Watching the Dark Knight Rises, And Bane mentions “the league of shadows” as I’m trying to decide on a title, so I went with his suggestion.
What does Batman, Bane, and the league of shadows have to do with this blog? Nothing. I’m just a big Batman fan, and its on TV while I write…
Blogging is interesting, or scary depending on your view. You know people will see it, some people you know, some you don’t. What you don’t expect is the people who use it against you; and/or throw it up in your face. Same applies to social media, but I digress…
In order for the blog to be of any interest, you need to open yourself up. Be humble. Be vulnerable. Be real. But by doing that, you risk getting (some) hurt, when as I mentioned, your online presence gets thrown back in your face. Usually by people who have their own online presence, but for some reason fell they’re more “worthy” than you.I didn’t digress enough it seems; moving on.
We’re standing on the edge of Spring here in Michigan, and everybody has real cabin fever. My wife surprised me with a (new to me) motorcycle, and it sat for about two months while I waited for winter to back off. I happen to be a die hard rider and will go riding in temps as low as 35-40 degrees. I don’t like riding any colder because I get too cold too fast, and you run a bigger risk of ice on the roads. I have rode in falling snow, but managed to get home before any real accumulation. When you’re riding, the air temp blowing on you is just like the wind chill, and the “cold” you “feel” is 10, 20, 30, degrees less than the air temp depending on your speed. So it pays to bundle up, and even get some heated gear if your hard core cold weather rider. Of course, bundling up presents other issues, like restricted body movements, and the cold temps both add up to slow down your “reaction time”. So now you have to be thinking further ahead than usual…
There are several sayings about motorcycle riding, one in particular is, “driving in a car is like watching a movie. Riding a motorcycle is like being in the movie”, and that’s exactly how it feels. (I have no idea who came up with that quote, but it was not me). Your sense are both heightened and enlightened in ways you cant imagine driving a car. The first two obvious things you notice, is you “feel” everything, and you “smell” everything. And the smells are one of the best parts, especially when you ride anywhere near a bonfire, a field of flowers, a restaurant, or fresh cut grass. One of the best things, the smell, is also one of the worst; riding behind a garbage truck, fresh killed animals on the road, fresh killed skunk. But you take the good with the bad.
Feeling the sun beat down on your whole body, and bathing you in the warm, while the breeze of moving through the air cools you at the same time, is something you miss in a car as well. If you wear full riding gear, this dynamic changes, but you still get the effect to a degree.
The subject of riding gear reminds me of another saying, (again not my own); dress for the crash, not for the ride. Which calls up another saying, (not mine); there are two kinds of riders; those who have crashed, and those who will…
I am in the have crashed group, though it can happen anywhere, at anytime, there is no promise it will only happen once. If you want to truly learn to drive defensively, start riding a motorcycle. When I crashed I was wearing full gear from my waist, up. So all the damage to my body was in my legs and feet. The gear worked exactly like it was supposed to. A 40-50mph slide across pavement with shred blue jeans in about five feet. Bare skin is much less. I know people who have crashed, or almost crashed, who have given up riding altogether. Its hard to blame them really given the overall impatient, distracted, angry drivers on the road. Its not for everybody.
But it’s for me, in spite of my crash, and the close calls. When I ride, I return home a in a better mood than when I left. Happier, lighter, relieved. In a car, its all auto pilot. (don’t believe me-watch people drive cars), on a bike you have to focus, both hands, arms, legs, feet working to operate the bike, and WATCHING for everyone and everything on the road. They say not to ride if you’re in a real bad mood, or thoroughly distracted, and I tend to follow that advice myself, but riding does tend to “blow the stink” off of me, and my wife appreciates that!
Riding. Thrilling. Scary. Freeing, Fun. Intense. Relaxing. I don’t know what I’d do instead….