Friday, May 26, 2006
09:38

Chiefland, Florida. I am close to passing the 2000 mile mark since I left Portland, Maine, exactly a week ago. Dicke Berta and I have become a good team. Shifting is smooth, I barely touch the handle bar anymore, she feels where we are going. I have come to like her stubbornness, I understand the different sounds she makes, I have finally learned how to wake her engine in the morning and to tolerate her longing to purr for a minute before she unleashes the brute power of her 108 horses. We got an early start, the cool morning air and the empty road has been good for us. The temperature is climbing steadily and soon I will wear only a T-shirt under my mesh jacket. 104 degrees are projected and thunderstorms that will drench us. I decide to continue to stick to the small roads for our last day together. The handle bar mounted GPS will guide us. Less than 300 miles to go to Dicke Berta's new home. I know I will miss her. The dream of riding a heavy bike through America has finally been fulfilled. 

Wednesday, May 24, 2006
23:07

The most dangerous weather for bikers is sunshine and hot temperatures. The temptation to slip out of  the protective clothing is difficult to resist. No better way to experience the topography and changing weather patterns of a country than on a motorcycle. After four days on the chilly side in the forties and after leaving the mountains of North Carolina and entering Georgia the temperature climbed to the nineties in less than an hour. I decided to turn in early today and to continue at sunrise tomorrow. The German word for to experience is "erfahren": to ride.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006
15:48

Leaving Asheville, North Carolina on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is my third day through the Appalachian mountains on the 450 miles of famed twisted pavement. Just like the German Autobahn the access and exits to the Parkway are controlled, no traffic lights or stop signs, and the tarmac is in perfect condition. But (the US is not Germany!) a speed limit of 45 mph is carefully enforced. Plenty, I think, for me and Dicke Berta on this cool but sunny day.  My thoughts wander off to colleague Bob Sherman, who is hiking the Appalachian trail this week. At one point the Appalachian trail crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway but I miss the sign. Once more Systematic theologians and Biblical scholars do not meet even when their paths intersect.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006
07:44

Buena Vista, VA. People are friendly here. And nosy. By the time I signed the check-in form the receptionist at the Vista Hotel had sucked my life story out of me: Cameroon, Austria, USA. I think I told him everything but the middle name of my wife, and only because I could not remember it at the time.

Monday, May 22, 2006
14:15

Each time I get on the bike I become aware that I don't know whether I will get off the motorcycle unharmed. True for every day of my life. But only when I ride I am aware.

Sunday, May 21, 2006
20:45

Huge wind gusts. I think Dicke Berta was glad that I was riding her. I certainly was grateful for every pound she put on the road. Most cars and some trucks had trouble holding their own, dangerously swaying. But  we were unshakable. I enjoyed the town names: Bangor, Portland, Nazareth, and Bethlehem. Staying in Hershey, Pennsylvania, for the night.

Sunday, May 21, 2006
13:16

Montgomery, NY. Manfred hugged the wide tank and called her Madame Butterfly, when he introduced the six-cylinder Behemoth  to me. I call her Dicke Berta.  Honda calls her Valkyrie. Six cylinders, 1500 cc displacement, 108 horses at the rear wheel. This lady is no light weight. With me in the saddle we tip the scale at 1000 pounds.

Friday, May 19, 2006
18:12

A month ago I visited my friend Manfred. He is preparing to move to Florida and was wondering how to transport his motorcycle. "You don't have to twist my arm," I said, "I could ride it down to you." So we made a deal, I ride the bike down and he will pay for my trip back.

Thursday, May 18, 2006
15:58

At the senior dinner  the graduating students hand me an inflatable globe and a toy motorcycle. "Because I travel so much," they say. I am strangely moved.