Today’s chat is not really safety and awareness, though I guess it is a little bit of awareness. There’s just some life lessons that you learn as a motorcyclist. And this is a few of mine. I’m sure there’s plenty more out there, but these are just the ones that I thought of and wanted to share.
Number one: fear can be good and bad. You have to kind of overcome fears when you’re out there on the road, on your bike. There’s all sorts of fears coming at you, but using the fear and overcoming it can make you a better rider and in some ways, a better person, in my opinion.
Number two: everybody falls. Sometimes, you know, even the best riders in the world sometimes fall, drop their bikes. The most important thing is, is you get back up. You back on. You continue to ride. And you know, that’s like life. Life sometimes pushes you down, makes you fall. But just get back up there and keep going.
Number three: It’s not necessarily the destination that’s important as much as the journey. I know that’s the cliché Harley-Davidson ad that’s out there, but it’s true. Sometimes it’s finding your way is more important than being where you end up. And sometimes where you end up isn’t where you expect. So that’s a good lesson in life and in riding.
Number four: You’re never too old to learn new things. Always learn. If you get complacent, you;ll get sloppy and you’ll get hurt. But always learn new things. Always be open, learn new things. And when you’re riding. I’m always learning new and trying new and practicing. And you’re never too old to learn something new. And you will never be too good to do that. You don’t always need to learn something new. You can learn from others. And sometimes it’s correcting a bad habit. Sometimes there’s just a better way to do something than you’ve been doing it all along. So be open to learning new things.
Number five: Don’t judge people by their looks. Some of your biggest, toughest looking men in the world can be some of the nicest, most compassionate, caring people you will ever meet. They will be there no matter what through the ins and outs of your life. So don’t take one look at someone and dismiss them. You could be bypassing something very, very special.
Number six: rain happens. You know, I think there’s a thing about it in every life. Some rain must fall. That’s true. Sometimes it’s sudden. Sometimes you can see it coming and have time to prepare. And sometimes you’re soaked before you can get to the next stoplight. Rain happens. You deal with it and move on.
Number seven: Riding, especially riding alone, I found it can be kind of a Zen. It can help you center yourself and focus yourself. And for me, get out of my head and take my mind off the problems and just kind of find my way again. Which I think that’s what they say meditations about. I just do it on my two wheels.
Number eight: And then there’s just some things that you only other riders know. And you’ll meet up with somebody and find out that they ride. And there’s things they understand that nobody else in the world can understand. Unless you’ve been out there and spent some miles on 2 or 3 wheels.
Number nine: Communication is important. That’s a very important one. You know, you need to communicate where you’re doing. And on a motorcycle, use your turn signals, you know, let people know, and communicate with other riders out there. Let them know and and hopefully other vehicles out there communicate with you and let them know what they’re doing. But communication is important. That’s something you learn out there on a motorcycle.
Number ten: And the last thing I want to say is not all detours are bad. Something they take you some amazing places, some take you to see some amazing roads. Some amazing rides and some amazing memories. I was with a group of riders one time. It was extremely hot. We didn’t want to be stuck in construction traffic. So we got an atlas out. We found another road that was basically the same direction we were going, and we ended up on a very windy mountain road. That was a whole lot of fun that we never would have found if we’d stuck to our original route.
And the the memories and the friendship are worth a lot more than the time it took us to take the detour. So don’t be upset by detours. Be open to them. Be safe out there. Enjoy your rides.