Finding The Road

On another camping expedition, I find, even in the murkiest of mornings my trusty cup of coffee rolls back the fog in my mind. This camping trip that I went on in November was a group trip. I arrived at the campgrounds via my usually means of transportation- BMW R1200 GS (a beautiful body on two glorious wheels). It was a fun weekend full of good eating, drinking, and boating. A merriment of laughter and relaxation. This is a story of my adventure home.

On Sunday, I packed up my items and set out on a generally direction- south and east. I had the entire day to wind along roads and find roads off the pavemented path. I found a path most amusing.

It started as a small two lane road that ran along a levee. Small, quaint houses where across the road, and it felt like modern America. There was nothing overly distinguishable between the houses, speckled with small boats. Only the trees gave off an character, or acknowledgment of where in America I was currently located.

As I was traveling, I came to an incline with a sign at the top that stated, "Pavement Ends Here," which is probably my favorite street sign that has ever existed. Without any sign that says, "No Trespassing" or the ilk, I forged forward with a enormous grin across my face (I suspect).

The road was large, but littered with ruts that took a small amount of skill to traverse them. It was great fun! I found another path that headed in the right direction- south and east. I took a moment, consulting my GPS, and took a quick shot of the road ahead of me.

The road was more narrow, I had plenty of gas, GPS, a full belly, and time. I continued onward at a careful speed as to not hit any deep ruts obscured by the grass. Time was passing by and I was excitement was carrying me forward. My GPS was still acknowledging this as a "road," but it doesn't differentiate between a paved, dirt, or set of tracks. My mind was focused on the challenge at hand, when I noticed that the road had changed width and apparent use. Glancing down at my GPS, it assured me that my growing sense of disbelief in the validity that I was on a road was invalid. 

Standing on my pegs and maneuvering my way through the trail that was not much larger than two set of tracks, I came to a point of the road that showed the lunacy of trusting a machine. Unless the GPS led me towards this desolate location with the nefarious intent of my destruction. Could it be working in conjunction with some larger silicon-based intelligence to slowly exterminate all carbon-based life? Maybe there was a plan to upgrade me into a more efficient being by wiping away my humanity? Maybe I was too cunning for his/her/its plan. What others would call heedless stupidity could not be taken into account by the pragmatic and logical machines. I'll lay out the facts as succinctly as possible. 

 The "GPS" deemed the "path" in front of me as a "road". It is clearly not a traveled area by any vehicle. There are no marks to show a path. The levee that I had previous been riding next to had returned on my left. This meant that a body of water was surely on the other side. I became a touch worried as to how to get back to a road with some level of validity and reliably get me to a tarmac road. I was getting close to needing gas. I had maybe 60 miles left, and without any knowledge of the area or the nearest gas station, I had to be somewhat conservative. About 6 miles back there was a path that veered west, and I thought about heading back and venturing down its path, but it did not give me any clear indication of how close to a road/town it would lead me. I decided to push forward down the path in front of me.

Before long, I could see a gravel road on the horizon. I became excited. I pushed forward, increasing my speed. There might have been a holler of excitement, but no one was there to prove that it ever happened. Just before I arrived at the road, I noticed a barrier. There was a metal fence that was partially down. This fence blocked my way to the road. Weighing my options, I decided to risk the levee. I knew it was a very small path, but it was only a short ride to get pass the fence. It seemed that the reward out weighed the risk. Up I went, and onto the levee top I rode. Down pass the fence and in the clear I continued.


Until I ramble on again. . .