man on a motorcycle – revisited

I was standing on the sidewalk waiting for the light to change and staring at the metallic sea, barely a ripple of movement, save the waves of heat rising from hot engines. There is a reason people have TVs in their cars. I was uncomfortably hot in my business suit and heels. The purr of a finely tuned engine caught my attention just as a motorcycle slipped between a boxy Cube3 and a roller skate sized March. The rider brought it to a smooth halt at the head of the row of cars and gracefully planted his foot. I was glad the light hadn’t changed. With the heavy riding gear and helmet, it could have been anyone, but how much like my loved one he seemed – how he clung to the motorcycle like a small burr, the way he had placed his foot on the ground just so, how he straightened and twisted, just a little, after coming to a stop. I know he knew I was staring. He turned and beckoned with a jerk of his head. His eyes were obscured by the heavy goggles, but his lips bore a slightly sardonic smile, twitching as if a cigarette should be there. My eyes widened as he handed me a helmet and steadied the bike so I could mount. I slid my arms around his trim waist and leaned my cheek against his back. His dark blue sweater was so soft and smelled like the autumn breeze. Just before the light changed he turned, “How far are you going?”

“All the way, baby. All the way.” And, I chuckled as we roared away. I never looked back.

Tokyo is a different city from the back of a motorcycle. The crowd of difficult to decipher neon signs screaming at you from all directions fades into a gorgeous blur of light and color. The onslaught of advertising from talking billboards and megaphoned hawkers is lost in the rush of wind. It’s like hyperspace. You never have to wait two or three lights to get through an intersection – you just split the lanes and head to the front every time. After the slow laborious processes of driving anywhere, walking or taking a train, riding a motorcycle is freedom itself. You are unfettered and no longer constrained by the tiny streets, the crush of people, the train timetable. It is like flying and you can go anywhere, so you do.