Sunday mornings around the Source Garage are usually laid back and many times we spend the day screwing around with or riding motorcycles. Yeah I know, big surprise. Well this past Sunday a brother of mine was in the midst of turmoil in his life and at the same time his old Shovelhead was sitting in his garage in need of repair. Now in spite of the fact that another cat had told him that he’d hook it up and do so in trade for some artwork that my brother was doing for him, it was still not ready to ride. I could see, from my perspective, that what this kid needed was a good dose of motorcycle therapy. I called him up early Sunday morning and told him to get ready cause I was coming to get the bike. He moaned and groaned a little but within an hour I was at his pad and grabbed the scoot. I took it back to the Source Garage and within an hour I had it running and sent him down the road to get his chick, who was also in need of some wind. They had both been working at a ridiculous pace and had forgotten the importance of time for the brain.
The repairs were nothing big but as good as my brother is at art, he is not so in the art of motorcycle repair and maintenance. I threw a new used battery in it, changed some wiring, you know… gave it some TLC and it came to life. After half the day had passed he came back with his chick on the back and they both had a smile from ear to ear. You could tell that they both were at once swept away from the daily rigors of life and taken to a place where they could be human beings to one another again. Now I don’t suggest here in this simple offering of the Metaphysics of Motorcycling that all the worlds problems can be solved with a good ride. But what I will say is that the kind of perspective a person can get from being taken out of their own way for a minute through a day on the bike can help let you see what is and is not so important.
As for my brother and his girl, they still have some tough times ahead of them, but I have the old Shovel in the Garage still and I’m tinkering with it and keeping the battery charged so it’s ready to do its magic from time to time and help keep them in the right frame of mind.