RIDING
Welcome to Cud for the Mind
“I do some of my best thinking in my DRZ saddle. Actually, the bigger thoughts get chewed over and over in my mind in between concentration on the trail. That’s the beauty about dual sporting…the freedom on the bike and the connection with nature gets you out of the mundane thought. So, toss out those cells, cubicle demands and grocery lists and hop on that bike, or at least join me in some dual sport thought chew.”
-Nicole Espinosa is the founder and blogger of Rugged Rider.
My Motorcycle is My Home
"You can take my home, but you can't take my bike!"
I can make any place with four walls and a roof my sanctuary to nurture my family and work life. But, it’s my bike that I need for my sanity. That’s my connection to the glorious world of nature and adventure where I become one with my core and the earth. All it takes for me to recharge my batteries is the sight of my bike, Jack B. Nimble, packed for an adventure ride and then…
I know I’m home.
Who cares what this economy has heaped on me. It can’t take away what I hold most dear…my freedom and the ability to instill in my kids a lust for life. It’s that passion for life that really surfaces in me when I’m on my solo rides and pondering some of the deeper questions of existence. Specifically, have I learned some of the biggest lessons of my life? I actually think that my most recent lesson of letting go is my biggest one. Graduation from the schooling of that one seems to be knocking on my door. Not soon enough, or so it seems. But, then again I realize that it’s all playing out the way it is meant to for me to climb to the next level.
When contemplating the “climb” the other day, I had a revelation about how I am going to be successful in both work and daily life. It is going to be through my personal connections with people. It’s funny how I crave that, especially on my solo rides where the interpersonal stories or strangers living their own journeys is what’s most intriguing to me. Here we are thrown together on this Earth in various cultures and communities, and through international adventure rides or everyday interactions we can find that we are all one.
There are commonalities that just can’t tear us apart, no matter what wars are being projected on the news. Have you ever been a rider on one of those adventure rides out in the middle of nowhere and your bike breaks down? Ever needed any help beyond what your tools or mechanical expertise can reach? Isn’t it amazing how a stranger in a foreign land or a fellow ADV rider appears out of nowhere to lend a helping hand? How about the exchange of love and laughter between a rider and children in a third world country? It’s those priceless moments on the road that demonstrate that home is really where the bike goes in the journey of life. So the next time the bank says, “foreclosure”, I’ll answer, “You can take my home, but you just can’t take my bike!”
Dualsporter’s Support Beats a Belt and Suspenders
"Never fear extra dualsporter's support is here!"
It’s amazing how one commonality of straddling a motorcycle can corral such a big group of the kindest, most supportive and adventuresome people I know. Look at any ride report on ADV rider website and you’ll find that the response to any rider in trouble is astronomical. There are many heroic riders out there who would ride for hours over many miles to save a fellow dual sport or adventure rider from a tough situation in the boonies. Yes, it is a tightly knit bunch, to say the least. So, what is it that binds us together like Threadlocker?
Love of life.
It’s that intoxicating thirst for adventure that gets us out there buying the bike in the first place, but, it’s that love of life that keeps us out there riding, experiencing, and living it time and time again. Witnessing someone else in the process of loving life on an adventure ride is especially inspirational. Just look at any one of the highly viewed ride reports on the ADV rider website like “The Oasis of my Soul, 4th Year on The Road” by Ara Gureghian, or Beemerchef as we all know him, with 155,387 views. The reason Ara has such a large following is because he writes from the heart in a colorful, engaging and deeply humanistic way. You can’t help but walk away from his ride report and blog touched with a new perspective on life or deeply moved by his photography. Ara easily demonstrates a love of life through his continuous adventure ride with his 4-legged cohort, Spirit, in his sidecar that is now into its 4th year of communing with Mother Nature. Many of us stand up and cheer when we witness an adventurer of life like Ara, especially when he is one of our own. These larger than life adventure riding stories can transport any of us from the daily grind and seduce us into living the adventure vicariously.
Personally, I don’t find it coincidental that my adventure riding started the same year I experienced a huge shift in personal growth. My yearning for independence, exploration and one-ness with nature shook hands with the wide-eyed idea of adventure riding and there was no looking back. Plus, my kids were finally old enough to understand that mommy “needed” to go on these trips for so many reasons. With each solo ride, I experience an enormous feeling of “coming home” once I cathartically expel my experience into a ride report on ADV Rider and am supported by the many riders that have welcomed me back. Some of that glorious support has grown into some magical friendships that make me realize that no matter the obstacle in front of me I am not alone in having to overcome it.
We are a unique group that is woven tightly together by its strong brotherhood and lust for life. With this sense of belonging, we can tackle any hardship and know that in the bigger picture it isn’t this small obstacle that matters, but rather the feeling of belonging to a larger family that has your back.
Planning an Adventure Motorcycle Trip
The digital age can’t compare to the fun of spreading out maps and organizing binders filled with trip routes to be looked over and touched for years to come. Yeah, I’m the type that likes to open up scrapbooks and family photo albums while sharing the memories with others sitting beside me. It’s just not the same when all of you are crouched around the computer screen with someone else’s trigger finger on the mouse.
Sure you can forward your ride reports to your family and friends, but what if your computer goes down like mine has twice this year. Do you want to risk losing your data and memories? Nothing compares to the fold-up maps that can be stuffed into your tank bag window.
Touchy, feely is important to me…in books and albums, in buying motorcycle apparel and in planning motorcycle adventures. I’m a tactile person that likes to feel quality with my fingertips. My touch doesn’t mislead me. Plus, half the fun of the trip is in the anticipation, planning, information gathering and touching before your butt even hits the seat. › Continue reading
Beating this Economy with Dual Sports
"Pink slip, shmink slip."
Pink slip just hit your desk? Can’t qualify for a loan modification on your house? Your underwear so worn out even your holes have holes? Well, don’t knock your head against your Facebook wall, hop on your dual sport and hit the trails.
If there’s one thing to make you forget about your holey underwear it’s participating in nature…being one with it. When you’re out there dancing on the throttle through some rocky terrain you tend to forget about the economy and how it’s affecting you.
But if the daily casualties of the economy are unavoidable, then let’s equal it out by first looking at the fact that only dual sports and scooters had an increase in sales in ’08. No other bikes pulled that off according to the stats from the Motorcycle Industry Council Retail Sales Report. › Continue reading
Mod Justification
"Hmmm, get a new mod or mortar for my house?"
Ever notice that your mod list gets more attention than your house project “to do” list? Well I don’t know about you, but I definitely need a jet kit before I need the plumbing fixed on the second sink in the master bath. Heck, I’ve been using one sink for nine years now. What in the world is the rush in having a choice between two sinks, anyway?
Yeah, you don’t realize it’s mod justification until you wake up one morning and your house is falling down around your ankles. But, damn, your bike sure looks good!
It’s a convincing inner dialogue as you hear yourself say, “I’m not selling the house or refi-ing anytime soon, so why not just throw those extra bones to my baby in the garage. Baby needs a new pair of shoes, anyway…make that knobbies.”
And, then you pass that beauty in the garage, which, of course, keeps you from noticing the bald patches of ivy in the backyard. “Oh, that new irrigation system can wait; besides, it’s a lot easier to get the places that the sprinklers miss when I water with the hose. And, anymore water on that tree out front will make those roots grow even more and make that cracked driveway worse.” I think the neighbors get a kick out of seeing me get some off-road practice as I ride over that crack. Who needs a smooth driveway, anyway? Call me when it swallows my Toyota Forerunner.
Now that I remember, though, there was this one time when I took care of a home project by myself right away. It was changing the ballast for a florescent light in the garage. So, you see, paying attention to that house to-do list can be accomplished. Oh yeah, now that I think about it, I sure can read my mod list a lot better with that new garage light. Ah, motivation.
Sometimes you just have to slow down and ask yourself, “Will the mod list ever stop?”
Not as long as your house is still standing.
Need a new pair of shoes for your baby? Try these Continental TKC80’s (front)at the Rugged Rider store.
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