Instead, Elli and I met for coffee in town and then went to the beach. Long Bay, a beach just outside of town is nice but a bit of a walk - maybe 30 minutes. We weren't really feeling the walk so we decided to hitch. We were standing on the side of the road trying to get a ride when a motorcycle went by. Elli put out here thumb as a joke but the guy came back to pick us up. I had actually met Joe, the owner of the 1981 Honda, previously when I was selling raffle tickets. He bought one from me to support the anti-mining campaign. After a big of work we were able to fit all three of us on the bike. Elli and I got the two helmets Joe had. Despite all my trips to Sturgis I would count this as my first real motorcycle ride. I didn't have anything to protect my skin and I told him if he crashed and I lost all the skin on my legs my parents would sue him so he had to drive slow :). It was really kinda scary - you can feel the bike going onto the side of the wheel in the curves - yikes! We made it safe and sound however. Here's a few pics:
Elli (Germany)
Me (America)
The bike - 1981 Honda.
Joe was nice enough to take us to the beach and back from the beach at the end of the day. Afterwards he asked if I'd like to go for a short ride down the coast. It was so amazing - when I wasn't scared to death. As I was riding on the motorcycle waring nothing but a sweater and swimsuit I kept thinking "I always look at people wearing almost nothing riding on a motorbike and think how stupid" but in the moment it was all I had to wear and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. Joe told me, however, that it's easier to relax when you're wearing leather which I'm sure would be true. I wasn't so scared of crashing in and of itself, but of crashing and losing all the skin on my legs. If I was wearing pants - leather preferably - I'm sure I wouldn't have been so nervous during the ride. I'm already itching for him to take me out again. I might walk over to his place (he just lives a few doors down from the cafe) tomorrow after work and see if he'd be up for taking me on another ride this week or maybe next week when I have a day off. I'd be happy to pay for his gas and even buy him lunch. It was just so amazing to be on that bike on those beautiful coastal roads. I now understand why people love their bikes. But I can't imagine taking one through the black hills - the roads here are curvy and windy and steep, but nothing like needles highway in South Dakota!
Anyways, after my beach day and motorcycle rides I decided to hike the Harray Track - a bush walk that goes roughly from my place to the beach but without going through town, instead going over a bunch of hills. I ended up doing it with a local woman, Shelly. It was really hard. There were hundreds (I'm not exaggerating) of stairs, at points it was very steep and I was dehydrated from spending the day in the sun. I'm definitely going to do it again and bring my camera so y'all can see how nice it is. And I'm also going to bring a water bottle. But man, it was a great workout and an amazingly scenic hike through the bush with views of the ocean. It is just so stunning here, you all need to come to the Coromandel. It is paradise.
That's all for now. After that long hike I'm getting hungry for dinner. Chat soon!
Best!
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