I opened the garage door to have a look at what the weather was doing and to back my bike into the driveway. I don’t like starting it in the garage for two reasons. First, it’s a veritable echo chamber and it amplifies the sound of the bike ten fold. Second, the exhaust tends to linger in the garage all day and since the garage opens into our living room I don’t want the whole house to smell of motorcycle exhaust.
It was a little chilly this morning, 72oF at 8:30am. 72o isn’t chilly if you’re just standing there, or if you’re mowing the lawn or washing your car. But when you’re cruising at 65mph 72o can be a little nippy. Somewhere in between me looking skyward for some hint as to whether it was going to be a wet ride or a dry ride I heard it …
My neighbor, the school bus driving neighbor, was cranking her classic rock at full volume from the tinny bus stereo as she was cleaning up the ABC gum and who-knows-what-else the kids left stuck to the backs and bottoms of their seats as they were transported to school 30 minutes ago.
Currently the song, Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band was blaring its famous (and often misquoted) chorus, “Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night.” Interesting, even though I know the correct lyrics it still sounds like he’s yelling “Wrapped up like a douche, another rumor in the night.” Must have had cotton balls in his mouth or maybe he was just stoned. It WAS the 70’s you know.
I backed my bike out of the garage, straddled it, squeezed the clutch, clicked the shifter into neutral, opened the choke (cold start), flicked the engine kill switch and just before I pressed the start button the school-bus-song changed. I heard the famous opening guitar riff to Sweet Home Alabama. I love this song. “Turn it up,” the singer said as I turned the engine over, causing it to violently growl to life.
I love the suburbs.
