Why do I do this?

 In my relatively short 4 years of riding on the street, I've logged around 35,000 miles, give or take a bit. Nothing really noteworthy, but not too bad I guess, when you factor in working full time and being oncall every couple of weeks.

There's a saying among motorcyclists that there are two types of riders - those who have crashed, and those who haven't yet. I've crashed twice now, a fairly mild lowside due to me locking up the front wheel around 30MPH, and one serious collision with a deer at 70MPH. Each time I cheated death and serious injury. Each time I was eager to get back on and ride again.

 Some friends don't really understand the draw, while others would do and have done the same as I did. We cover ourselves in leather and abrasion resistant textiles, and gladly straddle a few hundred pounds of aluminum, steel, and an internal combustion engine, with several flammable gallons of unleaded gasoline between our legs. Why, people ask, why take that risk? When you know the statistics, and there are perfectly good cars to be driven, why chance the bad weather, the bad drivers, the fates?

 For a long time, I didn't really have a very good answer for this. "Why?" bounced around in my head from time to time, like a question with an answer you knew but just couldn't quite put into words. After my own two accidents, friend's accidents, and the deaths of people I admire in the long distance riding community, I struggled to find the words to understand the answer.

 Recently, a friend of mine observed that while doing yardwork, he was able to calm his mind, look inward, and reflect on life's lessons and experiences. He asked on Facebook - "what other activities are meditative?"

 I quickly typed a short comment about riding, but then paused before clicking submit. Suddenly, the "Why" started becoming more clear, and I started typing.

 Motorcycle riding - not just commuting to work, but actual 'getting out on the road for at least a couple of hours' riding - for me, is unbelievably relaxing and meditative. It's so effective that my wife will actually tell me that I need to get out and go for a ride when she sees that I need it.

 There's something about being open to the world and the elements that strips away everything that doesn't really matter. With music playing through noise isolating earplugs, the world is no longer black and white and right or wrong.

 It's vivid green and bright sky blue, it's the fiery colors of leaves in the fall and pastel painted meadows as far as you can see when the wildflowers bloom, it's the smell of cut hay or grass in summertime, the scent of plowed earth.

 It's the temperature change from the mountain top to the valley below, the smell and feel of rain, a set of high-beams piercing the night's darkness because what's ahead of you is all that matters now, and the reminder that sometimes we really are as free as we allow ourselves to be. It's shuttered up small towns and cemeteries and the faintest scent of decay that reminds you that in spite of all this, life is woefully short, and we should strive every day to live our lives to the fullest, and love as deeply and as hard as we can, because we are only here for a short time, and no one knows when their time is up.

Ouch.

 This was all my own fault - I lost control while slowing for a 45 degree turn at an intersection. Luckily, the bike fell on the left side after tossing me off and didn't flip. I landed on my left hip (primary impact) and left shoulder (secondary). Nothing on me is broken, but naturally, I hurt like hell.

 The cause was a combination of stupid things, a bunch of dumb mistakes really. It was misty drizzle and I wasn't compensating for it. I rode across a huge section of yellow paint while downshifting and braking, and all these things combined were enough for me to lose traction. I was paying more attention to making the light and getting to work, I screwed up, and it bit me.

 I need a new front tip over bar cover and a left mirror assembly. My rear tip over bar is bent, but I think I can bring it back to position with some persuasion. My helmet hit the ground with my head in it, so it needs to be replaced. My jacket, pants, and gloves held up very well, all of them are in serviceable condition and do not need to be replaced. My boots need a new toe slider, but otherwise, they are fine.

 Moral of the story - riding like a dong ain't cheap.

ArkanSTOC

 People of all types and shapes and walks of life are brought together by a common love of motorcycling, and you can find "Ride to Eat" get-togethers, Bike Nights, and Rallies, year round through various forums such as Motocampers.com, Adventure Rider (Ride the World!), Two Wheeled Texans. Buying a motorcycle of a particular make or model or type, though, often comes with the wide, welcoming arms of a larger global online community, and the Honda ST1300 is no exception.

 The Honda ST Owners Community is one of the finest around, spread throughout all 50 states and around the globe, and it's almost a matter of pride for there to be an annual event (or two!) in as many states as possible. Hosted by locals who know the area like the back of their hand, the road recommendations are spot on, the restaurant suggestions are great, and people you meet will be some of the best you'll find anywhere.

 All that is to say, this is how I found myself scheduling time off from work to take a long weekend ride into the northern part of Arkansas, to ride roads I'd never seen before, with people I'd never met before. For five years running, ArkanSTOC has been held every September in the Ozarks, up near Eureka Springs, and it's gotten so popular that people put this on their calendar and book hotel rooms a year in advance.

 I left Austin Wednesday afternoon and rode through 98- 100 degree temps until I threw in the towel at Clayton Lake State Park in Oklahoma. It was hot, humid, and mostly miserable... Certainly not the best night I've ever spent in a tent, but it's hard to complain when you're not at work and have a full day of riding ahead of you when you wake up.

 Up early Thursday morning, I had my standard moto-breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and was on the road by 9AM.  I'd been in this part of Arkansas back in November of 2011, and I was eager to see the Talimena Byway again.

The mountains never disappoint

 The view from the Byway, the cool mountain temperatures, and the steady breeze chased away all memory of the previous day's heat. Following the Talimena Byway into Mena, AR, I stopped for lunch at the Skyline Cafe around noon. The Skyline Cafe is one of those small hole in the wall places that most folks wouldn't look at twice. There's a reason the old timers and motorcycle riders stop here though - the food is great! I had breakfast again: eggs over easy, home made corned beef hash, and home fries. With a full belly, I headed back out and down the road towards AR 28 and 27. These two roads took me through Russellville and dropped me onto Arkansas Scenic Route 7.

 There were storms on the way though, and I could see and hear their presence all the way up Route 7. Wet roads, heavy storms on radar, and the sound of thunder in the distance at every rest stop was enough to make me ditch my extended route and concentrate on getting to The Hub's campground so I could set up before the storms came. I managed to skirt along the edge of the storm front the whole way up, and got settled in. A quick run to the store for some adult beverages, and I was ready to hang out around the campfire and make some new friends until the heavy rains came.

 It took them a while, but boy, did they come. It rained all Thursday night, and all day Friday - so heavy that I decided to abandon my riding plans and partake of the free beer and story swapping going around under the covered awnings. It finally cleared up around dinner time for the evening's parking lot and campfire festivities. Speaking of dinner... I caved in to the craving and got the prime rib at Scooters Restaurant. I highly recommend it.

 Saturday morning greeted us with sunshine, mid 50s temperatures, and not a cloud in the sky. Perfect riding weather, so I took off with fellow Texas riders Andy, Fergie, and Taylor.

 We got in some great riding down 7, 123, and 16 before Andy's clutch went belly up near Clinton AR. After making sure Andy was safely off the road and waiting for AAA to arrive, I headed back to The Hub.

 With work on Monday and a long ride back to Pflugerville ahead of me, I went ahead and packed up, thinking I'd get down by the Texas State Line before finding a place to sleep. I hit the road heading South around 2PM, and took 7, 16, and 21 down towards Interstate 40. The thought of sleeping in my own bed was a pretty strong motivator - I made it in at 1:45AM, after riding a total of about 850 miles all day Saturday. You can view a track of my ride here - spotwalla.com/tripViewer