The Road Less Traveled

August 8, 2018

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference." ~ Robert Frost

Sometimes in life it's a good idea to take a left turn on a dirt road. This summer has passed by quickly and I often need to remind myself to take those dusty roads, both physically and metaphorically.

This summer, the roads have taken me many places, mostly beautiful, but always interesting.

When you travel by motorcycle you experience things that you can never experience in a car or train or plane. On a bike, you feel the road and the wind and you smell the fresh cut grass, raw pine and pastures.

On my motorcycle I am always keenly aware of my surroundings, both for necessity and because I want to see everything. An Artist is almost always interested in the subtleties and details of things. Artists notice the shapes of clouds and the shadows on a face. They notice the nuanced tones of brick brick building or wooden table or piece of fruit.

Artists notice colors and wonder if they can capture it with a paint. They wonder if colors are complimentary or if the composition of what they are looking at would make any sense on a canvas.

When I'm on my bike I look for places and things to draw and paint. For me, the combination of motorcycling and art is as close to nirvana as one can get, legally.

This summer I've ridden many miles, sometimes to paint and sketch and sometimes for the sheer joy of riding. Most of the time I ride with my companion and best friend, my wife. She enjoys riding as much as I do and we find that our time together on the bikes (she has her own), is some of the best time we can spend as a couple.

We've taken rides across Minnesota and Wisconsin, into the woods and bluff country, to the open prairies and winding forest roads. None of our rides have been anything less than awesome. We always found something we hadn't expected.

So this summer has been spent working hard at my job, with many long hours. When I'm free from work though, we get on our bikes and ride. On the other days, I sketch and paint with friends and do the many things that life requires of us.

Here are some of the artifacts of my adventures.