~I Went For A Ride This Morning~

~A Field Of Arizona Poppies~

I rolled ol' No.9 out of the garage, going to hit the road this morning for a leisurely ride down Lago del Oro Road which follows the dry arroyo by the same name. I donned my helmet, gloves, goggles and other appropriate gear. Last minute decision to take my motorcycle club vest (colors) as well. That's something I don't normally wear for short local rides, but it just felt good to have it on my back today.

About 5 miles into this ride I noticed in my periphery an explosion of yellows and oranges off to my left, between my road and the Lago del Oro. The Arizona Poppies are blooming this morning, glad I brought my camera along. I turned No.9 into a u-turn and parked on the dirt shoulder. Pulled off all my riding gear, including my colors, grabbed my Canon G12 out of my right saddlebag. I walked the barbed wire fence line till I found a place I thought I could scramble under without doing much damage to life and limb.

What a wonderful field of poppy flowers, I was happy and smiling, what a great day, glad No.9 and I went for a ride. I started shooting and shooting and shooting, you see, one gets carried away when euphoria enters the heart. I ended up laying down in the flower field, like a child playing a game of hide and seek. This perspective gave me the image I longed for, I think, one never knows for sure. Was I trying to make art or just capture a feeling?

I then heard a rumble off in the distance! Soon a group of motorcycles thundered past my place in the sun, all glancing at No.9 parked by the side of the road, probably wondering where the rider was? The last rider saw me, I waved my camera and he waved back, smiling, just like me.

I sat there for awhile amid all the flowers after the bikers had passed. I just sat there and thought about stuff. Here I was laying in a field of poppies, No.9 was parked up on the roadside above me. My helmet and glove on the seat, goggles dangling off the mirror and my colors draped over the back fender.

Ah, my colors! Glad I wore them out today, they afforded me food for thought. This particular vest is about 15 or so years old. Some of the patches and badges are older and some are newer. My main back Club patch, and its Tucson rocker, is 13 years old. Ever year your in a club you get a small dated rocker, I'm starting to run out of room for those.

My oldest patch on this vest is a winged wheel, given to me by a Los Angeles motorcycle cop back in 1984, in a bar, after a fight. He and I were on the same side, hence the much coveted gift. In 1989 I went down bad on my bike, and bleed all over myself, head wounds are notorious and profuse bleeders. On that patch you can still see the stains, a gruesome badge of memories. Unlike some bikers, I try to keep the vest regalia to a minimum, lest I fall into a river, sink and drowned. Hoisted by my own petard, so to speak.

But the patch I have the most pride in is my map patch, showing all the states. One colors in each state as you ride through it. This particular patch only has 9 states painted in. But it is sewn over another states patch, that one is dirty and grimy and every single state is marked in colors. That's 48 states, plus Alaska, plus 9 Canadian provinces and parts of Mexico as well, I'm truly proud to wear those two patches, one over the other, starting over.

Well, it's time to head for home, and see what I have in my camera. I hope it's as full of decent photographs as my mind is full of memories of this wonderful morning ride.

If you read this entire blog, well all I can say is thanks!
TucsonJim ;o)