“There is a moment, an eclipse of conscious action and reaction, when a motorcyclist’s complete well-being depends upon calm, level headed perception. Perception of the ground and tire- a perception based on synapses that can key the body’s action to turn clumsiness or disaster into flowing motion. Maybe it happens crossing the crest of a razorback where the ground drops away sheer for a thousand feet to either side, or maybe it happens the first time the motorcycle becomes an extension of the feet when bike and rider leave the rise of a jump to clear the next in the air and land smoothly on the downhill side.
A complicated feat of hand/eye coordination? Sure. But what may have been luck, or skill, or practice has launched into a field of understanding. It is a moment where the concept of controlling a motorcycle goes far beyond what it meant in the past. A connection grows between the rider and the bike that appears as skill of speed.
If the new found abilities are to continue growing it must be a graduation into a new set of responsibilities; responsibilities where competence, judgment and sensitivity combine with satisfaction. From this point on riding a motorcycle begins to take on more subtle definitions: control becomes finesse, picking a way becomes taking the way, the earth becomes a friendly medium. Traveling over the earth with finesse, understanding and compassion provides satisfaction rather than gratification. Pleasures necessarily become more subtle, too.
In its finest form motorcycling should be like a martial art. The mind must work with the body to produce precision, rhythm and conservation of energy. A goal is to establish the most direct and efficient connection between the senses and the muscles. Without the cooperation of a calm and rational brain nothing is possible.
In order to expect to control a motorcycle the rider must understand the stimulys provided to him by the motorcycle. Actions from the handlebars and footpegs must be quickly translated into reactions. And the hands and feet have to be able to feel all the way through the motorcycle to the ground to sense its texture and slipperiness and interpret the news. The messages are infinitely subtle and require the utmost mental acuity to make good use of them.
Instrumental to both the establishment and maintenance of this calm but alert state of mind (meditative?) is a machine which comes easily to treaty with the mind/body energies. This means things such as steering geometry and weight distribution, seat comfort and shift lever location and how smooth and quiet the engine is. If any of these systems-handling, comfort or gentlemanly demeanor- are not adequately designed and constructed the result will be an inharmonious motorcycle, one which will inhibit rather than enhance good mind/body energy.
Of course, to construct a motorcycle which functions perfectly and in total harmony would be to assume that there is some individual who possesses both of those qualities. Or, that a group of individuals could work together, combine talents and produce the perfect product. And so it goes.
A sensitive motorcyclist may perceive, with no small astonishment, that a number of motorcycles have progressed an impressive distance towards that goal. Most impressive is that in many areas the manufacturers are offering potentials that many people have never imagined. Least impressive is their child-like possessive grasp of performance at the expense of more important qualities. And so it goes.
Not only does the responsible motorcyclist have competence in mind, body and machine and their interrelation, he can also apply them to what he is doing- the traveling over earth. The motion itself is the least productive of the activities contained in the sphere of motorcycling. Even the maintenance of the machine at least tends to perpetuate the activity. Therefore, the traveling requires the most attention if it is to be at all profitable.
A good place to start is the minimization of destruction. We are so retarded as to be seeking neutral grounds of good and bad. They aren’t inaccessible. In essence a motorcyclist and the machine are no different than the earth they travel upon. Carbon and hydrogen and some minor others like silicates. To say that a path in grass is of no harm because it will regrow in two or three years is conceptually the same as saying that a cut on the skin of a person is acceptable because it will heal in time. This doesn’t mean that all life must be cherished above all other concerns. There is no right and wrong, and pursuit of more right or more wrong is a lonely journey. The mere application of rational thought from that calm, aloof brain will result in the optimization of potential.
As the motorcyclist traverses the earth thinking about the more general concerns of the activity, the way the wind feels against the skin, hearing birds singing in trees, feeling the muscles enjoy the work, feathering the throttle to avoid needless tire spin and useless skids and enjoying the calm responsive way the body and mind work in gentle rhythm with motorcycle and earth, motorcycling takes on horizons much larger than all the crassness that it can just as easily mean.
Motorcycling can be a profit to mankind, can help people think better and understand their environment more thoroughly. Like any tool with cast potential for good, it can be equally bad. It can and does help many people to avoid thought and disregard their environment. It can inhibit rather than enhance perception. It can be a sickness.
Not only does motorcycling need a better public image, it needs a better internal image. On any given Sunday I can find you a thousand motorcyclists pursuing degradation of themselves through degradation of the land, the machine and the sport. They’re not pursuing satisfaction, they’re pursuing gratification. That is a sickness- a very visible one at that.
Eventually, and it may not take long at all, these people are going to tend to force you and me to quit riding our motorcycles through shame and embarrassment if not through the law. And so it goes.
I am no activist. I have no interest in or use for causes. I am only speaking for myself and I hope for the rest of the people associated with this magazine. What you have read is obviously no indictment. It is simply the philosophical background for the bike riders who prepare this magazine, presented so that you might better understand what we do. And there is no satisfaction in life without understanding, only gratification.” - Dave Shoonmaker
This is from the December 1975 Dirt Rider magazine. It resonated with me so I typed it out to share here. It reminds me of how thoughtlessly sick I once was and how I still find myself at times seeking that gratification over satisfaction. Peace!
