Early

The clock says 3:20am and I have been woken by our cat throwing up a hairball. Without a word, we work as a team; Jane cleans up the mess and I throw the unwelcome feline out the front door. The bed is warm but sleep will not return. Getting up, the weather channel promises no rain. It will be a motorcycle day. By 5:00am, my left foot stabs to put out the neutral light and with a gentle twist of the throttle I quietly head up the sleepy street. It is cold and about to get colder.

Leaving Ventura eastward is most enjoyably done on the two-lane road that skirts the foothills. The road is bordered by avocado-covered hills on the left and to the right it spreads out to become the fertile Oxnard Plain. The road is narrow and spotted with the occasional mailbox of a gentleman farmer. The headlight pierces the absolute blackness to illumnate the gentle curves and dips of the road. Ten miles later, I pass through a sleeping Santa Paula and head up the hill towards Thomas Acquinas College, Ojai and eventually to West Ventura. The road climbs through a beautiful area that, at this hour, is completely hidden. There is something special about riding through a familiar area in the stillness of night. Your vision is limited to the light tunnel provided by the one headlamp and you imagine what could be seen if it were daylight.

I have the road to myself and the temperature is dropping as I approach the crest. I had neglected to put on riding pants and can feel the cold penetrating the legs. It is not a debilitating cold because my torso, hands and head are warm but it is the deep cold that sinks into the large muscles and makes you shiver for an hour after the ride. This kind of cold is welcome because it reminds me of open ocean swims, invigorating winter bicycle rides and arriving home on a cold night after a later-than-planned departure from a friend's house.

Halfway across the Upper Ojai Valley, I stop alongside the lonely road to enjoy the pre-dawn stillness. It is still pitch black but for the star-filled sky and a fantastic moon. The two bright stars above the moon are probably planets but my ignorance of astronomy does not diminish the pleasure of experiencing something that others are sleeping through. I feel like I am the only one in the world awake to enjoy a special beauty. I imagine what it would be like in this cold, isolated stretch of road without my transportation idling beneath me. The bike is a comfort promising to take me to warmth and companionship if I but ask. It is wonderful to have a comfortable, reliable motorcycle, warm clothes and an empty road to ride upon. I don't need a fast motorcycle nor a fancy one. It would only be a distraction.

Riding through Ojai, I share the road with commuters getting an early start for distant offices. The coffee shop beckons but stopping would mean missing the dawn. I am starting to get chilled and the warmer coastal air in Ventura is welcome. With regret, I have reached my destination. It has been a beautiful morning and the sun is not yet up.