Gorgeous ride over to Cartersville. With Mississippi Aaron as Navigator, we simply could not go wrong or take an errant turn. Crisp and bright sunny day pleads for a motorcycle run. Walking along the Etowah River and viewing the land from the glorious Etowah Indian perspective forces one to be happy living in the moment. We marveled at the practical ingenuity and plain ole goodness of the Etowah. So painful to even begin to imagine the sickening control and exploitation forced upon the true stewards of our lands we call the South. To think of the Etowah families fishing in the river way with their brilliant traps, hand-carving canoes their loved ones would jump into with enthusiasm, and just being happy for some beautiful weather makes the tragedy befalling them even more unspeakable by the horrifying contrast of their future plight. (Glad we rode the bikes, I need some goddamn levity right now...) In addition to developing a profound appreciation for the Etowah, we came up with the following Natural Laws of the universe:
1) There is no way to get lost on a motorcycle. Even riding past a dumpster surrounded by pigeons and wayward, crusty gutter punks in a questionable neighborhood becomes more picturesque and interesting on a bike. You cannot reach for your phone (we scoff at mobile stands because it ruins the bike's aesthetics) so, you must use your own wits and sense of direction. This is called having fun exploring and exercising your curious sense of adventure. I cannot count the times we've come across a picturesque creek, a decrepit old water tower, or a refreshingly winding road in our own back yards due to being lost. Please feel free to insert any profound philosophical quotation at this moment about wanderers, rogues, and hobbits or tired cliché proudly displayed on your desk to keep you from jumping off the 21st floor. We all need something to cling to - even ridiculous, vacuous words!
2) When planning a route, always go with a road that ends in "Mill". With old 19th-century mills located on waterways (for power) and amongst forests (for raw materials), it's still a pretty reasonable bet any Southern Road with Mill bestowed upon it will be a bit winding, a touch off the beaten path, and offering loads of scenery. Now, Dear Readers will come up with numerous counterfactual examples refuting Natural Law #2...but we're nonplussed. This works well in the South, and we'll keep riding this truism until it breaks or gets us beaten up by a nefarious lost tribe of Appalachians.
3) Motorcycles are the best investment you can ever make. Simmer down, you accountant and finance-types, I'm not talking about resale value on a depreciating asset. I'm talking about the intrinsic value of joy in being free, the sensation of feeling the physical world fly by (proprioception), and conversing (perhaps dreaming) with your friends in staccato, shouted sentences at stop lights over rumbling, warm engines. This experiential value - the cash value in life William James spoke so fondly of - is one of life's enrichments (even though they are so dangerous or maybe even because they are so dangerous...) provides a return on investment that cannot be contained in a financial model or by a Kelly Blue Book. Motorcycles create fun days and comradery even in the most depressing apocalyptic weather or dour, blackened negative cash flow days.
