Ride of Shadows

It was to be a mildly overcast day. Warm and humid perhaps. I would had to leave early. It was gonna be a long ride, but where to? Up the westcoast? Mosselbay? Somewhere far and distant.

And the Pan-European comes with a CD player. What would I enjoy? Something mellow certainly. Sting? Lanny Kravitz? ColdPlay? What the heck, take them all. It's not like the Pan-Euro lacks storage space. It would have been my first ride on a big tourer.

I would have hit the highway as the first light broke in the east. Let's go east, yes. I'm in a mood for the desert; my heart is haunted and I want to get lost in the vast openness. Let's ride into the orchestra of light and colour chasing the dawn away, until the stark harshness of the desert sun remains. I settle on Counting Crows.

The big V-four would have settled into a smooth rhythm by the time I climb the pass out of the Hex River valley. With the lush winelands behind me, I reach the flat plains of the dry Karoo. Dan Vickrey lets me know in his sleepy voice that "you've been waiting a long time, to fall on your knees."

I look for another gear. There is none. The horizon pulls me closer, but not fast enough. Vickrey and his boys are calling up shadows that whisper regrets and sorrow into my ears. I hope this road never ends.

"Why should you come when I call?" Vickrey and his boys want to know.

The hills role by endlessly. The emptiness of the landscape mocks me. I wanted to get lost. Instead I am chased. There is no turning back. On to the next turn, over the next hill. On and on. Where the promise of a different tomorrow waits. Where the pain of today will be a memory I can smile about.

How fast can I outride my shadows? Is a big V-four and long fuel-range enough?

Then the call came.

The bike is needed for other purpose. I can't get my ride. Sorry, see you next time.

Shit.

"It's too late to get high now" cries Vickrey.

Indeed.