Sleepless Night
…I can’t sleep…
The more I try to sleep, the more awake I feel. I look at the clock—it’s almost 3 a.m.
…Maybe I should go for a ride…
…Yes, let’s go for a ride…
On nights when I can’t sleep, there’s a sudden urge to ride. That night was one of those nights.
I planned to take a light cruise along the coastal road and then head home, but suddenly, I longed for the orange neon lights of the highway. Instead of turning right at Koshigoe, I stayed on Route 134, heading toward Hiratsuka. I crossed the Shonan Bridge, passed Takahamadai, and headed north on Route 129, riding at a fast pace toward the Atsugi Interchange. I felt myself being pulled left, left, left, along with the green neon lights.
As I took the ticket, the words “Tokyo” and “Nagoya” lit up. Either direction would have been fine, but the desire to “just ride” led me to point my bike toward Nagoya.
The highway, still far from dawn, was filled with trucks. Hiroshima ○○ Transport, Fukuoka ×× Shipping, Shimizu △△ Fisheries… Amidst the late-night long-haul trucks, some cars, heading who knows where, mingled. I cruised in the passing lane, keeping pace with the trucks.
From time to time, fast headlights flickered in my rearview mirror, still far behind. But within seconds, one car was right on my tail. A thin, long nose. Was it a Fairlady? It flashed its right blinker and high beams at me. The truck in front wasn’t moving to the left anytime soon, and the distance between me and the car behind was just a few meters.
“Tch, what do you expect? The truck won’t move.”
Like the truck, I ignored the car behind me.
The car behind kept flashing its lights at me, tailgating aggressively. It was definitely a Fairlady, maybe a 300ZX or 200ZR. As soon as there was an opening in the left lane, the Fairlady shot forward, grazing past me.
I chased after the Fairlady’s taillights. I didn’t want to let go of those red lights. I wanted to keep watching someone’s taillights. I followed them, passing trucks as the Fairlady effortlessly weaved right and left.
The Fairlady continued past what should have been the speed limiter, pressing on. Oimatsuda, Gotemba… The needle on my speedometer was nearing 240 km/h as I descended the Susono slope, still chasing the Fairlady with plenty of power left. Numazu, Fuji… Where was the Fairlady heading?
I wanted to keep chasing those red taillights wherever they went, but unfortunately, I was running out of fuel.
Inside my helmet, I felt a pang of loneliness. When I forced a smile, I felt like crying. The farther I got from my town, the more my heart felt like it was going nowhere.
I pulled into a service area for fuel. The lights of the station, the vending machines, the facilities…
The neon lights were blinding.
I wanted to escape from this service area where the twinkling stars and city lights mingled. The warmth of those red taillights was all I needed.
Until the stars disappear from the eastern sky, I’ll keep riding like this. Heading west, west, trying to outrun the sunrise, even if only for a little longer.