Peace Love Moto - The Motorcycling Podcast
Welcome to Peace Love Moto, the podcast where motorcycling meets Mindfulness! Whether you ride to clear your mind, explore scenic backroads, or embrace the thrill of adventure, this podcast is for you. Hosted by a Passionate Rider and Professional Colorado Rocky Mountain Tour Guide, we discuss mindful motorcycling, connecting with Mother Nature, and the joy of riding with purpose. Tune in for inspiring stories and tips finding your Zen on two wheels. Contact: Ron@PeaceLoveMoto.com
Tags: motorcycle therapy motorcycling self-discovery motorcycle metaphors riding through uncertainty life crossroads motorcycle Motofreedom on the road emotional healing through motorcycling solo motorcycling
Peace Love Moto - The Motorcycling Podcast
Meaningful Connections: Hearts and Horses and The Carousel of Happiness
Some announcements carry more weight than others, and this one comes straight from the heart. Peace Love Moto is now officially sponsoring two remarkable Northern Colorado nonprofits that embody the spirit of joy, healing, and community connection.
The Carousel of Happiness in Nederland stands as a testament to resilience and wonder. My friend Scott Harrison, a Vietnam veteran who found solace in a tiny music box during combat, dedicated 26 years to hand-carving 56 magnificent animals. These creatures now bring joy to visitors from around the world as they ride the restored 1910 carousel to the melodies of a century-old Wurlitzer band organ. It's a place where joy isn't just an emotion – it's a tangible presence, carefully crafted and freely shared.
Just minutes from my home, Hearts and Horses offers another kind of healing magic. This therapeutic riding center serves children with disabilities, veterans battling PTSD, and individuals with dementia through equine-assisted therapy. With approximately 30 horses and a dedicated team of professionals and volunteers, they create safe spaces where physical and emotional healing blossoms through the unique bond between humans and horses.
These initiatives have awakened something profound in me – a calling to create more meaningful connections with you, my listeners. While I may record this podcast from my son's former bedroom in Loveland, the feedback I receive suggests many of you crave authentic experiences: riding Colorado's back roads, witnessing nature's magnificence, and meeting extraordinary people making a difference in our world. I'm actively exploring ways we might connect beyond these audio episodes – perhaps through shared motorcycle journeys where together we can seek that elusive peace of mind we all desire. The path forward isn't entirely clear yet, but the destination feels right – finding joy, purpose, and connection in an increasingly disconnected world. Stay tuned as this vision takes shape.
Today's episode is a bit unique. It's a bit short, but I think it's quite a bit important. It's important to me and I hope it will be to you too, after you hear what I have to say. You too, after you hear what I have to say. As of this week, I'm excited to announce that this podcast, peace, love Moto, is a proud sponsor of two amazing nonprofits here in Northern Colorado. One is the Carousel of Happiness in Nederland and the other is Hearts and Horses right here in Loveland, where I live.
Ron:The Carousel of Happiness is sometimes described as a whimsical menagerie. I like those terms. It has 56 hand-carved animals on a restored 1910 carousel frame 1910 carousel frame. I've been visiting and riding the carousel with my family and friends for I don't know how long well, over 10 years, maybe closer to 15 when it started Veteran Scott Harrison, a Vietnam veteran who I'm so proud to call my friend. He spent 26 years carving the unique animals, one at a time, animals all of which are large enough to ride on and all of whom were inspired by a music box that brought Scott comfort during the Vietnam War, out on the battlefield. During the Vietnam War, out on the battlefield, visitors from all over the country and even all over the world, listen to the 1913 Wurlitzer band organ as they ride the carousel. This is one place where joy is created and joy is shared.
Ron:I also want to tell you about the other. I also want to tell you about the other place that my wife and I, through this podcast, are proud to support as of this week. It's called Hearts and Horses. It's very near my home here in Loveland, Colorado. In fact, just this afternoon I went by for a visit and spoke with them, like Scott Harrison, who built the carousel, these are good people. These are very, very good people, people who express love for total strangers just because their hearts lead them to do that. Hearts and Horses is a therapeutic riding center with about 30 horses, I believe they told me, and it's dedicated to helping people with disabilities. It serves children with physical and mental disabilities, veterans suffering from PTSD, even those with dementia, providing each of those folks these horses and the services that go right, along with those professionals who are here and volunteer their time to promote physical and emotional healing. It's beautiful. It's a safe and supportive environment where individuals in need can experience the unique benefits of connecting with horses and connecting with those who support the horses and support them and love them, love them both. What's not to love about horses, right? What's not to love about horses, right? And what's not to love about humans who just need a little help? The staff here at Peace Love Moto, the staff that's my wife and I. We are the staff. Yeah, we're a small little operation.
Ron:I record the podcast on my Apple MacBook in the studio which was previously known as my son's room, here in our home in Loveland, colorado. Yes, we're a small operation, but there's something I feel like I need to tell you, something that's been in my head and it's in my heart. Being inspired by such people as Scott Harrison and Allie Wagner at the Carousel of Happiness and Catherine Yuma, who I met just today, and the other team at Hearts and Horses, I hear a calling. I do, a calling to do something positive, to do something real. A calling to do something positive, to do something real, something tangible for my community and for you, my friends, who listen to this podcast.
Ron:I don't know what that real and tangible thing is exactly, but feedback that I get from listeners tells me that there are motorcycle riders out there who need an experience, who need a real experience, not just happiness, but joy. It's a whole other thing, right? Some tell me that they need time on a motorcycle riding the back roads of Colorado, just like I describe. All the time. They tell me that they need an experience with Mother Nature and the Rocky and they want to see amazing things happen in places like hearts and horses that do so many wonderful things for people who just need some help. Listeners tell me that they need an experience. They tell me they need peace of mind, don't we all? So, my friends, I'm working on that.
Ron:I hear a calling. I'm trying to figure out what that is. I'm getting advice from good friends and people I confide in and trust, but I'm working on some way for you and I to connect, if you want to do that, to connect on motorcycles here in Colorado to see amazing sights together. To see amazing sights together, to commune with Mother Nature, to be quiet, hear what she has to say. And other options are just out there visiting coffee shops, little cafes and just stopping in the middle of a road that's completely empty and looking around and just saying wow, isn't this wonderful? In the middle of a road that's completely empty and looking around and just saying wow, isn't this wonderful. But also, I think it's important for us together to go meet wonderful people, wonderful local people here in northern Colorado, all the while seeking peace of mind together. And who knows, we just might find it as always. Thank you so much for listening. I wish you peace and I wish you love. Thank you.
