Part of this journey of mine is about learning to rely on myself. Another part is knowing when you can or need to rely on someone else. I know my motorcycle is an ‘inanimate object’ which simply does what it is meant to do. Certainly, if I didn’t do my share of filling up the gas tank, checking the oil, double checking the baggage, re-balancing the weight of the trailer or checking the depth of my tire tread, my motorcycle would have a harder time doing what it is made to do. So technically, when I rely on my motorcycle, I am relying on myself. (And in another sense, the technicians who designed and built this specific model Goldwing).

Still…after spending months on and off the road (as well as on and off the bike!) I remain impressed with how reliable this old bike really is. There is out there, somewhere on internet, a Goldwing with more than 1,000,000 miles on it. That is a lot of saddle time which fortunately, I will never surpass. However, when you spend so much time on and go through so much with an ‘inanimate object’, it seems there exists a kind of relationship, like a friend.

I like to think of my Goldwing as an old and reliable friend.