Soul Of The Beast

[Punx Clever]

I've probably posted this before, but re-read my story and it gave me the tingles just the same... So, here's to a story of a good ride on a new monster s2r.  Influenced by the good doctor himself:

It was late... probably 10 or so and I had been up since 5. The sun had gone down hours before, and the only light in that desolate valley was mine as I screamed down Colorado 90 headed towards Bedrock and the La Sal mountains beyond. Cold, tired, and with a lot on my mind, I should have stopped, pitched my tent, and conceded defeat for the night.

But the beast in me wouldn't stop.


Full tuck, hiding behind the scrap of plastic that served as a windscreen, I watched in amazement at the speedo. The darkness, the howl of the wind, and the sheer murderous joy of seeing my life zipping by below me at 140 miles an hour. I couldn't hear the motor over the wind... but I could feel it scream and pulse under me... feel the valves clicking, the clutch grabbing, the pistons flying... all at warp speed with nothing to stop the murderous power hidden with that aluminum carcass, except me.

I couldn't let it stop. I couldn't shut down the beauty of that point in time where life was measured in milliseconds. Where every glint in the bushes represented the devil himself coming to end my taunting and teasing... to reap the fruits of sowing that beast in my soul.

The beast calmed as I passed through the town. Best to lay low. Don't want to get caught now... the mountains ahead calling to me, begging to be ridden.

The turns came too fast. I was having a hard time slowing down before the lean and didn't know what to think of it. Were my breaks gone? Surely not.. the bike was new. Until then, things had come and gone too fast to worry about speed, so I took a look down. DAMN. That's why I wasn't able to slow down as much as I wanted... three digits deep and climbing. The beast was alive again. Chomping at the bit, tugging and ripping at the leash that held it back. The pavement to my right... the sky to my left. Whip it over and look to the right to see the stars above... look to the left to see the pavement that held me but, at the same time, would eat me alive if I pushed too hard. Stand it back up and tuck tight. Build the speed. Had to make it to Moab.

The world wasn't stopping... no reason for me to do the same.

It's a dangerous and addicting thing... letting that beast in. Allowing it's soul to take over yours. You live to feed it... to keep it healthy, hungry, and ready to take over your soul again... to hang on to the edge with bare white knuckles and tears of pure adrenaline streaming backwards across your face.

The power, the roar, the hunger, the desire to push harder and faster till the world bites back... that's the soul of the beast. And it's consumed me.

Here is the stretch it covers:

[akmnstr]

Hey, I've done that road.  The pic below is of the Bedrock Store.  We stopped in to buy a cool drink.  The store was about all there was to bedrock.  While in the mts. to the west we ran into a herd of cattle on the road being driven by cowboys.  We had to stop while the cattle were driven past us.  I kept my engine running just in case one of the steers got too friendly.  Great country.  The La Sal mountains have great Tele Skiing too.  That's my wife in the Pic, but I don't know who that guy is with her. 

[akmnstr]

"Pic or it didn't happen"  Here is a photo we took of the cattle coming towards us down the road.  This would have been on HWY 46.  Sorry about not getting the bikes in the photo but we just stopped but didn't get off our bikes.  There is a cowboy that you can just make out on the left.