Posted By: BHM <jwdickinson@aol.com>
Date: 4/12/2001 at 23:10:23

Was sitting here earlier this evening pounding the keyboard, nose pressed into one of my VB 6.0 texts, going crazy trying to understand some simple lines of programming code when a lady friend called to invite me for dinner. And, seeing as I had had my backside parked in front of the PC almost the whole afternoon, I accepted.

Of course now that I'm a proud owner of a beautiful Valk, its almost like the dilema that a lot of women have in the morning when they get dressed for work..except I know what to wear, but the dilema comes in the form of 'what to I ride, the Valkyrie or the Dodge Ram?'. And this evening was no different...but seeing as we've been under threatening skies most of the afternoon and early evening, the decision to ride or drive was a little more difficult....well, a quick check with the weather channel and the local news talk radio promised that any rain would more than likely happen in the early morning...sounds like a no brainer to me!

The early evening air was cool, not cold enough for a jacket, and warm enough for a short sleeve shirt, making the short trip over to my hostesses place a delight. The sun was still shining, but waning in the western sky, reflecting off clouds, white and dark alike.

Dinner was pleasant, full of gentle laughter, easy conversation, the candles and tikki torches flickering casually on the deck. The evening passed quickly and it was time to depart for home.

I straddled BreunneHilde as she warmed up, snugging down the helmet and plugging into the radio. As I did so, I glanced at the display to find that it was nearly midnight. The night air was still as pleasant as it was earlier, maybe just a degree or two cooler, but still delightful, just perfect for a midnight ride...just the two of us.

I knew I should have headed straight home but it was if BreunneHilde and the early morning coolness had other designs.

I pulled out of the sub-division and at that point, I knew I would detest waking up in the morning and thinking that I had missed a golden opportunity. So, off I went, down the backroads I know so well, just me, the purring engine of my beloved Valkyrie and the midnight sky. I purposely left the radio off, the sound of BreunneHilde's powerful engine my only music. At the first traffic light I came to, I opened the helmet visor, wanting to feel the cool night air against my face, to relish the smells and aromas of the now darkened backroads, illuminated only by the headlamps of my Valkyrie.

As I cruised casually around bends, down straightaways, over and down the hillocks of the roads less traveled, it was almost as if my Valkyrie and I had become one. I picked the line and she followed exactly, never wavering. Together, machine and man followed the asphalt and road paint in the midnight garden to wherever it would lead. And, as if of her own design, BreunneHilde brought me safely to the main highway, but in her own sweet and gentle time.

We left the backroads, entering the highway many miles north of our final destination. And as effortlessly as she had guided me earlier, BreunneHilde led me home. Rest for the both of us, waiting for the next adventure.

BHM