Well, that’s what I call them, anyway.

Becoming a biker has introduced me to many things – pure joy and lots of  thrills, little towns and bigger cities, curvy country roads and long straight interstates, and some really great folks.   I’ve met and gotten to ride with many people, several that I now hold dear.  Life would not be near as much fun or as meaningful without them.

Dave and Michael are two of my favorites.

I call them my guys, but they haven’t given me permission to call them that.  I call them that because they’ve been my mentors and my companions on  many rides in my short history of riding.  They’ve each been riding for over 30 years; I’ve been riding on my own for 3; they’ve each got well over 100,000 miles under their belts; I’ve got 15,000.

They may not actually LIKE to be called my guys (I haven’t even asked them), but  in my heart and in my mind, that is what they are.  They teach me and are patient with me; they laugh with me and tease the hell out of me.  I would follow them just about anywhere, knowing that all will be well and as safe as can be, and we’ll always have a whole lot of  fun.

Michael introduced me to riding in December of 2007, and I met Dave and his wonderful wife Martha, another biker and a woman I adore, soon after.

Many of the miles I’ve  ridden have been accumulated when following these guys, and the order is almost always Dave, then Michael, then me.  Sure we ride with others, and they ride a whole helluva lot without me, but I can usually count on them wanting to ride when I do.  They are used to getting an “I want to ride” text  from me on any given weekend morning …  even on a beautiful, 40 degree winter day.

I get to see beautiful parts of  Southwest Virginia, as Dave knows every road and never gets lost …

… and Michael knows every biker and has never met a stranger.

They put up with requests for group photos and then they laugh at me as I race to get into the picture before the timer goes off.

A friend gave me a special camera strap (it has been dubbed the “magic strap”) so that I can wear the camera while riding and can quickly stop to take pictures without getting off the bike.  I focus on the shot while the guys ride out of view but I never have to worry as they are always waiting at the next intersection.   Thankfully, those waits having gotten shorter as I have gained confidence and nowadays they don’t have to wait as long because I’m usually right there with them … then again, maybe they’re just being nice.

Can you see their expressions?  “Come on LD, hurry up and take the picture”.

I can and do ride with others.  I enjoy a big group ride and solo rides as well.  But I just love riding with these guys and I am so glad that they’ve welcomed such a novice rider into their biker world.

I never miss out on a chance to hit the road and love it when I get to do it with them.