Big Trips And Big Daydreams

Ron 0:10

Hey friends, welcome back to the Peace Love Moto podcast. I'm your host, Ron Francis, here in Loveland, Colorado. We talk a lot in the motorcycling communities about the big trips, don't we? Those are fun. Those are really fun to talk about. The week-long or even months-long rides across the country, the fully packed bike, the side panniers both filled, the top box loaded with easy-to-grab stuff. Maybe the well-secure drive bag that has your camping gear if you're planning to moto camp. When my bike is loaded up like that, I know very well that all those dudes driving to work in their Tesla may see me riding by and thinking, oh man, what a life. I wish I were doing that right now. I wonder where he's going, or around here, it's so many of the tour buses just packed full of tourists in their air-conditioned comfort. Same story though, right? You can see through the bus windows, heads turned and noses pressed up against the glass, staring at your bike. I'll bet they're wondering, what does the air feel like outside this bus? And what is that dude feeling like on that motorcycle right now? And what am I doing sealed up in a bus with a bus driver describing all these wonderful things outside that I can't feel and barely even see? What am I doing? Oh yeah, I could go on a tangent about the jealousy so many tourists feel when they see you and I out on our motorcycles. And those of us who are lucky enough to be able to travel by motorcycle, well, that's just one more thing to be thankful for, isn't it?

Why Micro Adventures Matter

Ron 2:02

Well, let's talk about this little adventure thing today. Not necessarily the long trips, not today. Let's talk about the small trips, the ones you do alone, whenever you can carve out the time. These are the ones, honestly, I just treasure. These are the little short rides that you might call micro adventures, like the early morning solo coffee run. Maybe the unplanned last-minute time that you just want to spend on your bike.

Alone Does Not Mean Lonely

Ron 2:52

To them, riding alone sounds like a lonely experience. Alone and lonely even sound alike, right? But some motorcycle riders feel like a ride just isn't worth doing unless you're connected up with your riding buddies, with your intercoms all synced together, and you've got a pre-ride plan there and riding in tight formation because that looks really good and it's really fun, right? Yeah, I I get that. I mean, some people experience real loneliness in life sometimes too. Maybe a lot of us do. And connecting with our friends on a motorcycle ride, even for a short ride to a local coffee shop, is an absolute cure for that feeling of loneliness. For a lot of people, I'm sure that that's a beautiful reality, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. But I would challenge that idea just a little bit with another angle on that thought. Because loneliness is a perspective, right? So I go on a lot of solo rides, sometimes even for several days. And if you've heard last week's episode where uh you you heard me talk about such a ride where I was out for several days solo riding, and I just love to do that. Folks often ask me, do I get lonely out there? Or am I afraid to be riding my motorcycle alone? Well, it's been a many, many years since I've been riding, and thus far my answer is no. I don't feel lonely on solo motorcycle rides. Never have, I don't think. But there's a reason for that, I think. Maybe I'm thinking the right way, at least for me, in regard to what a solo ride can mean to me.

Turning Strangers Into Road Friends

Ron 4:46

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm no hermit. Quite the opposite, I think. Sure, I love the company of my old friends who are riders, but I absolutely feel thrilled to meet strangers while out on the road. I guess it's the tour guide in me. I love the experience of showing strangers what I've seen from the seat of a motorcycle with the hope that they will have that same experience and love it too. Those views, those conversations with the locals, the conversations with Mother Nature, when you get good at it. Maybe it's that meaningfulness about just having a conversation about stuff like that. And maybe it's very impactful if a stranger and I get to experience amazing things together. Ending up maybe at a coffee shop or at a diner where we can say to each other, Wow, do you believe what we just saw? I love that. A fellow I met while riding way up in the mountains about two years ago contacted me recently. He said that he still listens to the podcast, which I was glad to hear. We met in the tiny village of Rustic at a place called Glen Echo up there. There's a small little cafe there, and he was having lunch on the cafe porch. I sat nearby and he asked me to join him, which was very nice. So he was riding a Honda Goldwing and pulling a trailer, and he told me that he was camping nearby, described the place, and I knew exactly where that was. So I asked him if he had seen some of the mountain peaks called the Crags, which are about 10 more miles up the road. And he said he hadn't, but he'd like to. So there we went. I still have the picture of us together up there. I had seen those peaks countless times over the past almost 30 years, but you know what really, really thrilled me was watching him, watching him look at those peaks for the very first time. Standing next to his Honda Goldwing. He was amazed. And by watching his amazement, I was thrilled. Right now you're probably saying, Ron, first you're talking about your love for riding alone, but you keep talking about the joy of riding with a stranger. Yeah, I know, I can't explain how my mind works most of the time these days. But okay, let's circle back and think about this. When you're riding alone, stopping at a gas station or sitting by yourself at a local coffee shop without earbuds in, and maybe just sitting there reading a book looking approachable for a stranger, that's an open invitation for a conversation with someone who's curious about the helmet and jacket that you've got on the seat across from you, and maybe that can turn into a conversation which just may be wonderful for the both of you.

Letting Nature Into Your Ride

Ron 8:06

As for the time you spend actually riding down the road alone, I think riding solo is a perfect invitation for another type of conversation. Maybe a much deeper one. A conversation between yourself, maybe your soul, and your mom. Mother Nature. It's my mom too. Now, if you happen to live near a dense forest or near the mountains, having that dialogue with your mom, with Mother Nature, can be relatively easy. The trees and the peaks practically shout at you, look how huge and beautiful that I am. But even if you live in a sprawling city or in a crowded, paved-over suburban area, I think you can still experience something similar. You see, Mother Nature isn't missing from a city street. We just managed to hide her a little bit. So try this if you live in the city. There is the sky up there, and there are the clouds, the same sky and clouds that are making their way across to the open fields nearby, and even all the way out into the wilderness. On the bike, there's a wind pushing against you. The same wind that we would feel out in the wilderness. That's Mother Nature too. The same storms that Mother Nature creates over the cities are the same ones that'll pass over your mountain campsite. You see, Mother Nature's always there. And if you're quiet, she's waiting to talk to your heart and to your mind. If you'll only listen.

A Tour Tease And Sound Plan

Ron 10:17

Some of us have talked over the phone, though, and are texted and have had a few video conferences over Zoom, which has been really cool. But for most of us, we have not met or, needless to say, ridden together. Not yet, anyway. You know what would be cool though? What about something called the Peace Love Moto Tour? Small private tours around Colorado based on the vibe and the spirit of this podcast. Hmm. That sounds interesting, doesn't it? Oh wait, I'm not supposed to share that yet. So I'm working on it. Give me time. I'm working on it and I'll let you know. But until we do ride together someday, I would love to share with you today an experiment. An audio that I recorded just this past Tuesday while out on a solo ride through what's called the Pooder Canyon. It's just north of here. I stopped by the Roaring River along State Road 14, about 40 miles west of the town of Fort Collins. It's here that I recorded some sounds and some thoughts that I'd like to share with you now. I recorded them right there on the spot just using my phone, which is not very professional at all. The quality isn't great. But I hope you like it. I do hope you like it. So let's try this together. Take a breath, relax your shoulders, close your eyes if you're at a safe place where you can do that, and come with me into the canyon to sit by the river. Hey my friends, this is a bit of a sound experiment.

River Sounds From Poudre Canyon

Ron 12:00

I don't believe I've done this on the podcast as of yet. We'll see how it goes.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

But this is an idea of the sounds, anyway, of a mountain road and stopping by side a river.

Ron 12:17

So I've hopped off my BMW GS Adventure 1250 uh to let you hear it before I turn it off.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

So I've turned it off, and now I'm gonna head down toward the river. Pick out a nice place to sit. It's warmer. What is that we've got? Oh, maybe up maybe up to here some wind.

Ron 13:04

What is that load? I guess I and uh yeah, walk down here to the end of the river. I'm about 10 feet away.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

The river is about 100, maybe 90 feet top right now. It's running really high. I wish you were here. I do. I guess I shared on the podcast before that I do enjoy riding with others. Most of it. I enjoy riding alone because I can experience things like this. Or I enjoy riding with others who have never seen this before.

Ron 15:14

Who I'm just now meeting.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

I like strangers. Yeah. But it doesn't take long to change from a stranger to a friendship, really quick. And I like having friends.

Ron 15:28

But uh yeah, the wind is quite dusty right now, but again, it feels really good.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

I'm trying to turn my back to the window.

Imagining The Land Before Us

SPEAKER_01 15:40

So when I come out to a place like this, I like to imagine what it was like back before the Europeans arrived, right? The Native Americans here, from what I understand, it was the youth and the Arapaho that were primarily in this area of northern Colorado, or became Northern Colorado. And I would imagine that there were families who came out to this very, very spot and saw exactly what I'm seeing today. Maybe it would have been different trees, or the same trees were a lot smaller, whatever. But still, this can that I'm looking at looking up at uh over my left shoulder right now, it would be the same as what they saw when they looked over their left shoulder. As I look to my right, looking to the west. Oh man. So I come out here again just to kind of reflect, maybe think maybe to not think. And also think about the future.

Calm And Trust For The Future

SPEAKER_01 17:03

The future is a little scary right now, doesn't it? Political upheaval. Trying to kill themselves and others. Um yeah, it's it's a little worrisome. Very worrisome, to say the least. But I come out here on a motorcycle, a motorcycle that I love, and I sit in space like this, thinking back on those two seconds before. I think it's gonna be okay. I really do think it's gonna be okay.

Ron 17:45

And I think it's gonna be okay because I do have trust in those generations coming up behind me.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

As I'm aging out in my 60s now, retired, maybe I'm not having as much of an effect on the world as I hope to. But I observed in my own children who in who are in their 30s and have their own families and have their own children now, my grandchildren, I have complete confidence in them. Complete confidence that they have the good of the world in their hearts. That they will do whatever they can with people that they need to make the world a better place and do a lot better job, hopefully, in my generation. That's my hope, that's my prayer. So thanks for sharing this time by the river with me. Maybe I'll enter. Maybe I'll include this in a future episode. But I am glad to be here. That's for sure.

Beginner’s Mind On Familiar Roads

Ron 19:19

Sitting there underneath those trees, listening to the river taking a path that it has taken for thousands of years, you begin to realize that you're just a temporary visitor in this much grander story. A story that maybe in heaven someday I'll be able to fully comprehend. I think when you're riding a route that you've taken maybe a hundred times, whether it's in the mountains along a canyon or a two-lane blacktop with the winds blowing as you pass the farms, something interesting happens. If you let it. And that's the key, my friends. Something happens, I think, if you let it. You stop looking at the map, you stop thinking about who's riding with you, and you start looking at new details that you never saw before. As for me, that's best done alone. Alone on a solo ride. And that's what psychologists call the beginner's mind, which is a beautiful presence of mind, really. It's a practice and looking at the familiar as if you're seeing it for the very first time.

Your Micro Adventure Challenge

Ron 20:42

So, my challenge to you this week, my friends, is pretty simple. Don't wake for the perfect group, ride, don't wait until the whole crew is ready to go. As soon as you can, set out on your own, little micro adventure. Ride a road that you know by heart, but look for things that you've missed all that time. Listen to the wind. Stop at your favorite little coffee shop, sit with your favorite book, leave your earbuds out, and see what the world or a stranger may have to say to you. Remember, the size of the adventure isn't a measure of how far you've ridden, it's a measure of how relaxed you get, how quiet your mind becomes, and frankly, how much joy you feel from just being out there.

How To Support Peace Love Moto

Ron 21:35

Hey my friends, I've gotten feedback for the past year or so that some listeners would like to support this podcast, and that's very nice to hear. I just really haven't had any opportunities for that. But I created some. Check out the updated show description section for the Peace Love Moto podcast, and I think it should be visible uh everywhere out there on the streaming services as well. But if you don't, you can find it out there on the peacelovemoto.com. Uh contributions are most welcome. Until we visit again, my friends, I do wish you peace. And I wish you love. Take care.