Imagine that… What’s going on here? I’m starting to believe it’s the result of many years of both conscious and subconscious thought combined with a determined effort to not only think different thoughts but to actually think differently… Confused? Me too!

See, when I was approaching retirement, I gave much thought to the ‘post-departure’ life I was about to enter. I was absolutely committed to not venture into that realm unprepared, intra-cranially speaking and not just in the usual ways.

I saw this as an opportunity to not only indulge in the sorts of things everybody contemplates, but to explore the old me and to remake myself… to break old patterns, habits, and… to rid myself of the rut in which I’d often found myself… I’ve been marginally successful…

Anyway, this entire process has led me to challenge and experiment with virtually everything that had driven me up to that point… At a minimum, I wanted to toy around with alternatives and to re-think basic stuff. Change what needed that, keep what didn’t… A much larger and more daunting task than I’d anticipated.

OK, so planning had become a foundation block of my life… Work, leisure, social activities, everything really had required time management, budgeting, deliberate thought… and planning. I’d become rather good at that, I suppose, but I’d found the whole experience wanting in some respects… little spontaneity, randomness… excitement, along with too much predictability, routine, and ‘dullness’. I was curious if there might be a better way to add some luster, to spice things up a bit and create greater enjoyment and/or fulfillment.

So, among the first targets for exploration was the process of micro-planning everything. What if… I simply didn’t do any…? What if I approached each new day as a blank canvas upon which I could paint any picture I wanted? Or, if I just allowed random splotches of paint to appear and evolve into whatever it turned out to be?

What if I just allowed things to unfold without trying to set things up, lead my thoughts in one direction or another… to ‘worship at the alter’ of efficiency and economy of effort…? Being retired, I had the luxury of time, so… I allowed this trial to proceed.

This, hopefully, will give you some insight into the seeming abhorrence I have for ‘planning’… It really isn’t a dislike at all, and I do recognize the many virtues and frequent need for preparation through foresight and anticipation.

Discovering ‘the flip side’ of the coin, however, has exposed me to the potential for stimulation and reward unavailable to the carefully crafted activities in life… As is usually the case, a blending is, in the end, the very best alternative.

So, while chatting with Napper yesterday, I changed our plans… I would ride to Bama sooner than what we’d figured on, and that ended up changing the plans for the rest of that day.

I jumped back on ALI, abandoned the ‘noble ride for my pals’, and pointed her front wheel towards the hacienda… and made haste in the process. Time to pack and prepare for the next adventure…

On the way home, I did some calculating and decided I might as well leave that afternoon and ride part of the way, then conclude the ride on Sunday… Nice adjustment to the ‘new’ plan, and it would keep us on the road longer this day… ALI wholeheartedly approved of this… She just ‘rolls’ with the flow…

I hurriedly threw my stuff into the travel bags, put my smart-box in its usual place in the saddle bag, strapped everything else into place… then returned the kickstand to its preferred position. We were off… earlier than I’d anticipated… No biggie… with me, ‘plans’ usually don’t survive very long anyway…

One hundred miles later, it was time to stop for fuel… I’d been riding around earlier in the day, so the push water supply had been drained some before actual departure…

I was standing outside the store taking a break, when a stranger walked up and engaged me in conversation. He gave me a ‘Born to Ride’ decal, and his wife came over and gave me a copy of a magazine by the same name that they publish. We chatted about riding generally, and a pleasant few minutes passed…

We were ahead of schedule, per the latest iteration of my most recent revised plan. Hmmm… maybe we should ride even further than I’d figured… Probably couldn’t make it to Montgomery before dark, so better think of a different stop place… We can do this…

The further we rode, the more it appeared we could go all the way and still arrive at a tolerable time… We ended up doing that very thing, arriving at Napper’s comfortable home around 8pm…

The ride up this afternoon was not without incident… Besides the unexpected but quite pleasant meeting of a very nice couple, and the completion of the entire trip after all, I also ran out of gas again… the second time this year alone! Having an Interstate tank has increased my range between fill-ups nicely, as expected, but it apparently has not improved my judgement much…

The first time I was on my way to Nick’s place, but I was able to coast to within twenty yards or so of a gas pump. Level ground, mercifully, so the push was not too strenuous…

This time I actually made it to a pump! Yep, when she began to cough, wheeze, and sputter, I just pulled in the clutch lever and coasted right up to where I needed to be… We were about three miles short of my planned stop place, but under the circumstances, I felt this option would do nicely… Like I’ve said many times, I’d rather be lucky than good… Or in the good graces and warm embrace of ‘Devine Providence’.

You know, now that I think on it, even other small things seem to be going my way, too… I’ve noticed considerably less ‘weeping’ from that port side fork seal leak lately… Has it cured itself or is this just a temporary lull? We’ll see…

Anyway, as I neared Montgomery and the sun disappeared below the horizon, I noticed a definite uptick in the frequency of suicidal bug encounters… Some big splatters of the windshield, but that’s to be expected…

What’s really annoying, though, are the big ones that feel like a musket ball smacking us in the face! A couple of ‘marksman bugs’, even hit dead-center on my eye protection causing a need to engage in some feeble attempts to clear a peep-hole… Oh well, we still made it…

Not to self: I need to clean that windshield before I see SmokinJoe or Lucky 13 again… If I don’t, I know they won’t be able to resist the urge to clean it off for me!

As I put the kickstand down for the final time that day, Napper emerged through the doorway to greet me… She’s so thoughtful!!! She had Snickers bars, all beef bologna, and sweet tea waiting for me… AND… drum roll here… she even had a coconut pie!

WOW! I removed a slice of pie right away, took a picture, and immediately sent it to Troutdude in a text message… Not to rub it in or even to brag. I just wanted to share news of my good fortune with a good friend who appreciates such refinements as much as I do. I’m just proud to be here!!!