Escaping the News on Two Wheels

Ron 0:12

A couple of days ago , after work , I took a look at the news on my computer and , wow , that was a mistake . While my work day had gone just fine , reading the news reports just brought I don't know this heavy weight of discouragement . As you've gotten to know me thus far , you know what I did then . I put on my motorcycle gear and I went for a ride . Yep , I headed north . Yep , I headed north . I stopped at a gas station that I've frequently stopped at over the years . It's at the intersection of Highway 287 and Highway 14 here in Colorado . I topped off with gas and went inside to pick up something to snack on for my next stop , wherever I decided to stop . The lady behind the counter was there , and I just felt compelled to tell her what I had just experienced . I told her that I looked at the news and I got discouraged and I hopped on my motorcycle and here I was , right there in front of her . She didn't have to be as kind as she was , but she was she . She talked with me for a few minutes because there's no one else around at the time . She went on to tell me that she too gets discouraged sometimes , but in her work there at the gas station , she meets a lot of really nice people . She said something to the effect that there's a lot more good people out there than there are bad people . It's just that the bad people are just so much more loud . Yeah , I get it . That little comment , that statement of fact . Yeah , that helped a lot .

Ron 2:07

Anyway , from there on my motorcycle , I went west and followed the canyon road that parallels the river and I stopped , oh , I don't know , 10 miles up into the canyon . I stopped at a small riverside park . No one else was there . In the pack on my bike I carry a hammock these days , something really foldable , easy to carry . I took the hammock down by the river and connected it up between two trees , and it was there that I had my snack that I got at the gas station . It was there that I had my snack , that I got at the gas station .

Ron 2:50

I spent time there doing nothing . I just watched and listened to the river , looked up at the canyon walls to look for wildlife and I watched the clouds go by . After a few minutes I heard voices . Now , these weren't voices in my head , no , these were real voices . I glanced back up to where I'd parked my motorcycle some I don't know 40 yards away and nobody was there . But a moment later , two guys on their kayaks floated by down the river right in front of me . They were having a little conversation . That was pretty cool .

Ron 3:33

In a moment I'll talk about another conversation that I heard about , but today we're going to talk about the value of turning off the bad stuff and turning on the good stuff . Turning off the bad stuff and turning on the good stuff . Sometimes , when bad things are happening and they feel like they're just overwhelming our senses , maybe it's time just to walk away and in our case , maybe just ride away . Some may call it escapism , but , as for me , when I choose to ride away from the chaos of life every once in a while , honestly I usually return with some new insights , some new energy and hopefully , new ideas to solve some of those problems in the world , at least in my own little small way , in my little small space . So that's what I want to share today . Thank you for joining me , stay tuned .

Lincoln's Carriage and Meaningful Conversations

Ron 4:39

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 5:11

Recently I was listening to an audio book . The book was about Abraham Lincoln . There are lots of books about Abraham Lincoln Quite an admirable guy , to say the least . Anyway , it described an occasion where he was riding in a small two-seater open carriage pulled by a single horse . He was going down a country lane . He was riding along with his then law partner . They were having a conversation . Riding along with his then law partner , they were having a conversation . It was in that conversation that Abraham Lincoln shared some personal and private thoughts with his law partner , who was also his friend . Just the two of them riding through the countryside . This is well before he became president and the additional pressures that came with that , I'm sure . Anyway , what captured my attention from thinking about that experience was not so much the conversation that they had but the fact that they had one in an open carriage , pulled by a single horse , down a country lane , sitting side by side , just talking , no distractions .

Ron 6:29

I guess today , sometimes we forget about the value of a conversation with no distractions . Fast forward

Modern Isolation vs. Real Connection

Ron 6:46

to today . I've also heard recently that some bars and restaurants in big cities are feeling the effects of a changing culture , a culture where fewer people go out after work to socialize like they used to . Instead , if they're not already working from home , they're going straight from the workplace back to home to be alone . Well , maybe they're not really alone , but rather they're connected to the outside world through their computer , the phone in their hand or whatever , and that has replaced the desire to connect with others in a real way , in a side by side way , and it's removed a desire maybe to even be outside in the real world . Wow , that's sad , you know , in our real world , wow , that's sad , you know , in our modern world , so much of our life is designed to separate us from the outside world , even separate us from other people , from real relationships , those side-by-side relationships . Think about it , our cars are sealed off right side relationships . Think about it , our cars are sealed off right Soundproof , temperature controlled entertainment systems that keep us entirely within our own little bubble . The goal for most modern cars is to make the journey as uncensory as possible , to get from point A to point B without feeling , hearing or smelling anything .

Ron 8:24

An experience of not experiencing Interesting . But that's not the case for us . Is it that experience of not experiencing

The Motorcyclist's Aesthetic Experience

Ron 8:50

? No , we are motorcycle riders , we get out on our bike and we experience everything . And everything changes for us . Yeah , the world changes . You get out on your bike and then , suddenly , you're no longer a passive observer , you're an active participant in the world around you and this , my friends , is aesthetic experience . The word sounds a whole lot like anesthetic or anesthesia , but the word is anesthetic experience . The word sounds a whole lot like anesthetic or anesthesia , but the word is anesthetic and it's polar opposite in meaning .

Ron 9:26

Anesthetic experience is about heightened awareness . It's about engaging all of your senses . So when you're out on your bike , you feel the , the world . You feel the cold rush of air at times and the warmth of the sun at other times . You feel the subtle vibrations coming from the engine , the rhythm of the road . You feel the lean of the bike into every curve . They say it's the closest experience that you can have to flying while still being on the ground .

Ron 10:04

Yeah , you experience the world differently . You see the world differently . On the bike , your field of vision is wide open . You're not looking through a small screen , you're looking at a panorama . The scenery isn't a picture , it's this immersive 360 of reality . That's awesome and that's what we get as motorcycle riders every time . I know we can draw all sorts of comparisons between driving a car and riding a motorcycle , but here's a few Fresh cut grass , the smell of a field that's just been cut by the farmer , the rich scents of pine trees after a rainstorm , and even this , a small town diner

Embracing the Real World Again

Ron 11:07

as you pass by .

Ron 11:08

I was riding through the tiny community of Encampment Wyoming recently and passed the one and only diner in town and I could smell those hamburgers getting cooked . Oh , that was so good . Did I turn around and go into the diner ? You bet I did , and it tasted as wonderful as it smelled for sure . You know , maybe this is all where riding for mindfulness comes from . It forces us to be present , to see , to feel , to smell what's real , what's really out there .

Ron 11:51

In a world that so often wants to numb us , riding a motorcycle , at least for me , is a solution . It's something that , rather than drives me back to bed to hide underneath the covers in frustration and maybe fear , it drives me to put on my riding gear , go out to the garage , start the bike , say a word of gratitude and then just go , just go . It's this deliberate choice to embrace the wonderful world that's really , really out there , just like the lady said at the gas station , those negative voices are just really , really loud . So tune them out and then make your positive voice , make your positive action that much louder . It's an act of defiance and it's a choice , I think , to feel , to be alive , to connect with the world in a way that modern society these days keeps discouraging us .

Ron 13:07

But no , next time , next time you swing your leg over a motorcycle , I want you to think about this . You're not just going for a ride . You're engaging with a real world and having an experience with your mom , with mother nature out there . Maybe you're riding through the city and you're not able to go out into the woods or into the country , out there on the road , in the wind . You are a part of your environment , the real environment , and that's a very , very

Final Thoughts on Riding Mindfully

Ron 13:42

good thing . So until we visit again , go for a ride , and with that , I wish you peace and I wish you love .