The sun is finally shining once again after close to a week of cloudy/rainy days, it's June, and I'm at work. I’m stuck inside this stuffy office answering phones, resetting passwords, dropping images on new systems, and pondering a resolution to a new Novell eDirectory opportunity. I should be outside enjoying this almost 70-degree morning, out soaking up some UV radiation from that bright orange ball I see so little of. My bike is in the parking lot, I could be out cruising with the sunglasses on, face shield up, and gloves off. I could be enjoying this rare break in the clouds but instead, I woke up this morning and reminded myself that I am an adult. I forced myself to climb in the shower and get dressed for work. I consoled myself the whole time with the phrase "at least you get to ride the bike, no 'caging it' today." It did make it a little easier to walk outside into the bright blue-sky morning and head southward toward the office. It might be easier if this place were built like a casino. All things natural, light, sound, grass, clouds, sky, blocked at the perimeter. In their place, fresh air and false light pumped into the space through the infrastructure of this fortress. No one would know if it were a nice day outside with no windows, no doors opening to allow the scent of fresh air and a warm summer breeze loft in as each person passes to and from the outside world.
As I drove along the expressway, just a little chilled by the cool morning breeze as it found it's way between folds in my jacked and gloves, I was content. I discovered a few months back that the pure pleasure of riding a motorcycle calms me in much the same way as skimming along the tips of the waves on a sailboat. I'm sure it has something to do with the adrenalin involved but it works for me and I quickly relax and fall into a comfortable place both physically and mentally. Today was no exception on my way in as I listened to the melodies flowing from the earphones attached to one of my best friends, my MP3 player, tucked securely into a pocket of my riding jacket. Then I got south of Fenton and the music stopped. It was midway through a song and then went silent; the battery died!
Part of the reason I ride to and from work with music is because it gives the part of my brain I don't use for riding something to do. I've talked to many a biker who doesn’t understand how I can concentrate on riding safe with earphones in. Some don't believe I can hear enough of what is going on around me, which I can due to the style of the headphones and the limited volume; just loud enough to hear at expressway speeds yet not too loud when sitting in traffic or on surface streets. Most tell me that the music is a distraction, one I can't afford because as a biker you need all your senses fully alert to avoid danger. I agree to the last statement, about needing all my senses fully alert, but what they don't understand is that for me at least, listening to music while I ride long distances does not impact my senses much if at all. In fact, it helps to keep me focused because the portion of my brain that is not used for riding keeps quiet and sings along with the melodies. I discovered this the hard way this morning when my battery died and I did not have a spare in my pocket.
When my ears went silent, the little voice in my head kicked in and began taking portions of my brain that I DO use while riding along with it. My thoughts began to race in circles about everything from what I needed to get done at work today to ideas for a web project I'm working on, to e-mails I have both sent and am waiting for, and inevitably back to people I have not heard from in a while. I don’t have this problem when riding short distances where my brain is constantly active because of higher traffic volumes, constant stop and go with lights and turns, and other hazards to watch out for. However, on the open road where you point the bike in one direction and just kick back for miles on end, it's easy to let my "scattered" half run away with the rest of my brain and before long I'm off in left field somewhere day dreaming about something or having a conversation with Kerry in my head again.
Today it was the latter of the two, something I haven't done in a while, and it wound up being a good thing. I managed to keep the bike upright all the way to work with no panic stopping, not even when the moron in front of me slammed on his brakes for no apparent reason and began to swerve into the right lane of traffic. I simply leaned a little to the left, put the tire on the while lane divider, and rolled on the throttle as I passed between his erratic car and the one in the left hand lane. I'm not certain the driver next to me appreciated it but he didn't give me the finger so maybe he didn't notice how close to his right side mirror I really was. In any case, I made it to work a bit early and in one piece, and I managed to figure out a few things along the way. I suppose I should stop typing this blog entry and send that e-mail Kerry suggested.
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