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The Wind in My Hair

When Joseph and I first started corresponding, he posted a bunch of letters on his Facebook page and asked if anyone knew what it meant. So, I responded and he was ever so impressed...and then I told him I Googled it. I can find just about anything with Google! It became our little joke. Before he headed overseas, he sold that bike on which he'd had many a wonderful ride. It was bittersweet, but he knew that it wouldn't be doing him any good put up in storage.


I remember a particular time when he went with some buddies out to Virginia Beach on a whim. He and I were IM'ing when he got some time during stops or after checking into their hotel. It was a quick in and out trip and I was ever so impressed that they drove so far just to stay overnight and make the return trip.


I LOVE riding. Ever since I was young, I have loved anything that puts the wind against me: boating, horseback riding, a convertible with the top down, or a motorcycle...all of those things make me ever so happy. Especially when we're going fast! I wear a perma-grin and spend lots of time looking up to the sky so thankful for these moments. From the first time that Fred Flurry took me up his parents' mountain and over to Lover's Leap in New Hampshire on his dirt bike, I have been smitten. When my Uncle Max brought me home after babysitting for his kids from his house in Sugar Hill, NH to my dad's house in Dalton as we rode up and down hill after hill on his BMW motorcycle. And even my first boyfriend, Eddie, was a motorcycle rider. 


In 2009, I got to ride with my friend Melissa's friend Jamie, but in 2010 I didn't ride at all. Very sad, but true. Then, this summer I started things off by saying I wanted to date a guy with a bike so I could ride. That didn't quite work out as real life got in the way of dating anyone. But today, my friend Lisa was in town and arranged for one of her cop buddies to take me riding. We met down at Century Harley-Davidson in Medina and around 1 PM our adventure began. It was Lisa and her husband, Ed and me and another cop, Chino. We left Medina and drove the backroads into Valley City to a little fair. Then, we settled on going to Vermillion for Quaker Steak and Lube on the water. We had to make a few stops and pick up a girl in Lakewood for Chino and then we made our destination. After dinner, we hopped back on the bikes and drove along the lake until we got bored and started heading south. We went through Oberlin, Pittsfield, and Wellington as we headed south and then headed west again to get back to Medina. As the sun began to set, we were all getting cold and our butts were sore from nearly 8 hours of riding. For me, it was like 8 hours on a horse since there was no backrest and I had to use my calves and thighs to keep me attached to the bike...and a couple moments where I was thrust forward holding on to Ed for dear life. What an amazingly wonderful day.


I felt so blessed to have such a gorgeous day of weather. The sky was blue and full of fluffy white clouds. The sun was out. The temperature was in the mid to high 70s. It was glorious. I could not have asked for better and I thanked God a million times as I looked at all the amazing things around me. A few times, I thought about the fact that Joseph and I would never get to ride together and got a little choked up, but then I would pray that he knew Jesus as his Lord and Savior and that someday I would see him again. That will continue to be my prayer. While I shared my faith and beliefs with Joseph, I never asked him what he believed. I know he was raised in Christian faith, but that's all I know. 


While this was my first ride of the summer, it won't be my last. Ed's going to take me out riding again which makes me very happy. Bring on the wind!

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