Ron: 0:05

I saw him up ahead. I prepared to pass him slowly, not to draw his attention, not to disturb him. I rode by and I could see him very clearly watching me. Yeah, he saw me. Then, just as I passed him, he started to follow me. Most definitely he was following me, so I just kept riding at a slow pace. No need to worry, I don't think I just told myself that, he's just curious. He continued to follow me for the next 10 minutes or so as I rode east. I glanced back and didn't see him one time. Then, a moment later, he swooped down right in front of me. He was beautiful and maybe he had something to teach me. And he did Curious, stay tuned.

Ron: 1:20

Recorded in beautiful Loveland, colorado. Welcome to Peace, love Moto, the podcast for motorcyclists seeking that peaceful, easy feeling as we cruise through this life together. Are you ready? Let's go? Well, maybe you picked up on it, but that was the Steve Miller Band playing their iconic song Fly Like an Eagle, like an eagle. Yeah, the lyrics of that song are so evocative, I think, and they really resonate too, I think, with the motorcycling experience, at least the experiences that I've had. So yeah, it was an eagle. So let me fill in a few blanks.

Ron: 2:28

So I was out on my bike, as I normally am as often as I can, riding the high plains of southern Wyoming, a place where the sky just feels bigger and the world feels more empty, but in the best possible way. But in the best possible way. I was on a slow, deliberate ride on the many dirt roads that follow the Colorado-Wyoming border. If you find Vita Woo on the Wyoming map, you look straight south of that and this massive expanse of open space. That's where I was essentially. So I'd been out there for about 10 miles originally, turning off of highway 287, getting on the dirt roads, deflating my tires a little bit, and I hadn't seen another vehicle in at least 10 miles. Not a single vehicle. It was just me and this vast open land, open land, and that was awesome.

Ron: 3:31

And then I saw it this amazing huge bald eagle that was on top of a pine tree and honestly that's a bit of a rare sight in this area, because usually you find bald eagles around here near to large bodies of waters or lakes and rivers. Sometimes they love the fish, right. But no, he was out there hanging out on the high plains and I slowed down as I approached him so I just didn't want to scare him, but he just took flight anyway and I swear, as I rode by, that eagle started following me. He climbed and then he started following me. It was so cool. He was just curious.

Ron: 4:13

I guess I was only going about 30 miles an hour. Yeah, this is dirt roads and loose gravel out there, so you go kind of slow, standing in the pegs most of the time, and for the next five miles or so that eagle just stayed right with me. I can picture it now. He was flying over my right shoulder, maybe a hundred feet up, just silent, this majestic shadow against this endless blue sky. It was completely amazing. I felt like it was a shared moment, as if we were both just out there, a rider on his steel horse and the king of the skies enjoying the same freedom in this beautiful, beautiful landscape. Then, as I mentioned, he swooped down to get a better look at me. It kind of scared me at first. It was like wow, really he was just curious, I know it just felt like though he was trying to tell me something, sharing a secret. Am I reading too much into this? I don't think so, because that's how I felt at the time. Maybe it was about the pure, uninhibited freedom it feels to soar over that great big expanse out there. And maybe, just maybe, he was telling me I'm glad you joined me out here today For taking to the open road and experiencing the same spirit of flight that I feel about 100 feet above you. It was a moment for me. I felt like I was in sync with this eagle. It was like this connection I felt between me, my machine and God's wonderful nature. It was a peace, love, moto time where I found peace of mind right then and I still feel it now. My wife and I saw Steve Miller in concert some years ago I think we were in Michigan at the time and he played Fly Like an Eagle.

Ron: 6:39

As you might expect, the lyrics of that song are like a calling, maybe, to be something greater, a calling to feel freedom while also having compassion for this very hurting and confused world. The lyrics say, for example I want to fly like an eagle until I'm free. Oh Lord, through the revolution. Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me. Then part of the lyrics talk about through the revolution. Right, that phrase kind of sticks with me too. It's not just about a political upheaval, which we seem to be surrounded with these days, but it's about this personal revolution that he's talking about.

Ron: 7:27

Experiencing the transformation may be that we undergo when we shed our anxieties as best we can, and many of us do that by just hopping on our motorcycle and going for a ride. For many of us, motorcycling is that revolution. It's this radical act of self-care that's the way it is for me A declaration of independence. We're out on our own, we're dependent upon ourselves and we're just out there. We're breaking free from the mundane, from the expectations of others sometimes, and nothing's going to hold us back when we're out on our ride. Of course, we have to watch out for ourselves, because we have loved ones who depend on us and who love us, but there are times we just have to break free for just a little while and just be free. Well, we have another weekend ahead and I know I'll be heading out to that same area soon enough and I'll most certainly be looking for my new friend, that beautiful bald eagle, out there. Well, I'll just begin to wrap up with this.

Ron: 8:48

While I love riding my motorcycle most anywhere riding in remote places yeah, maybe you've picked up on this that's my favorite Riding through Monument Valley, for example. Fantastic roads and views where you can really feel some solitude out there, lonely roads where, frankly, I don't feel alone at all. It's where I'll ride fast if I want to go fast, and I'll ride slow and stand on the pegs when I just want to take it all in See, riding on a dirt road, it requires us generally to ride a little bit slower, depending on the bike that you're on. You may be able to ride fast on the dirt, which is most certainly true and fun, but there is a time for going slow, no-transcript Everything around me, taking it in, opening my eyes to see the next eagle.

Ron: 10:05

I'm convinced that had I not been going slow, without distractions, I surely would have not seen it following me, seen it up ahead. I would have never heard what I think the eagle was trying to tell me, because this is what I think he said. I think he was trying to tell me that out there, away from the busyness of the world, away from the traffic, away from apartment houses, just space, the world is really, really good. He was saying maybe welcome to my world, where I don't think about yesterday or I don't think about tomorrow. I just live for the day and I fly.

Ron: 10:59

So next time, when you're out on your bike, even if you're just dreaming about your next ride, maybe let the words to fly like an eagle by Steve Miller. Maybe listen to that. Listen to the words, let your spirit soar, embrace the freedom, the journey and the incredible perspective that is so unique to us on Two Wheels, as always. Thank you so much for joining me. If you like the podcast and would care to leave a review, especially on Apple Podcasts, a review would be awesome. Thank you very much in advance for doing that. Until we meet again, I wish you peace and I wish you love. Let my spirit carry me on, carry me on From three Right through the revolution.