Day 13 - The Road Home

SOUTHWEST ADVENTURE - Day 13
Starting Point: Franklin, TN
Destination: Winter Garden, FL
Day 13 mileage: 669.7
Cumulative mileage (GPS): 6728.6
Cumulative mileage (Odometer): 6859.5

In terms of a trip narrative, all that remained was the ride home. Randall and Elizabeth headed for the west bank of the Mississippi River at New Orleans, and we headed for our home in Winter Garden, Florida, just west of Orlando. We... Lindsey, our youngest daughter, along with husband Bryan, were headed home to Orlando, as well - so Annette bailed on the bike and jumped in their truck. Cooler, more sleep-friendly, and sheltered from any rain we might encounter... this made perfect sense. So I headed off on my 670-mile solo ride, knowing there were no sights to see - just the long ride on the super-slab to get home.

The final trip mileage, after pulling into
the garage at home safe, sound - and dry.

Final SPOT Tracker Gen3 satellite tracker map of the entire adventure.

And that makes the epic motorcycle adventure of 2015 - a ride back to the great Southwest, focusing on Arizona, Utah, and Colorado - a wrap.

Having been home for a while now, and just having time to reflect and write, I have several observations:

1. We are blessed to have the freedom in our jobs to be able to set aside time for adventures like these. While this trip was a little shorter than the previous three, as it was squeezed in between a very special wedding and a post-honeymoon celebration with friends and family - we were away from home three weeks in all. That's a really nice break from the normal pace of life.
2. Trips like this are expensive. Many room nights in hotels across the country, meals, and countless tanks of fuel for the motorcycle... New tires, brakes, and maintenance on the machine before the trip, as well as service upon returning home... We do not take for granted the blessing of God financially that affords us the opportunity to experience adventures like this.
3. I am a blessed man in that my wife not only ALLOWS me to dream dreams about trips like this then APPROVES the idea - but she actually ACCOMPANIES me in the madness. Yes, I am blessed with a woman who is my best friend and who is the real-life expression of God giving me exceedingly abundantly more than I could have ever asked for, dreamed, or imagined. (Ephesians 3:20)
4. I love to travel internationally, and have been blessed to see a lot of beautiful places in the world. I'll be in Africa twice in the coming months, and will cruise the Mediterranean this fall. These will be exciting adventures - but I have a new sense of appreciation for the wonder and beauty to be experienced right here at home in this great land we call America.
5. Speaking of the beauty in our land - I never cease to marvel at the creative genius of our God. We have been privileged to ride the highest of mountains and the lowest of valleys... lush forests and barren desert... May we never lose the wonder of the manner in which the heavens and the earth declare the glory of our great God.
6. There are things that frustrate each of us about our government. Here's something government got right: In 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park "as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." This started a movement that has resulted in the establishment - and, more importantly, in my opinion - the protection of more than 400 areas covering more than 84 million acres in all 50 states, D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. The parks I have visited are beautiful, are well-maintained, are easily accessible - and are national treasures that should be preserved. This is something our government got right, and continues to get right.
7. The gift of friendship is something to be cherished. I have been privileged to ride thousands of miles with men who are more than riding buddies. They are true friends with whom I can laugh, share real concerns with... who genuinely care for one another... who I am confident will be the kind of men I can celebrate with in the best of times and depend on in the worst of times... Godly men who will pray together and pray for one another... Yes, this is gift to be celebrated and cherished.
8. Safety is not taken for granted. We know that the sport we have chosen is dangerous. There were  a total of 4,381 motorcycle fatalities in the United States in 2013. The federal government estimates that per mile traveled in 2013, the number of deaths on motorcycles was over 26 times the number in cars. Oh, yes, we know the risks. I know every time I throw my leg over that machine that I could experience injury or worse. But we will not live in fear. We WILL pursue excitement and challenge. We will continue to search out the most challenging roads we can find and ride those roads at the limit of our ability - because this if FUN - and because we are invited to live life to the fullest. (John 10:10) But again - safety is not taken for granted. We have ridden all 48 states in adventures that have encompassed thousands and thousands of miles over many days, riding in all kinds of conditions, and we have done so without injury. We know the hand of God has protected us, we are grateful - and we give thanks.
9. Once again in 2015, we experienced exceptionally good weather. This is something else we are grateful for. We remember the rain and cold of 2013. We know that the forecasts for this year - with the torrential rain that blanketed Texas and much of the southwestern United States right up to our departure - could have made this journey uncomfortable if not dangerous. Yet we experienced nearly-perfect weather. We pray. We ask for good weather, knowing full well that James 4:2 says, "You do not have because you do not ask God." Silly? Too simple? Not to us? And we don't ALWAYS have good weather. But we ask - yes - and God has granted His favor in this more often than not. MUCH more often. Yes, we are grateful.
10. Our machines have performed flawlessly on these trips. Once again, we rode the entire 6,000-plus miles with no mechanical issues at all. Not even something simple like a dead battery. No flat tires. (The front speakers on my radio did quit working - but that was a mere inconvenience, and not a trip-stopper.) The BMW riders in particular would say it is a miracle that the Harley Davidson motorcycles performed so well. They would say they were surprised no parts flew off of these great American motorcycles. We joke around about these things, for sure - but the reality is we have been blessed in this respect, too. We give this credit to God, not to HD and BMW!

I love the journeys we take. The planning, the coordination, the preparation... all of this is energizing and rewarding. I am convinced we all need adventure. I am convinced men need to time with other men - in part to be boys again, and in part because we live in a culture that has minimized the value of meaningful relationships. Most of all, I think we all just need to get away at times. I am certain we need breaks from the routine that help us appreciate normal. Writer and filmmaker Ransom Riggs wrote, "I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was." For me, it is indeed good to get away from the routine of work and responsibility - but it's good to get back to work, too. One of the great privileges in life is to work in a job that aligns with the calling God placed on my life... with the gifts I have been entrusted with... that I know makes a difference in our community and our world...

So as much as I love to be away, I love to come home. Maya Angelou, in All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, wrote, "The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." Home is refuge for me. It is sanctuary. Yes, it's good to get away. It is equally good to look forward to coming home to all that awaits me here. Yes... it's really good to be away. And it's really good to get... home.