Enosburg, Richford, Birkshire, Jay, Montgomory, Troy, Lowell, North Hyde Park, and home. A scant few of any other bikers, die-hards for the last day of sunshine and dry pavement, rolling by with the trademark HD wave: a hip tilt of the left hand, palm down, low and cool, below a "cager's" sight line...It felt as if the blacktop was all ours and ours alone. Like a child on Christmas morning, I filled myself up with all of it. The rhythm of loud pipes, the scent of leathers, the warmth of my riding partner's heated jacket, the crisp of wind on my face, the brilliant sun on my back, enchanted by the view over his shoulder. I archived every detail in my mind and body. It will have to sustain me for the next 6 months and nourish my dream for more. The bikes are put away for winter and a future season in the next year. The summer of '08 was especially sweet, sensational in each outing with "the boys", as it was my first season and I had the pleasure to ride on Harley's, a Valkyrie, and a Kawasaki; all with good men who graciously shared their passion for riding and more than a few great stories. I wish I had taken more pictures to share, but its distracting for me and a little more effort for the driver when I'm twisting around on the back while he's threading the best piece of the road for a smooth ride.
Next year, I'm getting my endorsement to drive motorcycles in Vermont with some friends and someday my own bike; but I will always pine for the second seat, riding two-up with a savvy guy, savoring every mile, feasting on the bounty of the journey. If you haven't ever gone out; try it just once, with a seasoned rider on a cherry bike, over our rolling hills, on a glorious day... just once, so you can say you did it.
Enjoy the pics, there will be more next year, maybe even one of me all leathered up...
luv and peace ~ ell

this one is for the kindest men and their shinny bikes; thank you all for a summer's worth of joy...