In the spirit of National Friendship Day (the first Sunday in August every year), I’ve been thinking about how motorcycling has influenced my relationships. The image of the lone biker seems contrary to the concept of true friendship, but in reality, motorcycling brings people together.
One of my favorite experiences on a motorcycle trip was during a ride through the Midwest. Through Facebook, I had recently gotten back in touch with Scott, my best friend from junior high school. My family left Wichita, Kansas while I was in ninth grade, and I had lost touch with Scott. But through the connection of social media I was able to find Scott more than 30 years later. When I realized that my route would take me through Scott’s hometown of Kansas City, Kansas I instantly invited him out to dinner.
I was already on an epic ride, one where I had also connected with my father’s best friend from childhood, Mike Freeman, at his home in Branson, Missouri. My father and Mike still exchange regular correspondence and can measure their friendship in decades, just completing their eighth as friends.
This had me wondering how it would it be to reconnect with Scott after all these years. Would we recognize each other? Would we have anything to talk about? Would we still be friends?
The minute I rode up, we had a topic of conversation. Turns out that Scott is also a motorcyclist now, and he’s always wanted to know more about the big touring motorcycles. Talking about the bike moved into talking about my trip, about Scott’s bike, about his family, about my family, about what we’ve both been up to all these years.
There was never a moment of guilt or hesitation in our conversation. It was as if we just picked up exactly where we left off as friends. The old connection was still there, and we talked the night away. We both realized that our lives had taken many twists and turns away from junior high, but that our friendship had a firm core that never wavered.
We vowed to keep in touch this time. And you know what? It’s been about five years, and not a month has gone by that I haven’t been in contact with Scott in some way – either through email or Facebook or even phone. I regret missing out on the 30 years in between, but I treasure the friendship that we have now. And as unexpectedly as it sounds, motorcycling made it happen. I never would have been in Kansas City if I hadn’t been on a motorcycle trip, and I might never have been able to reconnect with my old friend.
We’ve been talking about taking a road trip together – on two wheels, of course. We will make it happen, and I know that it will be fun to plan. I can’t wait to be the lone biker on his way to friendship again.