the waves of the amish country

on yet another spirited 300 mile ride through the amish country I came across another thought in the expanse of grey matter inside my helmet. In my last philosophical moment, I professed that it's the ride that claims and retains our attention, and I dont think that could be any more true; it is the reason we do this.



But what is it about the machines that we chose to ride that makes us feel that we have chosen the right vehicle? or is there a "right" vehicle? i've been under the impression that because it has two wheels, it's right. am i wrong?
in the past there has always been some kind of unspoken rule that we don't wave at harley riders, mostly because they usually wont come off their high hog to wave at us first. do those guys think their ride will be more fun than ours? are they just loyal buy-american fools?
there must be another feeling of belonging in owning a harley davidson that we are just plain unexposed to. that infamous ideal of the american dream that can only be acheived on a harley; that level of freedom that can only be felt on a harley. or do they just feel that they have the right to disregard their fellow riders because they've spent $18,000 on a bunch of chrome and billet bolt-ons?
in the amish country, harley riders wave; and sometimes, they even wave first. in the amish, you're there for the ride; and the waves from harleys prove it. in the city it's another story; it's all show.. who can look the coolest, sound the baddest, and stick their nose up the highest.. but when you're surrounded by the roads that define our passion, every rider is there to ride; and it shows.



In the end, sometimes you are what you ride, but when it comes down to it, you are because you ride.



There was a big Corvette show going on in Roscoe Village when we rolled in, and here's my "best of show":

.. it's some crazy two stroke motor that only fires once every couple of seconds.. turns some big belts and churns the home-made ice cream in big wooden barrels. WAAY cooler than some LS1 with a $100,000 twin turbo motor in it. 600hp don't mean shit when you've got one of these bad ass little john Deers around just make some damn ice cream!