Episode 69: The Little Motorcycle Wisdom Book

Today, we take a few minutes just to relax and we do that by reading passages from a little book that not only takes us on our motorcycles down the road, but it also reminds us why we have such a desire to be on the road in the first place.  Published in 2013 and edited by Malcolm Nelson and Kristen Lassen, it’s called The Little Black Book of Motorcycle Wisdom.  I’ll have a link to it in the show notes.

I love this little book.  It’s small, easy to pack.  I’ve carried it on my business trips to remind me that there is a world waiting for me beyond the crowds that I’m among today.  This book takes me home.

Each section of this little book is packed full of brief insights and it’s full of words about our shared passion for motorcycling.  Quotes from the famous and the not so famous.  Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, Ewin McGregor, Bob Dylan, Travel writers like Ted Simon, and philosophical books by Robert Pirsig.

Today we relax to music that sends our mood to a less complex world.  We step back from the news, from social media, from our work… from the stressors in life, and we step into the pure joy of just riding our motorcycles.  I need reflections like this.  I hope that you’ll enjoy it too.  Thank you for joining me today.

OPENING MUSIC

As I ride away to the West, the noise of the engine seems to settle in a rhythmic thrum, and the wind ripples the grass in the fields along the road. the tops of the blades are waving to and fro, and it's easy to imagine the valves in the engine rising and falling with them, in sync with nature.  - Mark Richardson

Sometimes it takes a whole tank full of fuel before you can think straight.  

One of the things that makes  motorcycling so great is that it never fails to give you a feeling of freedom and adventure.  Every time I start thinking the world is all bad, then I see people having a good time riding their motorcycles, it makes me take another look. -Steve McQueen

I think the motorcycle is best because it puts us so much in contact with everything. you experience much more closely the nature of the terrain. almost taste the cultures that you are riding through. because it exposes you to the climate and to the wind and to the Rain it's a much more complete experience.  - Ted Simon 

I take good care of myself. I eat a healthy diet, I exercise everyday, and I ride safe. I do this not because I'm afraid of dying. I do this because the longer I stay healthy the longer I can ride my motorcycle.  -  Sonny Barger 

I'm in a position where I do many things most people just dream about. but I find doing something like taking a motorcycle trip puts my whole life into relief.  You understand yourself better and are more available to the world. When I leave work on a motorbike pull on the helmet move off it doesn't matter if I've had a good day or not.  -Ewan McGregor

An excellent match, freedom and power. horses and horsepower. riding a horse at a full Gallop is exhilarating, but a motorcycle let you go where you want. you're not closed in a box, everything around you is alive, the trees, the mountains, the sea. you're in tune, you're one with the surroundings and your  machine, enjoying all five senses like you've never experienced in your life. - Michael Fassbender

I ride horses and the motorbike gives me a similar freedom. you're very in touch with all of your senses and it's dangerous. so you have to concentrate. -  Jeremy Irons

 it's turned in to just about the perfect day to be going someplace on a motorcycle. a car goes by carrying a driver in a white shirt and tie. he could be a Salesman on the way to a call or an office worker returning from lunch. as he passes, he stares in our direction. I can practically see him mouth the words “Lucky guy ".  - Bill Wood

I'm pretty sure that this was the day I decided to jack it all in and head off on my motorcycle. Most of all I wanted to be moving along, to always be going somewhere. it's as old as mankind, the urge to roam, but when you get it and succumb to it, for a fleeting moment you kind of feel like you invented it.  - Lois Pryce

Driving a motorcycle is like flying. all your senses are alive. when I ride through Beverly Hills in the early morning and all the sprinklers have turned off, the sense that wash over me are just heavenly. - Hugh Laurie

One of the great advantages of the motorcycle is its ability to bring its Rider close to the environment the winds weather roads surroundings nature.  Riding a motorcycle is Technology's  equivalent to being a cowboy. our modern horse has two wheels instead of four.  it's rains are the handlebars, it's stirrups the clutch and the brake, it's Rider sufficiently experienced with the laws of nature to skillfully control is excitable speed. - Robert Edison Fulton Jr

When my mood gets too hot and I find myself wondering Beyond control, I pulled out my motorbike and hurl it at top speed through these unfit roads for hour after hour. my nerves are jaded and gone near dead so that nothing less than hours of voluntary Danger Will prick them into life. - TE Lawrence 

A motorcycle can change the conduct and quality of our lives because it is indeed a machine that can harness a man's spirit. on a motorcycle, riding the road, hugging the wind, a man can discover the joy of solitude, The Rebirth of independence, the satisfaction of self-respect. 

I graduated with a degree in Theology and wanted to go to my spiritual home in Rome. That all changed in a briskly cool month of November 2002. I sat in a monastery refractory, when a sudden rushing urge Came Upon me to take a motorcycle ride. not a little ride around the state of North dakota, but a ride around the states. my spiritual journey would take place, to be sure, but in a very different manner. - Bryan Pechtl

And finally, from one of my favorite movies “On Any Sunday” from 1972. Bruce Brown said “A motorcycle is whatever you want to make it to be. 

In the podcast, it may be obvious that I don’t have all the answers.  There are many many better motorcycle riders than me.  If I’ve learned anything, it’s that going for a ride makes me happy.  Whether it’s a perfect day in the 70s, a hot day, a cold day or a wet day, I never seem to regret that I got the bike out of the garage, started it up and went.  I’ve also learned that hearing from other riders from years past, riding with my local friends or meeting total strangers on the road, … well that’s just really great.  What better life can we lead.  

So my friends, let’s stay healthy, both physically and mentally.  It takes both to ride.  Don’t stop.  Keep going.  Seeking happiness.  Keep being kind to others and being kind to yourself and maybe most importantly, thank the stars above for another day to ride.

Until we visit again, I wish you peace, I wish you love.

Music by Vitaliy Levkin from Pixabay

Music by Olexy from Pixabay

Music by William_King from Pixabay