Can you spare a little...

The first time I rode my motorcycle across the country I took the northern states. I started trekking through New York state, Pennsylvania ,Ohio, continuing right below the Great Lakes and heading towards South Dakota. The main highway that I took offered little scenic value and a large part of that trip looked very similar. I spent almost three days traveling with one thing in mind, and that was the terrain of South Dakota. Though I had seen pictures of  The Badlands,  The Black Hills and the monuments in the Midwest I was excited to experience it in person, especially on the motorcycle.
While making my way out there I had some difficult hours of riding, I was tired and sore, my ears had become clogged from the wind and  I was sunburned. At one point in Illinois I had gotten disoriented and actually started heading the wrong way, tired and hungry. That day I made little time and gained very little distance so I decided to spend the night and get some rest. The roads in those states, before getting into South Dakota, are mostly flat and straight and hours of that is enough to drive you a little insane. I found myself getting into an almost meditative state and just rolling on the throttle and looking straight ahead not thinking of too much. Occasionally a song would pop in my head and I'd hum or sing it to myself over and over. I did what I had to do in the midst of some uncomfortable riding just to keep trekking on.
An open field...some horses...some cows...another open field...a rest stop...another rest stop...and another...
On the third day I had crossed into South Dakota and spent the night. That morning i headed towards Rapid City. About an hour or two into that day I started to see some of the topography change. Up ahead I could see the faint outline of mountains. As I got closer they became more defined and I could see the red hue of the rocks. I made it to the Badlands national park and I drove my bike through some winding roads and pulled over to take in the land. There were layers of different colored rock and spires and other shapes that had been formed by the wind over millions of years ago. As my excitement for making it there took over, I found myself feeling rested and happy. My body didn't feel tired or achy and I was overwhelmed by the landscape.
The next couple days consisted of smaller trips on the bike through the twisting roads of the Black Hills. I took my time and saw all sorts of wildlife and the scenery seemed to change constantly. I drove through more large rock formations, thick dense forest , switchback roads that I couldn't do more than 5 miles per hour on and an elevation change that thinned the air out.
I was able to meet and talk to people at most of the sites I stopped at and shared stories about traveling across the states to get there. The land itself filled me with a sense of energy and new life and the miles of mundane trekking in the previous days faded quickly.
The change of scenery exceeded anything I could have imagined or sensationalized from photos alone and filled me with a sense of peace and real happiness.
I was scared when I set out on that trip because I did not know what to expect, I thought about the dangers of the trip as well. I was sore and uncomfortable and I even had moments that I questioned myself, Why the hell am I doing this? But after the long trip out there and the long straight road of miles and miles of constant, what greeted me was an experience I will never forget. I held on tight to those handle bars and  looked ahead and though I was not sure what to expect, if I had turned back I would never known that there was something incredible waiting there for me all that time.

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”~Anatole France

To the winding roads, and switchbacks, and a change of scenery...CHEERS!

Jim

Life and Other Four Letter Words

I spend 2 days a week going to physical therapy for my finger and occasionally I run into the same people there for various reasons all trying to gain some use of there hands back. I've seen the same elderly couple there for awhile now. The woman is there for therapy and her husband comes along for company, both very sweet people. This woman has been sharing some great stories about her family and growing up and it's been nice to laugh a little and reminisce about my own childhood. They are both retired, seem very happy, they're active people and sound as if they get out and enjoy life as much as possible. She shared this funny story with me the other day.
She had been busy cooking and doing things around the house and her husband was relaxing on the couch with his feet up and she asked him, "What do you have planned for today?" His response was,"Nothing." She say's to him,"Didn't you do that yesterday?" and he answered,"Yes, but I'm not finished yet."
        You'd think I would be doing a whole lot of nothing since I got injured. It felt that way the first couple days when I was banged up pretty good and just lying around but since then my days are filled with Doctor appointments and running errands, doing what I can around the house and the days seem to roll by. I started the 3.6.5 blog in September and here we are getting ready to gorge ourselves on Turkey dinner and roll our way into December. I haven't worked in 2 months and somehow my days are filled with things to do. I look forward to getting back to somewhat of a normal routine but I hope that I don't forget to occasionally break that routine and enjoy my time with friends and family. It's unfortunate that the almighty dollar dictates alot of our actions on the day to day and somehow we've all been weaved into this web of existence. Gimme 10 bucks to fill my motorcycle tank and 150 miles of open road and I'll show you a break from this routine, one like you ain't never seen. (thank you David Lee Roth!)

The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.  ~Author unknown

Enjoy Thanksgiving if you choose to celebrate it, enjoy the day if you don't have to work and enjoy doing nothing if you haven't quite finished yet.
Jim

Frankenfinger...It's ALIVE!!!

Hello all! I had the remaining pins removed from my finger today. Though it's got no protruding metal from it anymore it still lives up to the name Frankenfinger. Ol' Frankenfinger has some scaring and looks like it's been pieced together from Igor's collection of ghastly digits. I'll be continuing the therapy well into December but it's moving quite well. There is a loss of feeling in parts of it but I am well on my way to recovery. I'm thinking if I gain an inch or so more (please no "manhood" jokes) of bend-ability I can get that clutch in far enough to jump on the scoot! OK, OK I better not rush that. Right now the goal is to get this digit in working capability to get back to my first love, TATTOOING!!! It's been just about 2 months not working and as much as the finger has been hurting the wallet shares the same pain. In a time where most people are struggling with financial stability I'm certainly not alone, especially being a self employed person with no disability and no workman's compensation.
I've shared alot of things through this blog in the past 2 months and I hoped they would have been mostly adventures on my bike. As fate would have it the crash changed everything and to pile the shit higher I lost my best four legged friend, Tut. In the midst of everything I've struggled to keep my head up. I am still faced with alot of burdens but hell, so is everyone.
I was pleasantly surprised by my crew at the shop with a benefit they have decided to hold to help ease a bit of the money woes that wait for me with little patience. For those of you who know me I'm not one to complain and not one to ask for help, probably to a fault. That may explain why I stubbornly got back on my bike covered in blood with a finger hanging off , a motorcycle that barely ran and drove it back to my shop the night I "cracked up". Hey, I love that beast and I wasn't about to leave her alone under a bridge far from a familiar place with out me!
My friends have come together and good fashion will be throwing a hell of a time not only to raise a couple bucks but to show everyone a good time the way the Lucky Soul crew does. I was speechless when I learned of the great time they have planned and yes this big tattooed biker almost lost a tear from his eye...almost!
There are many people who have suffered hardships far greater than my experience and I  hope I keep them in mind as I continue on this interesting ride in life, to relate, to empathize, and to draw strength from them all. Let's continue the 3.6.5. ride mindfully, whether on 2 feet ,2 wheels, four wheels or however it is we make our way through each moment.

Happy Monday...
Jim

Big thanks to Steve Chanks for this incredible artwork!

 

 

 

 

 

Write it, read it, ride it!

This has been an excellent season for riding. We are heading into December and I have seen a good amount of bikes out there. It's been tough watching people pass by on there motorcycles while I watch with envy from the interior of the 4 wheeled cage. Still, I can't help but smile knowing that the weather has been so good to all the bikers out there. As much as I wish I was along side of all you two wheeled nuts, I'm pleased to see you all doing what you love to do, riding! With the holidays creeping up on us it can be a stressful time of year and having the outlet of a motorcycle is always a great source of freeing your mind and body from that stress. This is the time of year when alot of riders start getting the bike prepped for storage, maybe adding a little stabilizer to the fuel and pulling those batteries tenders out. People usually ask me, "Hey Jim, did you put the bike away yet?" My response to that was always, "It's never really away." They wondered how I kept the battery charged through the winter and I told them, that's easy ...I ride it!

This year is certainly different I haven't been on the bike since September 26th, the day my life took an interesting turn. That turn was a sharp one that landed my ass on the pavement and sliding into a street sign. So it's been almost 2 months since I've rode or picked up a tattoo machine and as you all know it's been quite the bummer. I'd like to say that I'm feeling much better and making some progress. The physical therapy is going good and the finger is bending a little more each day. Here are some photos too show you that progress. I've held back from the real gruesome ones but if you'd like to see some just ask!

This is a couple days after the crash

This is today!

 

Pins before they yanked out the 2 in the tip.

Those came out of the tip.

I have 2 more pins coming out this Monday and I hope to get the finger bending even more. As for the bike she's ready to ride but not as pretty as she was. I'll still give her all the loving she deserves when it's time to hop on that saddle!
I've had a couple people ask if I plan on giving the 3.6.5 ride another shot. I'm still pondering it and of course getting better and getting back to work is priority right now, but if you think you see Santa Claus shredding down the street in a bad ass black sleigh take a little closer look cuz it just might be yours truly.

If you keep reading,  I'll keep writing. If you're not reading, you better be riding!

Catcha later
Jim

Oppurtunity, I'd like you to meet Desire.

After a small reprieve I've decided to sit and blog. I've been asked a couple times recently ,"What happened to the 365 blog, man?" Simply put I haven't felt much like writing. Some time has passed and I've made some improvement with the injured finger but honestly I have been down in the dumps. So why write now, well...
I was told along time go that when opportunity meets desire you will make changes. I had the opportunity to sit and write tonight and I had the desire to say a couple of things. First and for most the object of my disappointment of course has been the broken finger and since I haven't spoken much about it perhaps it's time for a little update. To recap quickly, I crashed my bike, smashed my finger, my dog died, I can't tattoo and I can't ride. This has a little to do with why I'm "down in the dumps". Alas! I am starting to see a little light at the end of this tunnel. I had 2 of the 4 pins removed from my finger, started physical therapy to get that digit moving again and I have a little mobility already. The other 2 pins come out in a week and I am determined to get back in the swing of tattooing soon. I miss tattooing, my bike and my dog, but what is it that truly helps transcend the bad things in life that happen to us? Is it a pill, money, another person or merely a change of thought? You got me, but I'm guessing it's the state of mind. I've not done much with my time since the accident but I feel as if a great deal has changed for me. I keep moving and  try and change my thoughts especially when those nasty little buggers creep in like black clouds.
There had been alot of things in my life that I did not pay attention to and when the accident happened I had no choice but to stare them in the face. Not being able to do much of anything with the damaged finger, left we with time and opportunity and I've recently had the desire to make some changes in my life.
It seems like an easy equation...when opportunity meets desire. Hmmm...
If you have the desire to change something and the opportunity allows you to do so then that change will certainly take place. As far as changing my thoughts from bad ones to good ones, the opportunity is always there its just that the desire to do so is not always strong enough to change those thoughts. That's when I'm stuck down in the dumps. So whether your staring down a tunnel with a faint light looking back at you waiting to see if its a train headed your way, or sifting through shit looking for a morsel of gold, no matter how uncomfortable the wait might be, remember it's only your thoughts that can transcend the bad shit in life.

Go ride already will ya...
Jim