How others see me

Ok...so I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes, and a little bit...well...I don't know what, really.

You've been reading about my epic journey, and I'm sure you're probably tired of it by now. (though I'm not done with it! Just taking a thinking break! LOL)

Most bikers name their bike, and their bikes are either male or female. No...really...this is how it works. You just have a "feel" for the gender of your bike. I knew my bike was male, but I was still working on his name. Nothing was feeling right. I'd been calling him "Red" because...well he IS red. But I knew that wasn't his forever name. And then I added the sidecar which needs it's own name, complicating things since the names have to somehow go together. And, the sidecar is definitely female.

While on the Epic Journey the discussion of bike names came up. (as I'm writing this, I see it I'm getting off on a totally different subject than the title of the post.) As we spent the trip laughing, joking and getting to know each other, we also learned the personalities of each bike. We even PRAYED for a name for my bike. No...really.

Finally it came to us. I think it came to Tink, but I really don't remember. We named him "Nooner", and sometime over the winter I'll have his name emblazoned somewhere on his body. Nooner for the quick rides I can take when I need to. (both in the literal and figurative sense.)

But I still needed to name the sidecar. Bev and I left the others in Sault Ste. Marie, MI and headed south west to home. Somewhere along the way, little tubby's name popped into my head as I rounded a particularly beautiful corner. "Spank". Spank is the little sidekick. A companion when I need one. Secure in herself to keep my little rider safe.

Nooner and Spank....my ride...That's how I see my bike.

But how do others see me? (Ha! You thought I'd have trouble getting back to the title, didn't you?) Do you ever wonder that? How others see you? Well, this morning my friend Tink added another blog entry about the Epic Journey. (she's a brand new blogger and it took awhile to convince her she could do this, so she's a bit behind.) Today's entry is about us...the women who went on the epic journey with her. For some reason her entry about me made me cry. It's taken me a few minutes to figure out why, but I have. First of all, she GETS me! There are very few people on the world who totally understand me. I'm not even completely sure my own mother understands me, but Tink does. That's because Tink is me with a (much) smaller body, longer hair, living on the east coast instead of Minnesota. Secondly...she totally hit the nail on the head. If you know me in person, you'll see she's right on. If you've never met me before, you can now know exactly who I am.