My trip to the beach with some friends this past weekend. A collage of the scenery.

We were invited on a group motorcycle ride Saturday. Our first stop was to go kayaking. I’ve never been kayaking. I was under the impression it was going to be a tour place like guided fishing tours where you meet at a fishing dock and hop aboard. No real details were shared with me other than kayaking and motorcycling.

We arrived in the city where a group of riders were going kayaking. Physically, I’m not able to kayak. So, I was a site seer for the afternoon. Once we parked our motorcycles we set out to check out this kayaking thing. I discovered it was on this beach. I was totally unprepared for the beach, except to people/bird watch and make pictures. One lady let me sit on one of her towels. I pulled out my camera and shot some images.

When our group went out in the kayaks my husband and I walked along the beach and I made some more pictures. I couldn’t walk much and ended up in a Mexican restaurant eating a late lunch. After that, it was to our motel for the night. We met up with the our group that night for food.

We got up Sunday morning and ate breakfast with our group. I was worn out from Saturday. I didn’t make many more pictures on Sunday. After we ate breakfast everyone was talking about what they were doing the rest of the day. We, my husband and I, decided to head back home (90 minutes away). My husband mapped out a route to take back. I snapped some shots at a small lake on one of our rest stop breaks. The images didn’t turn out. We stopped for ice cream on our next break.

Then, I got cocky and bold. We got back on the road to finish the 2nd half of our trip. We got stuck behind some road hog cagers (that’s what we call automobiles on four wheels). My husband is a serious risk taker. In riding, I’m not. He passed a car going 30 miles an hour on the curvy mountain roads. I didn’t, at first. Finally, I told myself I needed to just bite the bullet and make a run for it when I had the next clear space to go. I did! Moments later, I was eating dirt! I took a curve too wide and hit loose gravel and low-sided. Just as I started sliding I smelled and tasted the dirt. The dirt was quite soft to be honest. I said to myself out loud, “Oh crap, here I go!” At the moment I was completely stopped I jumped up and made sure to turn my bike off. Tons of people driving by slowed and asked if I was ok. “Yep, I’m fine. My husband was ahead, he’ll be back.” The car I passed saw me slide down and stopped immediately to check on me. A lady hopped out of the car and started checking with me and asking me if I wanted any water. I thought to myself, “How is water going to help me and my bike?” I told her I was OK. She asked if there was anything they could do. I asked if they could stay until my husband came back. She acknowledged they would stay.

A sheriff’s vehicle pulled up and created a bit of a block to help prevent further damage from passers by. He questioned if I was ok or needed an ambulance. I was standing up and moving around. I told him, “No, I only scraped my leg, but no blood.” My skin didn’t even break.

Not even five minutes passed. My husband came down around the next curve. My motorcycle isn’t very heavy. So, he was able to upright it and move it off the soft dirt. My clutch shifter got bent. He bent it back. My left front turn signal came out of its plug-in socket, in tact. My husband took the motorcycle for a quick test ride to make sure everything was working. It was. The officer made sure we were ok before he left just in case we needed a trailer or something to haul the motorcycle back in. We didn’t. We finished the ride back home and parked my motorcycle in the garage. It’s dirty. I had dirt in my pockets and down parts of my clothes. Yes, it’s OK to laugh. I did!

I learned a valuable lesson.

Don’t be impatient and cocky. You’ll pay for it eventually.