Contemplating Long Rides

I love long rides because all the day-to-day noise in my head falls away. The further I get from an urban environment the more expansive I feel - as if there is less to reinforce a distinction between the atoms that make up my body and the atoms in the earth, water, and air.

Earlier this week a non-rider remarked about a story she had heard about a fellow who, grieving deeply for someone close who had died, went on a ride that lasted several weeks. During that time, he worked through his grief and decided that life still had meaning for him. The non-rider commented that she was so pleased to discover that motorcycle riding could be meditative. Being the geek that I am, instead of saying, "yes, that's one of wonderful aspects of riding", my brain locked up in a cognitive thrash, and the best I could manage was a nod. The nod was a purely social response so as not to offend.  I didn't want to split hairs with her and take away this newly discovered positive feeling about motorcycles and riders.

Still, the use of the word "meditate" in this context bothered me. I'm certainly no expert on the subject, and what I'm about to say may show my complete ignorance, but readers of this blog know that has never stopped me from talking about my experience. For me, meditation is an open mind, with 360 degree awareness but no specific focus. For me, riding long distances enables an open mind, requires full awareness, and requires focus on the environment and the input the bike is giving you. Not paying attention to the environment and the bike can have grave consequences. For me, riding the motorcycle allows me the opportunity to "contemplate" stuff that I've not had the luxury of time to ruminate about.

You may be thinking, "you know, Cecilie, you really need to get on the bike and go because if you've got nothing better to do than get your knickers in a twist making these fine distinctions, you need to get a life."  You have a point. Still, as she described the story, it seemed to me that the rider used the prolonged time alone to grieve and contemplate life and death, but for all I know, based on this article on the distinction between concentration, contemplation and meditation maybe he was meditating, too. A quick search using the keywords "meditation" and "motorcycle" will bring up hundreds of links to people describing their rides as "meditations" so perhaps the distinction is pointless. And, maybe I'm just not a good enough rider to meditate while riding - I need to focus!

I've built my career on my brain's natural tendency to analyze. That's why I ride, to shift the analytical engine in my head into neutral. Physical training gives the brain beta-endorphins, contemplation and meditation bring a sense of inner peace...whatever it takes to quiet the fluctuations of the mind.

just an exquisite act of irresponsibility and self-indulgence

Yes it has been months since I have last posted an entry. No I didn't fall off my bike, I am not in the hospital. I'm just not a good enough writer to make my obsessive planning for this trip interesting enough to want to bore you with it. And, truth be told, I'm having second thoughts about this online presence.

Recently I've had some less than pleasant experiences that resulted in filing police reports - I've had to wonder if my online presence is attracting unwanted attention. I have become concerned about the safety of the people who will be taking care of my house and cats while I'm away. After talking with the local police, neighbors and friends, I've decided not to let the buggers get me down. One of my favorite bloggers, Shreve Stockton of Daily Coyote, wrote a rant about people who come to visit her uninvited. Her comment, "The longer you loiter, the more time I have to aim." nicely sums up my attitude.

"Are you really going to ride across Canada? You mean, like, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean?"
The questioner's eyes are wide open, brows pinching on the forehead, torso inclined forward, chin tilted to the right about 30 degrees, nose slightly scrunched in quizzical disbelief. I smile and nod. I don't want to admit that I'm getting nervous about this, I'm wondering if I'm an idiot, if I have bitten off more than I can chew. I don't want to say that one of the guys at CalMoto told me about riding in October in Newfoundland in gusty winds - he got blown across the road and into a ditch. He indicated the slope angle with his hand and matter of factly said that he just rode out of the ditch and got back on the road. My stomach was flip-flopping.

In the BMW Owners News magazine there was an article from a guy who attributed being able to show a tow truck driver, at night, where his bike was up-ended bike in a ditch, to the reflective material he had put on the underside of his panniers. I love BMW ON, it is great read for rider geeks. As a sacrifice to the ditch gods, I went to the hardware store, bought reflective stickers, and placed  them on the underside of the panniers, just like the man said. There are too many gods of chaos to pay off in this way; all I can do is expect to learn a lot on this trip.

So here's a sample of the boring planning stuff I'm dealing with.

Shipping gear: The living room is a staging area for all the gear that needs to be shipped to my starting point. I  thought I'd be clever and ship four big boxes to the hotel. Then I found out that UPS charges commercial rates for the larger boxes. I'm repacking stuff in smaller boxes. Panniers go in separate boxes from personal belongings, you get a better insurance rate on goods, as in "replacement cost", than you do on personal belongings - $5/pound.

One of the planning decisions was choosing a medical air service provider (just in case). My BMW MOA membership provides a discount for MedJetAssist (http://www.medjetassist.com), so I gave them a call to compare their service to what MASA (https://www.medairservices.com) offers. Both companies take care of you and your bike in the event  that you are injured, and both companies assume your traveling companion will accompany you on the flight. But, if I'm injured, and Peter is flying to the hospital with me, what about his bike? I was surprised to learn that MedJetAssist doesn't provide the same "get-the-bike-home" service for the accompanying family member. MASA's family plan will take care of both bikes if Peter and I are flying to a hospital. The family rate cost difference was fifteen bucks - MedJet is more expensive for less service. I signed us up with MASA and I hope I will never have an opportunity to write a testimonial letter for them. I did write to the BMW account manager at MedJetAssist to ask if they would consider modifying their service offering but I haven't heard back.

Roadside assistance. I'm surprised to find out that the BMW road assistance (Cross Country) that came with the GS is not renewing the annual subscriptions. Peter had been using the Honda Riders Club but that service isn't renewing either.I checked with CalMoto, they know that BMW isn't renewing the service, but they don't know what BMW is offering as a replacement. AMA may be the best bet for me. Honda just (as in May) started offering a road side assistance program for their customers.

In between the mundane project planning there are brief moments of dry mouth doubt, and little thrills of wide grin anticipation. I still don't have a response to the quizzical looks from people, clearly they think I'm doing something irresponsible, that I'm being self-indulgent but dammit I don't want to turn 80 and realize that I didn't take the opportunity when I had the time and the means.

My most recent inspiration comes from my friend Lois, who, with her husband Jack, went on a bicycle tour of the boot of Italy earlier this year. The difficulty level of the tour was "beginner"; they had been training for distance on flat roads but decided to increase their cardio-vascular strength by riding in the canyons near where they live. The bicycle tour group had an age spread of forty years, starting with couples in their thirties. Eyebrows were raised at the older folks, and not so quiet comments made about hoping they could keep up. At one point in the trip there was a long sustained uphill grade. Not realizing that Lois and Jack were in earshot, one of the younger couples joked that the older folks would never reach the top of the hill. Lois and Jack exchanged a look, and thus started the slow, steady, determined press up the hill. Halfway up the grade, that younger couple ran out of stamina and rolled themselves and their bikes onto the sag wagon. Lois and Jack pedaled on, arriving about mid-pack at the top of the hill. There were no more comments about the old folks after that.

St. Johns NF to Victoria, BC. - that's the goal. Heaven help me.