“Motorcycle Meditation”

 Today, my friend Lyn and I jumped at the chance to ride our motorcycles because there was a break in the cloudy-misty-rainy weather we’ve been having. A sunny day, with temperatures in the upper 50’s….."Let’s ride!!"

 

As any motorcycle rider will attest, there is something about being on a bike that is so mentally and physically gratifying. For me (and I’m sure many other riders), it is sort of a "meditation". Like Taijiquan, one must be have a sense of total awareness of themselves, their movements, as well as the environment……a sense of awareness that is relaxed and not forced, yet strong and dynamic.

 

We took a relatively long ride, considering that we normally go on short 40 mile jaunts to go grab a bite to eat or just cruise around for a little while. As we rode, I noticed that my shoulders were a little bit tense. "Wow….what’s wrong with this picture?" I thought with a chuckle. I relaxed into the bike, letting my shoulders drop and I felt myself settle into the seat.  I relaxed my hands, allowing my palms and fingers to lightly grip the handlebars instead of choking them. "That’s better" I thought. Its always a great feeling to have the bike become a part of your body, as opposed to just "sitting on" the bike. Connecting with the bike this way, allows the bike to respond better. It almost felt, as if all I had to do was "think" left, and the bike would turn left. Think "right" and the bike would turn right. Today, I felt my whole body with the bike.

 

In comparison, Martial arts are the same way. With weapons, relax, allow the weapon to become a part of you. In sparring, relax and don’t plan anything…allow your body to respond to each attack as it comes.

 

 

Lyn chose a nice route to our destination, roads with "twisties". I noticed that my bike responded to the twisties with ease, as long as I stayed "one with the bike".   When it grew dark, we started back for home. Riding in the dark is always a time of extra awareness, since darkness can affect depth perception for many drivers in automobiles. With that in mind,  I remembered something that Reggi Shelley told me once quite awhile ago……something about sending out a "notice me" awareness so drivers notice me when riding (not her exact words, but something to that effect). So, when we were at a stop light, I thought "What the heck…i’ll try it".  I tried to send out a attitude of "WE’RE HERE….notice us!".  

 

 There must have been some kind of "notice me" thing going on, because cars gave us alot of breathing room for the highway ride back to Renton. At one stop light, I heard a guy shout out his car window "Nice bike!". After Lyn and I split up to head to our respective homes, another guy beeped at me and gave me a thumbs up,……at another light, teenagers waiting to cross the street yelled "Sweet ride!".   Not quite the "notice me" thing I was aiming for, but cars still gave me alot of space for the rest of the ride home nonetheless. Either the drivers were riders themselves, or Reggi’s advice worked, or both!!

 

As the weather gets warmer, I’m looking forward to more "Motorcycle Meditation".