It was just a day
a little ways a way
when Blueberry made quite a fray.
I did as most would do
Made many promises so
I could have my way.
I promised love and attention
among much devotion
if only we could have
one last ride.

A sprocket set, a shock, two tires,
two brake pads, and a pulse generator
were promised for later
It still took some fork seals
to seal the deal.

Not to mention that drive chain.

Blue agreed and off we went
to leer at deer and zig zag
through the wildlife.

Our ride was done
No problem was had.
Not one single one.
I rolled down the garage door
with a tear in my eye
while promising "I'll be back, dear."

The weeks roll by,
Life gets in the way
County came by
and took my road away.

That gives me some time
another week would be fine.
A week goes by,
nothing has changed.
Two more fly by
and still everything
has remained the same.
My road is still MIA
I have yet to be back to my dear.

The guilt is just too much
I can stand it no longer.
Plus, the weather is lovely;
It would be such a great day
for a ride.

It's time to man up and go
back to my dear
Slowly I roll up the garage door
and peek in an eye.
"I'm sorry, dear."

I roll Blueberry out
into the light.
Sun shines so bright
it is quite a sight.
There's blue paint
under all that dust!

The tool box is opened
parts are hunted
repair manual dust
is set free with a puff

Sprocket, the cat, administers
advice from the corner
Another peep out of her
and she'll need a coroner
Broom posted near
should Roostzilla appear
Tom Waits is crooning
while Youtube is streaming
repair for Blueberry, my dear.


It was an easy job
or so they said.
I lay flummoxed on the
cold floor, close to tears
trying to think
frustrated and greasy
in need of a drink
when Blueberry gave
me a wink.

It serves me right
after weeks of neglect.
Who was I to think
it would be a fast
and easy fix?

My lesson was learned,
promises shouldn't be made
on a whim.

For your dear will always
know and make you pay
because it's impolite to make
promises you won't retain.

For today, the battle is won.
Dani zero, my dear one.
It's back to life
Back to my finals.
Another week of neglect,
how to gain respect?
Maybe another white lie of
"I'll be back, dear?"

Signed,
Wanderings of a Girl Ryder

This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!!

Rider Application: The Wisdom of a Picky Rider

The evening got off to a rocky start. No, not as in the town Rocky, but it was just as desolate. An evening could not be cheery and on the way to happiness when one is faced with such a critical decision. As I heaved my last bit of equipment out, I had to finally face the problem. In front of me stood two very appealing options. But, how can one choose? It really isn't fair. 

So I did what I do best; I procrastinated. I shoved the problem aside and continued with the task at hand. I followed the instructions to a T...well, as well as a person who despises reading instructions can follow instructions to a T. It was almost too simple. Maybe that's why my taste test tasted an awful lot like horse food. After shoving my latest cupcakes into the oven whilst praying for a miracle to turn my horse cupcakes into a mouth-watering culinary experience, I had to return to my problem. Procrastination was over.

Wine or coffee? The wine smelled refreshing and tart. And, the coffee smelled so comforting. It wasn't until the fire alarm startled me from my quandaries that I began to explore my options. As I was fanning the screaming smoke detector, I realized that I could have both. Problem solved, kitchen filled with smoke, and a happy coffee and wine drinking misplaced rider, it was another ordinary evening.I managed to veer from a Rocky destination to a Cookietown destination.

Twenty minutes of waiting time really does give a baker a chance to do fun things besides singing along to Frank Sinatra and Tom Waits. I browsed the lovely internet for motorcycle parts. I hate shopping. Unless I ran out of coffee, I'd rather shoot nails into my foot with a pneumatic nail gun than go shopping. But, when it comes to motorcycles, that dreading sense of doom which views nail guns as happy shopping alternatives doesn't hover above me. It gets even better when I'm actually able to order stuff for Blueberry. New visor and brakes all around ordered, kitchen aired out, and I still had 15 minutes to kill.

In my six years of riding, I've always had amazing luck running across a few decent riders on a regular basis. Living in a military town, riding buddies come and go. It's a fact of Lawton life. It's probably in the Universal Book of Lawton Law that awesome riding buddies are destined to move. I think it's just life's way of keeping me on my toes. How does one find a decent riding buddy? Honestly, all of my awesome partners in crime have been purely by chance. I mean who would have expected to find an awesome riding buddy just cruising through the refuge? Most would probably say that gas stations are always full of riders. True, but my luck with the gas station riders hasn't been so good, statistically speaking.And, I do love statistics...

In my six years, when it comes to riding buddies I really have experienced the good, the bad, and, unfortunately, the ugly. Over the years, I have joked about needing an application to allow people to apply to be a future riding buddy. A great way to help the riding buddy cause when Serendipity is mad at me. Others have joked that I need such an application since I'm so picky. Now, I'm not usually a picky person, but when it comes to the riding company I keep, I've gotten just a tad bit picky. In my smoke doused sugar high, there really wasn't a better time-filler than creating just such an application.

So in all its potentially offensive glory, here is my application:

And, lastly please note: I don't want to hear about all your modifications because I do not care.

No multiple choice here, yo. Which is a convenient way to test if people can read and write also.
This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!!