The Riding Ritual
Wake, exercise dogs, feed them, eat, shower and check the weather report. Make decision to ride or not ride.
Riding discipline is a series of actions and behaviors that coalesce around a common goal of performance and engagement with the machine. And that performance is what interests me. Not only for how it affects riding, but how it reaches beyond to open consideration of a whole host of live actions and behaviors.
The Vespa is a teacher and mentor. Unusual really, considering it’s only a collection of inanimate parts.
Yesterday morning I rode into town to meet a friend for breakfast. The temperature was below freezing which required me to make a decision regarding riding, and then more regarding gear. Engaging both questions over time creates a level of discipline which makes the entire process easier to engage and ultimately ride more.
Who cares about economy or fuel mileage when you can expand your experience through the use of a riding contraption…
Mentor and a teacher eh? I think of my motorcycles more of a vehicle to put one in the right state of mind … or the clearing of one’s mind of the detritus of life, the self-imposed stressors and obligations.
A good teacher or mentor does the same thing, or can. Hence the reference. Perhaps I should refer to my machine as Dr. Vespa…
As a former private pilot and then later owner of an ultralight aircraft…disciplines emerge that add to the experience….Similar to riding,.
.but with bikes, “the fun begins at the end of the driveway”…not X miles to the airport. Reiterated by me…originally verbalized by Peter Eagan.
Pilots have checklists that reflect discipline. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation teaches a discipline that’s like a checklist. And from it hopefully a ride of less risk. I definitely agree with the idea that the fun begins at the end of the driveway. Every time I ride off I’m smiling…
Good book…”The CheckList Manifesto”
Describes how surgeons and others have adopted the checklist concept for even repetitive tasks.
Thanks Tball! That book was recommended to me in the past. Read some reviews and decided I needed to read it. And then it left my brain. So I’m putting it on my list to track down. I suppose my goal is to minimize the number of things I do that would require a checklist to the things I really want to do.
Actually a checklist frees ur mind…
Imagine the creeping horror you feel 50 miles from home on ta beautiful day….when you think you left the tea kettle on…
Pre Ride checklist includes…”Tea kettle off”?
That’s a serious checklist. Mine would include — water to washer turned off. Dogs have water. Doors locked. Sunglasses. Stove off…
I like the idea of not having anything gaining on me in my head.
Wow, you give the inanimate collection of parts quite a bit of responsibility. Teacher and mentor…
Well deserved though.
I feel like a wuss compared to you (I hate being cold) but I’ve been adding more gear and gadgets to my vespa to make winter riding more comfy. I think I’m finally OK with below freezing temps (heated gear makes everything better).
Technology definitely makes it possible to expand the riding season. I started without electrics and struggled with the cold because I didn’t want to stop riding. That helped me past the cold which I don’t like feeling either.
Onward!
Serious riding definitely does require discipline. Sadly not all riders have the discipline and generally the results for them are not good.
Perhaps lack of training, knowledge and choice of rides factors in. I always remember an older friend, a man who had never ridden anything with two wheels, tell me he bought an Harley Ultra Glide at age 70. It didn’t work out…
Oh no…what a shame.
Bad choice of motorcycles for a 70 year old, first time rider. He really needed to swallow his ego and begin with a scooter or Honda 250 Rebel. If he did, and worked his way up to the Harley, he may still be riding.
Decisions, decisions. We make them moment to moment, sometimes for good, sometimes not. With a one, two or three or four wheeled transportation conveyance decisions are the part of using same.
There are good decisions and bad decisions. I try to manage them toward the good.
From time to time I perform a walk-around on my two wheeled vehicles. Poking and tugging things and inspecting suspicious bolts and nuts. Since I feel like a fighter pilot on my bikes, I treat them as such.
I need to be more like you Jim. There’s a discipline I need to sharpen. Particularly when it’s cold in the garage! I’m not a fighter pilot though. I’m more of the scout plane type…