Putting on my helmet, I glace over at the rising sun
Its early morning
I’m waiting for my brother to wake up
I’m ready to leave
My anticipation is growing
I know the rev of the engine will take him right out of his dreams
I could already see his smile
Smiling at the sound of the engine

I get on the quad
Start it up
The engine is cold
Pull the choke
Coax it out of its slumber
Finally get it to idle on its own
Get off quad, leave it running
Its warming up

I already knew it woke my brother up
I open the door to the motor home
And laugh
Because he’s rushing to get ready
Not managing to put the shoes on the right feet

I grab the key to his quad
Walk over to it
Breathe in the fresh, campfire scented air
Of the sand dunes
Turn my quad off
It’s warm enough to ride

My brothers is next to mine
It looks exactly the same
Black
Sand tires
Except his, of course, is faster
He’s younger than me and manages to get the racing bike
My luck
Can’t help but think it’s only because
I’m a girl
His quad is a kick start
I smile, knowing he can’t kick start the quad
I can
It’s an accomplishment in my book
Especially, because these days,
Most girls don’t even know what a kick start is
To worried about their makeup
And hair...

I pull the choke to wake up his quad too
Hear the door close
Look
See my brother put on his helmet
“Thanks”
“No problem”
“Let’s go”
We’re off

I feel the pull of first gear
Slow
At take off, it’s fast enough
Pull the clutch
Kick it into second gear
A little faster
Third gear
Finally catching up to him

Speeding over hills
We go past other camps
Where people are just waking up
I smile
Because I know, if they tried
They could never catch me
I see the hill ahead and press the gas
My brother gets air going over it
And, I realize
I did too
Turning and maneuvering my way
Through the trees and hills
It comes natural

I turn around
Head back
Cruising
Slower this time
Second gear

I know exactly where to go
Even though I didn’t pay attention to the way we took over there

And I smile at my brother
Because, I know
We both feel invincible
Following
This chaotic, free, yet organized
Routine of the sand