Riding along

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I rode my motorcycle with the Freedom Riders contingent in the Austin Pride parade last night. It was truly at night this time, which made for a much cooler time, relatively speaking. A few of the sport bikes overheated and were sidelined, but us cruisers fared well. While the community politics of the parade are surely important, what had me smiling the entire time was riding up Congress Avenue toward the Capital lit against the purple sky of a dimming sunset. Having the entire street all to myself (kind of) for just the short time, and basking in the warm evening with friends ahead and to either side as riders or as watchers, concerns and thoughts fell away and I felt totally in the moment of being at home in Austin. I'm pretty fortunate that I can live as I do where I do, and have the rich set of friends and neighbors and coworkers current and former to share this time and this space with.

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This was also the weekend of the Republic of Texas Rally where bikers from all over the state invade. I can still hear them up and down I-35. As happened last year, a couple of the bikers joined our contingent, some accidently, some to show off their bikes. Hams.

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The gutters are clean and the lawn is mowed: I exercised my command over the small fiefdom that is mine, and it bent to my will. Another empowering feeling.

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This should be my last week in New York before preparing to go to Australia for the first true vacation Charles and I have had in a long time. More details on that to come. Right now I have to prepare for my 4:30am wakeup call to get to New York.