Ron: 0:07

Ever feel like your smartphone is dominating your life? Do you take it everywhere, including on motorcycle rides, including attached to your handlebar, so that you'll see every little pop-up that happens constantly in front of you? Yeah, me too sometimes, but today we're talking about something that's become a pretty big part of our lives yeah, those phones but something that, frankly, I think can get in the way of the very best parts of your ride. Today, we'll delve into the unexpected feeling of freedom and even sharpened senses that maybe we can reclaim when we ride phone-free. Stay tuned. Recorded in beautiful Loveland, colorado. Welcome to Peace. Love Moto, the podcast for motorcyclists seeking that peaceful, easy feeling as we cruise through this life together. Are you ready? Let's go.

Ron: 1:24

We live in an age where we are connected all the time. These little devices in our pockets. They're incredible, aren't they? But they put the whole world at your fingertips, which isn't always a good thing. And now, with AI apps, you can know anything about anything from anywhere. Wonderful, isn't it? Well, I don't know. I don't know.

Ron: 1:55

It wasn't always like this. You know, it was only until about 2010 that it became somewhat common to even have a cell phone. It doesn't seem like that long ago to me that I used to carry a pager. If someone needed to get in touch with me. They would send me a page and it had the telephone number of a number I needed to call. So I would search for a pay phone somewhere and I would try to call them back. Oftentimes it was business related. Yes, it was a hassle, but as I think back on it now, the business or the friends and family would only page me if they really needed me. They didn't page me to say hi, otherwise whatever they had to say would have to wait until I got home, and if no one there was there to take the message, then I would go to my answering machine and the message would be there for me. Oh, yes, that could go all day about talking about the past and, in hindsight, how things used to be so much more simple and less stressful, living in a world that wasn't constantly in communication, with the 24-hour news cycle. Yeah, I could go all day on that, but I won't. But I won't because that's not our topic for today.

Ron: 3:16

I will say this though For all the wonders, all the ways they keep us in touch, these cell phones can, rather ironically, disconnect us from what's right in front of us, and that is what we're talking about today. Because you see, from a seat of a motorcycle, you want to be absolutely connected with everything around you, not only for safety, but for the wonders, the views, the smells, the sounds of everything that's all around you. If we can find ourselves connected with our mom, with Mother Nature and the machine, oh my goodness, that's wonderful. Maybe even that's peace of mind. Just think about it for a moment.

Ron: 4:23

Riding your motorcycle isn't just about getting from point A to point B. It's an experience, isn't it? It demands your full attention, your complete focus. You're feeling the road. You're leaning into the curves, accelerating, braking, changing gears most of the time doing all that without even thinking about it. After a while you get into the flow. You're part of the flow. The wind, the hum of the engine, the way the bike vibrates underneath you, the world passing by, it's all part of this kind of dance between you, the machine and the landscape. I may be wrong, but I currently don't believe that there is any artificial intelligence-driven experience or a ride at Disneyland for that matter that can replace that feeling. Can you picture yourself in that moment, on your bike, in a zen state where all is right with the world, in a zen state where all is right with the world and then no-transcript, ah yes.

Ron: 5:56

As for me, I have family members who want to know where I am, and I do check my phone from time to time, but most of the time my phone is tucked away deep in the saddlebag, silenced, out of sight and out of mind. With as much riding as I do up in the mountains on dirt roads that I've been doing especially this past year, my phone would probably just get, it would just get ruined, actually, if I had it connected to my handlebars. There's just so much dust and dirt up there and all the shaking and such, so I put it in a secure place out of the dust and dirt, yeah, in a place that has some cushion. Especially these days when I ride a motorcycle, among other things for stress management as much as anything, I typically don't want my phone in sight or where I can hear it, hear it. So what I found and what I've rediscovered really is quite remarkable, at least for me.

Ron: 7:01

When you take away that digital tether, something else opens up. Maybe it's my sense of being alive. You start to truly see again. You notice the way the sunlight filters through the trees when I'm standing up on the pegs and riding really slow down a dirt road, the changing colors of the fields, the scents that are in the air, the breeze, the pine smell in the forest, the fresh scent of rain just before a shower the sounds too, become just richer. Sounds too become just richer. It's the sound of the engine, the soothing sound of the wind, the far-off sounds, even of birds. When you're quiet, or a distant train, your mind no longer is pulled in a dozen different directions. It settles, it focuses on the immediate, on the ride itself, and it's a profound sense of calm for me, a real connection to the moment. And, fellow writers, to try it sometime On your next ride, big or small, consider leaving your phone out of reach.

Ron: 8:43

See how that feels. It may feel uneasy at first, but give yourself the gift of being truly present. I think that you'll find that the ride becomes richer, the views more vibrant, more deeply satisfying. Because in the end it's not just about the miles you cover, right, it's about the journey itself and how fully you experience it. And sometimes I believe the best way to experience it is to simply unplug. It's a small step that can lead to a bigger world and perhaps even help us bridge some of those gaps of isolation that so many in the world seem to be experiencing now with a phone in their hand, as always. Thank you so much for listening. Until next time, be safe and enjoy that journey unplugged, if you can. Meanwhile, I wish you peace and I wish you love.