For any readers expecting skin — let me dissuade you now — no skin in this post. Naked has connotations beyond the body stripped bare of clothes, it points to times of vulnerability and being leaving the mind exposed to the world. It’s in this vain that I was riding naked.
I spent two days without my iPhone; unplugged, disconnected, cut off from the world and I have to admit I felt uncomfortable, a bit anxious, and sensed the obsessive nature of my relationship with the thing.
It wasn’t until Friday night until I realized I had left the phone on my desk at work when in a moment of boredom I attempted to fill the void with headlines from Google News. Without the phone my easy access to time, weather and calendar was gone. No quick glimpse of email to make sure there was nothing to attend to for work. As the evening progressed I found myself feeling as if I was missing something, that life was going on without me. All because the little device was not with me.
While doing errands on Saturday I was like a stranger in a strange land as I noticed how many people were walking through the grocery store looking at their phones, tapping into an unseen flow of energy that kept them safe and content.
Like a drug.
I would find out later that my wife tried to reach me by phone and text. The assumed reliable access is gone when you don’t have a cellphone with you. I found myself wondering when I surrendered my independence for the safe enslavement of a smartphone? I remember not having one and feeling just as safe on a trip as I do now even though a breakdown would require reaching out to fellow travelers for help. Seems frightening today.
I have no illusions when it comes to riding adventure. I don’t believe it exists anymore, at least not the idea in my head of the rugged individual facing the world alone. Today every rider I know has the convenient smartphone lifeline that provides access to support, maps, directions, weather and more.
But wouldn’t the real adventure be to leave the phone, the GPS, the tablet and whatever other network connection you have at home? Certainly would force a person to consider the road differently. I suspect the ride would be more challenging and the experience more intimate. Looking at a map is different that following a dot of a digital screen.
I would like to say I am going to leave my iPhone at home but I know I won’t. I can’t. I need it. But I also know that having one and using it daily leaves a person with an addiction to the thing, especially if you take a lot of hits from it. That I can do something about.
Right now I’m powerless over my iPhone so I can’t ride naked.
As a fellow traveler/adventurer (though I use the 4 wheeled windowed type of vehicle), I totally relate to this post. My devices have become appendages to my body. Without them I feel dismembered.
In my travels I have gotten into the habit of documenting with selfies, dictating future posts while driving, staying in touch with family, checking maps, etc.
Like you, I left the house one day without my trusty little brain replacement. Before I could get across town I realized it was missing and diverted back to get it.
To me, the lack of the device was more akin to dismemberment than to nakedness.
How did I ever get by without one for the first 50 years of life? I don’t remember….
I too wonder how I made it through decades without a cellphone. I can only think I was more resourceful, courageous, and better able to entertain myself. Even so, that was then. Not sure I want to go without a smartphone now…
I noticed this years ago. A certain brand of motorcycle was always riding in a group accompanied by a pick up truck. That scene isn’t as common anymore. I see many riders on this brand riding alone now and I know why. If the breakdown occurs they have but to reach into their pocket to summon help, even away from pay phones or civilization. I leave my cell phone on numerous occasions, not out of bravado. It’s called Old Age.
I guess at the brand but shall remain silent.
Breakdowns are far less frustrating when you can reach help in an instant. But where’s the story in that to tell at the next biker night?
Great post, Steve. Have you read The End of Absence by Michael Harris? The book is not at all about riding, but it explores our addiction to smart devices and the Internet. An interesting read.
I’ve not read the book Alan but just read an interview with the author. I’m definitely going to pick it up. You can read the NY TIMES interview with Michael Harris to learn more about the book.
Thanks for the heads up!
The latest Pew Research polls state that 91+% of Americans now have cell phones, and with almost 60% of those having some kind of smart phone. My work requires that I am online 40+ hours per week, but now in my 60s (and having ridden for the last 40+ years), I resisted the urge to ever get a cell phone (other than for a year or so when I had one wired into my car 20 years ago). I finally broke down and got a very basic phone a couple of years ago. It is almost never used. It just tags along with me when I go anywhere, in case I ever have an emergency. Almost no one, outside of my immediate family, even knows the number. I don’t text, and I almost never take photos with it either. Cell phone government spying and tracking issues aside; call me a dinosaur, and I am happy to be so, and to be disconnected.
I thought that I was one of the few that use a cell phone for emergencies only. I also have a phone, but rarely (if ever) use it. It’s a moderately “smart” model…not really smart, but not really dumb either. It’s certainly not smarter than I am ;-).
— Patefermente
I admire you’re ability, or perhaps luxury, of being disconnected. I have neither at the moment and seem to find an ongoing battle. And my work does require, or at least I interpret it to, a certain level of connection outside the regular business day.
For years I just had a flip phone that really was just a phone. Now it’s a computer in my pocket and can suck the life from me if I’m not careful, my own siren luring me onto the mental rocks.
I’m with Sumoflam, it feels a bit more like someone cut off a necessary appendage when I leave my phone at home/work/etc. Unless I’m in my hometown area, I generally need GPS to find my way around on the bike so its a necessity. Otherwise I’d never make it back home LOL.
What is interesting to me is that the commenters picked up on exactly what I was thinking – you see less and less riders in a group, because rather than having to rely on their buds for repairs, they can pick up a phone and dial for help anywhere.
I’ve not been able to reach people when I needed a repair on my Vespa. It caused me to panic at first, then I took a deep breath and said to myself that people could fix their Vespas on their own pre-mobile. I can do this, and I did!
If I’m honest, while the phone is nice, the really comfort of an emergency or breakdown is money. No money, no help unless you’re calling family or friends. The phone issue is something different and more insidious — it just steals away your life. Or so it seems to me. And I can’t stop it. Really pathetic on my part.
I really feel you on the smartphone addiction. I can just about leave it when I go for short runs but have reckoned it accompanying me on any ‘adventure’ journeys I do. So right, it’d be a more realistic adventure to leave it behind but dare I? I really might just give that a try.
Leave your credit cards and cash behind — that’s a real adventure in today’s world!
A thought-provoking post Steve…..some riders brag their entire toolkit consists of a cellphone and a credit card, eschewing the carrying of tools and spares….some riders carry more tools than came with the motorcycle and enough spares to do expected field repairs….some, like me, do both!
The cellphone has gotten me aid with relative ease (sometimes, coverage in the mountains is a bit “weak”) and I took along a Satellite SPOT device with me on the trip to Alaska, so yeah, adventure riding with a little peace of mind….given the facts of being a URAL rider.
I will admit, the GPS function is nice to have in a strange town, and nice to know where the heck you are when in the middle of nowhere…assuming your battery hasn’t run down of course!
Back in the day, the addiction that is so prevalent now among cellphone owners used to be seen only by users of Blackberry phones, I believe the term of “Crack-Berry”. It is quite the addiction we pay gobs of money to our providers, isn’t it?
Dom,
Crack-berry — I had one of those early, smart phones with a little antenna. Being able to read email in a reasonably functional manner was amazing. But I fell into the addictive state early with it and never looked back.
I am more the phone and credit card toolkit guy though I do have some tools along but I just don’t see myself making many repairs along the road unless it really is an emergency. Repair or death kind of thing.
Sorry people, all of you except Fred are friggin’ crazy. Why the heck do you surrender your person and personality to some trivial technological crutch? Can’t live without a cell phone 24/7? Pathetic!
When I’m at work I do what I have to, in constant connection. At a certain point the work is done, and I’m offline. Nothing is so critical it can’t wait until business hours tomorrow.
My cell phone is turned off except when I absolutely need it to make a critical call (and that’s a high bar, defining critical) or to check the weather satellite images if there are big storms about. Otherwise, I’m a big boy, able to find my way around the world and actually live in it, not in some ridiculous network simulation.
When I ride, or drive, I am in the moment and attentive. Life is rich that way, as a free man and not a slave. I own the technology, it doesn’t own me. But if being tethered makes you happy, go for it.
I wish I were a bit more like you Ed when it comes to technology. I lack discipline and willpower and hate to admit that the technology might own me.
On the bright side I haven’t had cable TV or broadcast tv of any sort in over 20 years. That’s something I guess. Well, maybe not, there is Amazon and Netflix…
I’ve had a cell phone since ~1991 and numerous “smart phones” before the iPhone so I must be truly addicted and probably biased. Assuming that folks actually turn on the phones and figure out how to use SMS, finding others in your group or family could be simple. Too often I hear from others around my age that SMS is too complicated so they don’t bother to read or answer text messages (the same folks must have someone else answer their email and post in forums under some anonymous pseudonym).
Having access to GPS information and maps is really useful in new cities. In fact, I don’t see how anyone can find their way in your home state of PA without a GPS. Tiny roads in all directions with tiny little signs listing places that aren’t even on the map. And just because you have it doesn’t mean it needs to be clipped to your bike’s dash somewhere.
Plus it is the camera that I always have with me. The original function of the cell phone, voice, is rarely used anymore.
DING DING DING — you hit the nail on the head why I don’t need GPS. I grew up navigating these twisty, windy, Pennsylvania roads pre-GPS. Now my brain is my own GPS system and I can pretty much go anywhere with just a brief look at a map. Or not.
I think I hear you Richard … it’s not an addiction but more a tool for independence (at least that’s what it is for me.) I can venture far because I know (I hope) I have a help line should I need it … much like my beloved GPS – it has given me freedom! They are not my life, they are tools to help me navigate safely where I want to go in my life.
Hi Steve,
I am a member of a Vespa club and we have rides all the time, some overnighters and weekends, we all have smart phones, gps, iPads etc. and the adventure side is somewhat tempered by all the info and backup at our finger tips, never the less being on the Vespa is somewhat of an adventure.
I recently organized a ride down our coast about 100 Klm round trip, one of the riders who was on a vintage Vespa broke down and I ended up having to ride home get my trailer go and pick him and the bike up and drive them back to his home about a 3 hour trip all up, the damn technologly didn’t help one bit!
The club has 1957 archives of the original newsletters for the Vespa club and it is fascinating to read the adventures they had, obviously no tech and roads and facilities that were a lot different to today (they were a lot younger too) bikes broke down regularly, no coffee shops but all done with lots of enthusiasm and fun.
We try and emulate that but I’m also happy to have an iPhone companion and my camera..
Happy riding.
Cheers,
John
Some things are best left nostalgic memories. Walking miles for gas, hitchhiking and rides with creeps, all best left as old memories rather than possible new ones.
I think Vespa and other motorcycle clubs have a great time riding together and taking care of each other. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I’m with Fred. I wouldn’t have a cell phone now if the significant other hadn’t taken sick and might need to reach me in an emergency. I view them as electronic leashes into which I am most reluctant to stick my neck. Add to that the fact that the government can track them with ease and for me, they are WAY not worth it. Besides, if I’m going to be working (i.e. reading work-related texts and emails) then I ought to be getting paid to do it, not doing it on my own time! I say, you’re better off without it!
Electronic leash. Interesting idea. I don’t feel trapped by the technology as much as I recognize how simple it is to get lost in noise and let the minutes and hours of my life slip away…
Hi Steve!
I have something to tell you, should bring a smile to your face and have you thinking about Spring instead of the dreaded Winter. Today I was reading rvsueandcrew.net
She RVs full-time and is in AZ chasing Summer temps. Well, today on her blog she had a visitor, Rick, who is seen with his Ural w/sidecar and his dog riding with him. I told her about your love for that motorcycle and the reviews you have done about them. Told her to tell Rick to come and visit your blog and search your reviews. His Ural is a BEAUTY indeed, White and Beige Desert Camo paint job, perfect for the AZ desert. So, if Rick shows up here tell him Hi for me and offer him a hardy welcome. He seems to be good-people and you two could talk Ural-shop together and swap some stories!
Rick should really visit the guru of URAL — Dom Chang at Redlegs Rides. He keeps hinting that I should get a URAL but I keep disappointing him.
Steve, I will tell Rick of Dom and ask him to visit there too.
Thanks!
Steve,
I forgot to address the subject of your blog, sorry, was excited about sending a new reader to your blog for you.
Now…about that phone…
For me it just another piece of wise and needed gear. Not much different than my riding jacket or my helmet and gloves. I almost never take photos with it, take my camera instead. Never call anyone while out riding either but always make sure that I have a full charge before heading out. So, for me it is just a tool in the box if needed but as they say ~never leave home without it~ 🙂 😉
You sound like you have the most even, unemotional perspective of the bunch!
Thank you Steve!
Hope you are feeling better about those coming-Winter blahs.
Today is Georgia our temps were perfect for riding. Not many days left of the low 70s to high 60s so I made the most of it by riding all day today on the Vespa ET. It was glorious! All two lane backroads, something Georgia is especially known for. The leaves were especially lovely, bright sun and mildly crisp-cool winds. As always, the Vespa shined inside and out 😉
An interesting conundrum with the electronic teather to your existence.
Remove your purpose of employment, your purpose of your present existence
your immediate and future family, and all connections physical and otherwise…
Only then could you dispose of your electronic connections of current existence.
In the days of yore when such devices were not reality many of us used a stub of a graphite writing instrument and a piece of parchment derived from the exterior of a birch bark
tree.
Seriously…though, the world out there tells use we “need” some form of communication device, be it a basic flip hone or one of those so called stupid phones. Perhaps your life would be less complicated if you were able to leave your portable device on your desk at your place of employment more often. ,
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the money saved by ditching the electronic connections. No small piece of change, for me at least.
After reading all the comments, yours included, I realize I am seeking balance, not disconnection.
Is that possible?
The thing about technology is you can’t escape it. Fuel injection, valve actuation, ABS, Traction control, Vehicle Stability, all controlled by computer. I just read a story in Road and Track about how Throttle by Wire even is controlled. The computer reads what you want and decides how much to give you. I don’t always carry my cell phone with me, but I have, and it bailed me out more than once. I’m not addicted and only have a smart phone because my tech savvy daughter forced it on me. It’s good for sending messages on Facebook though. “Dear, I have to stay longer at work CULTR.” Wi Fi hotspots are everywhere and I don’t use the phone much at all. Treasure those carbureted bikes, they’ll all be gone soon.
It would be difficult to unplug and live without technology. Even in you don’t have any directly practically everything we have relies on it in some part of the manufacturing or production process. Not sure why it even matters anymore save for those days I think I an enslaved…
My carbureted Vespa has already given way to fuel injection.
And then I go one worse…I carry a backup phone “just in case” I forget my phone somewhere. Man, you have a point with this post!
A backup phone! You win the prize!!
Steve,
After reading several of your recent posts I decieded to Seek-Out and Explore. Taking your que and riding while the weather is still nice here in Georgia, Low 70s to High 60s…perfect for riding for several hours. Well, I did ride…hours on end and it was wonderful! 6-7 hours of pure bliss! No photos, phone only in the top box, and a light lunch to carry me through. Two lane backroads…heaven this time of year with very few leaves on the roadways. As usual, the Vespa ET was flawless! Gee I luv that scoot! Today it is suppose to rain, 40% chance and feels like it will. Sure glad I made hay while the sun shined yesterday! Thanks for inspiring me!!! Luv your blog and give Junior ear rubs for me, such a handsome cutie-pie that Junior 🙂
Glad you were inspired to get out and ride. The weather sounds beautiful. It’s nice when the rides just unfold without plan or expectation.
Junior is sleeping now but I’ll give him an ear rub when he wanders over this way.