Does Riding Make You Grateful?

Morning Experiences

Waking up, splashing warm water on my face, entering the garden with the dogs, I always find two things — excitement at what the day may bring, and gratitude to witness it. Something unfamiliar when I was still working and mornings were a chaotic rush to try and strangle the day into submission.

A slow, patient movement through the world is not just a luxury, it’s a formula to appreciate what’s right in front of me. It’s at work when I ride. No frantic rush to get somewhere or accomplish something. When I pulled the Vespa off the road and into an open field I wanted to experience the sunlight and the world before me. And like those morning walks in the garden I felt grateful to be alive, to be able to ride and appreciate life without being lost in noise and chaos.

When I ask myself “Does riding make you grateful?” the answer for me is yes.

I’ve Been Here Before

This photograph was made three and a half miles from my home. A familiar road I’ve ridden on scooters and motorcycles for decades. And still it holds excitement and mystery. It would be easy for it to become boring and unimportant because of familiarity. And they would become invisible traversing them in a car with music blasting and thoughts focused on chores, work, or some other myriad adult responsibilities.

Such is the arrogance of the life I embraced before I started to ride.

As a slow, methodical rider my eyes open and I may see the obscure or puzzling things along the road. No rushing but rather a quiet recognition of the world around me and the thoughts in my head. I’m grateful for that vision.

Lessons Learned from Riding

There’s a long list of things I learned from riding. I’ll share a few of the more significant ones.

I deserve something fun in my life. I’m not talking about the temporary or superficial distractions labeled as fun, but activities that surface as fundamentally important in building a better life. In a world full of responsibilities there was little room or value in fun. And without it there was an empty place in me which eventually led me to start riding. Fun was part of that experience but more importantly riding led me to better see and understand my understanding of my life and the world I was in. The fun part was a doorway into an expanded experience of living.

Patience and forgiveness are powerful drugs. Riding opened my eyes to seeing things I otherwise would miss. On the road, I saw drivers making ignorant choices. In the relative safety of my car I could rage at those unsafe drivers. But my vulnerability on two wheels led me to see everything differently. There was no profit from the blindness resulting from righteous anger and frustration. Slowly I became patient with people and embraced the utility of forgiveness. An act not for anyone else, but to liberate me from whatever burden of emotions I was carrying as a result of the behaviors of others.

Gratitude enhances my life. Over and over I found myself standing along a road with a thrill running up my spine and whispering how grateful I was to be alive right now in this place. That gratitude in those moments spilled over into every other part of my life. A gift of riding.

The road goes on and on. And somehow riding converted the death mathematics of longevity into a daily renewal of recognition that I am alive and present right now. And as long as I remain present in the moment nothing else matters. My road goes on and on.

So does riding make you grateful? Yes, it has made me a grateful man.