On riding...

The last couple of days have been absolutely great. Monday was our first motorcycle lesson with Tony, as was so well documented by Erin. I had ridden a moped in Cambodia and Laos a few years ago, and in Namibia I rode a quad-bike with a full manual transmission, so I was a few steps ahead of Erin in the game to start. This worked out very well because Tony was able to spend most of the double-lesson with her and let me get more comfortable with the bike.

I had a few friends with bikes who tried to explain to me the joy of riding, but it never really connected because I hadn't done it myself. They talked about the exposure to the elements, the feeling of connectedness with the road and bike, the wind, the curve of the turns, but it just didn't click. I don't know how to properly explain it, but I feel like I finally understand. There is an intrisic beauty to taking a turn that a car simply doesn't convey. I almost looked on the passing cars with regret or pity, thinking to myself that they didn't understand what they were missing by being so detached from the driving experience. I've always preferred manual cars to automatic because the shifting of gears engaged me and forced driving to become a more interactive experience. The shifting quickly becomes second nature, but still the link is there much more so than an automatic. Riding a motorcycle was an incredible explosion of this difference, bringing every action to the forefront. There is no changing the radio station, eating a banana, answering a cellphone, nothing. The concentration required consumes all of my attention. The focus is oddly relaxing because of the simpleness of the task, but the immediacy of everything. I think that might be the best way I can describe it. I'm sure this feeling will recede as my comfort in handling the bike increases, but I doubt it will disappear. I hope not, at least, because that makes it so much fun.