Titanic without the bad ending...

He was taking it easy, trying not to scare me. “Go ahead,” I told him. I had ridden before and was used to the thrill. I wanted to see what he could do. I wanted to see the difference between my clunky, clumsy skills and a professional. Even through the helmet I could tell he was smiling. “OK, but tap me if it’s too fast and remember to just lean with me.” He looked me over, “and above all, stay on the bike. Don’t bail on me.” I rolled my eyes, I wasn’t a first time rider, I knew how to lean into corners, how to watch where I wanted the bike to go and what to do when I thought I was going to crash. I wrapped my arms around his waist, “C’mon Ads, show me what you got!” He pulled out onto the winding road. As he opened the throttle he popped the front wheel. I loved the feel of pure acceleration and with the luggage rack behind me and Ads in front, I felt safe. He left the throttle open as the bike landed heavily and we sped towards the first corner. He dropped a few gears at the last second and lined up for the corner. I felt the bike lean smoothly into the apex with such a fluid motion that felt essentially weightless. I could see past Adam to the winding narrow road ahead. Our heads aligned, horizontal with the road. We moved in unison and the bike righted itself before dipping to the opposite side, our helmets frozen as we rounded the hairpin corner. It felt almost similar to dancing.

The feeling of freedom and pure simple pleasure swept over me. The speedo rose and the angle of the bike dipped closer to the ground. Riding a bike at speed requires little actual movement as you steer with your weight. It can often feel like you’re being guided by the bike. As a pillion passenger you can quite easily steer the bike when travelling at speed, which means if you don’t lean or lean the wrong way, the driver must compensate or crash. It takes trust between both people to ride at speed on winding roads.

I had loosened my grip on Adam and looked over the cliff out to the valley of bushland below, blue with haze from the Eucalyptus. It was a beautiful view.
I felt relaxed and centred as I turned back to concentrate on the road. I took a deep breath and lifted my arms out to the side, outstretched. As we rounded the next corner it felt like we were flying. My hands came within inches of the ground and my heart rate rose. I dug my boots into the footpegs and squeezed my knees into Adams hips. The bike righted and dipped into a hairpin. Kate Winslet eat your heart out! Leonardo just stood on a boat with you, my man has control of 170 horsepower!

Adam glanced back, saw my arms out and did a double take. He shook his head and hit the throttle for the next set of corners. The force of the wind caused me to lean into him but I didn’t dare fold my wings in, I was loving it too much! The road opened up and we slowed down slightly. Adam straightened up and after a few moments of hesitation he stretched his arms out sideways and held my hands. We zoomed along towards me the next corner, our hands touching, held out like wings and the bike gradually slowing. We lent into the corner together like a twin wing plane. The bike dipped, rounded and we were through. “Look Mum, no hands!” Adam shouted. We laughed as he broke our grip to twist the throttle open, pulling my other hand into him, wrapping my arm around him. He squeezed my hand and turned to me, I could see the corners of his eyes crinkle as he smiled in his helmet. These are the moments that life is made of, that will always give you a sweet smile when you think of them.