Motorcycles and starry nights

Last night we did say goodbye to Nick.  Outside Kope (pron. copay, meaning "I have no problems") Cafe, we sat under the stars while a thunderstorm lit up the distance.  No music - the iPods were all charging - just enjoying the cool, clean night air.  We talked a little of home and what it'd be like, but mostly just enjoyed some laughs and a bite to eat.  I think we've gleaned from our hosts a respect for today, that tomorrow will only present itself tomorrow.

 

Riding home at night is always a touch exhilirating and magical.  Exhilirating, for the dark streets and open intersections of town, streets quiet and sparse, but carrying people to their night-time destinations.  There's also the motivation to travel flawlessly, without a stall or fall, nothing to relinquish surprise to anyone who might be out late.  Magical, for the cold air, unforgiving dirt roads with the same ruts and pitfalls as in daylight, but especially for the stars, which reach all the way to the horizon and which move right everytime I move left.