When Randy first showed up to our audio club meetings, he was quiet and withdrawn. Like Atlas, he seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Trying to engage him in conversation usually resulted in me doing all the talking.
As we got to know each other, he opened up a little and told me what concerned him. "I married far too early," he said, “I didn’t know who I was, let alone who I wanted to spend my life with, and now I'm miserable.”
I wasn’t surprised when his marriage dissolved shortly afterwards. They sold the house and with his share of the proceeds, he bought a condo close to downtown.
Then Randy did what she’d never allowed him to do. He bought a motorcycle. He was thrilled to show me his shiny new Kawasaki KLR 650. “Now I can enjoy the kind of experiences you talk so much about,” he said.
We didn’t see him often at audio club meetings after that as he was busy exploring trails, but he kept me posted on his adventures.
His demeanor changed with his new lifestyle. He loved to share riding stories, and we often deliberated routes, tires, and accessories. It was nice to see Randy come out of his shell.
On one occasion, when he invited me to his condo for a visit, I noticed there were two KLRs parked out front. Randy introduced the other rider as Howard.
Howard was a pleasant, outgoing guy and it didn’t take long to warm up to him. He grabbed three IPAs from the fridge and proceeded to tell me the rest of the story. They’d met at work and he’s the guy who talked Randy into buying a bike after the divorce. At that point, Randy revealed his true identity.
He looked up at me sheepishly. “I was worried that I’d be ostracized if I came out of the closet,” he said.
That set me back for a moment, but I soon composed myself. “I’ve known Randy for four years, Howard, and now he tells me he’s gay!” They chuckled. “I don’t care what you do in your private life any more than you care what I do in mine, Randy,” I responded; “I’m just glad to see you smile so often these days.” He got up and hugged me.
Howard was very adept with computers and when my PC went south, he came over and tried to fix it. “This thing is the Model T of computers," he said. “You need an iMac Pro.” He found a deal on one, set it up, and taught me how to use it. I was a slow learner but he never lost his patience.
I invited him to our audio club meetings and he showed up a few times with Randy. He interacted well with the other members and even introduced us to some interesting electronic music.
They both attended several of our bike club socials as well. Although we were primarily long-distance riders on BMWs and they were more into trail riding, we still had experiences in common. That’s because many of the secondary roads our club explored in the Sierras turned into dirt before they ended at an abandoned mining or logging camp at the base of some mountain.
A couple of years later, they decided to move to Oakland. They said it was to pursue professional opportunities, but I happened to know there is a large gay riding community nearby because I once wandered into one of their bars. I didn’t act like a stranger and they didn’t treat me like one. They steered me unto several interesting roads in the area, not the least of which was Route 236, the highway through Big Basin State Park. If you haven’t done it, put it on your bucket list.
Randy sent regular e-mails for a couple of years including photos of their bikes parked in front of Alice’s Restaurant or Joe’s Bar in Boulder Creek, but we gradually lost touch over time.
I miss them, but we must all follow our bliss.
Courtesy of Pexels.com/Jusdevoyage Lyly.
Header image courtesy of Shopify AI.
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