Alone

Little Jimmie had taken the night off from hanging out with his brothers in the Skuldmen motorcycle club just to be by himself to think and ride—other than someplace in his mind, he had no real destination.

Riding with the half-moon and scattered stars that decorated the cloudless sky above, Jimmie was in the middle of a therapy session. Although he liked riding in groups, like most bikers, Jimmie Johnson that cruising alone was the perfect antidote to the trials and tribulations of daily life. There was nothing like the thrill of flicking gears, twisting the throttle, leaning into curves, and having the bike respond the way a Thoroughbred does to the sting of a quirt. Well, maybe sex was just as good, but for Jimmie it would be a difficult decision to make if given the choice of either one or the other.

It had been a good ride for the president of the Maryland chapter of the Skuldmen—a late Saturday night filled with the sights, smells, and sounds that make for a great solo ride. When Jimmie arrived back home on his blood red 1965 Panhead, it was almost 2 AM…”

Chapter 5, Page 37- One Light Coming: A Biker's Story

“I’m an independent, Jimmie. I live alone and ride by my own rulebook, which I believe to be honorable. And I never turn my back on someone in need. I learned a long time ago that you meet the same     people going up that you do coming back down. I believe in doing unto others as I would have them do unto me”, Jake says.

Little Jimmie smiled. The brevity with which Jake had answered his question, and what he had said, struck a chord with the president. He smiled briefly, almost admiringly.

“Nothing wrong with that, Jake.”

Chapter 16, Page 157- One Light Coming: A Biker's Story (Book 3 in a series) published by Blockhead City Press.  Available now through Amazon.com, Barnes &Noble.com,  iTunes.com or through your favorite local bookstore.  

The whole premise for my book, as evidenced by the title, is the concept of being alone. When you see a single rider cruising along some roadway, most of the cagers out there don't get it. They think that the rider has no one to count on. No one to be there for them. But for those of us who ride, and who understand, being alone isn't a bad thing.

But for some, being alone isn’t easy.

Whether you stand alone or live alone, you have to be strong. You have to be comfortable and happy with yourself, sometimes by yourself. You have to know that you can be your own best friend. Sometimes, you have to be your own best friend. Sometimes it means being your only friend.

And that takes strength.

Some people are cut out for it. Some people carve it out for themselves. Others struggle with it.

They connect being alone to loneliness.
I prefer to think of it as Independence; not needing anyone one else to rely on to have a good time.

That's not to say that I don't like being around people. I do.

By the same token, being around people isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. Personalities, on top of issues, on top of egos….it can make for one tough ride. That’s when being alone sounds about as good as a riding down a smooth highway winding through the mountains on a clear summer’s day.

Sometimes you can be the world to just one person, even though to the rest of the world, you’re just one person. I’ll bet that most of us have someone who falls into the first part of that sentence.
I’ll bet that to most of us, we are the world to at least one person.

And that’s a good thing.

No one should ever feel that they are all alone.

Because chances are, they’re not.

Be there for someone, knowing that someone would be there for you.

Ride Hard, Ride Safe, Ride Often.