I had to learn to be quiet.  Because that’s when Mother Nature can speak to you.   In today's episode, we talk about riding East to the plains of Nebraska, meeting a rancher with an amazing story, and then experiences with quoting from James Taylor in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Motorcycles are a perfect transport into a conversation with your mother.  Mother Nature.

I could hear those motorcycles coming my direction.  They had to be going fast!  Echoing down through the canyon on that steep dirt road.  There’s no guard rails up there!  Slide off the road and you're a goner.  Coming my way.  Coming really fast!  Those engines screaming.  Two KTM’s roared up and parked near my bike, right next to the outdoor table where I was having breakfast up there in that mountain village.  2 matching KTM 500 Enduros.  The riders, also in matching KTM off-road racing gear.  Klim adventure helmets as I recall, neck braces, KTM jerseys, enduro pants and boots.  Oh yes, these two were pros.  They knew how to ride. 

And the shock that ran threw me when they pulled their helmets off….?  Wow, you’ve got to be kidding me!!!    Ha ha, I’ll tell ya about it.

We’ve just got to slow down sometimes, now more than ever.  No, I’m not warning against riding fast, I’m referring to the speeds that our brains and emotions are built for.  With 24*7 news cycle, constant social media updates, work stress.  Now we’ve got Artificial Intelligence creating more and more content out there to absorb, like Youtube videos that are clearly not narrated by humans, and much of the content is either inaccurate or at best misleading I think.  We can’t keep going at that pace and keep our sanity anyway.  

Fast all the time is not good for us.  I firmly believe that.  We’re not made for that.  So when we’re on our bikes, just pick a place sometimes and stop.  Turn off the bike.  Be quiet.  Look around.  That’s hard, but I’m convinced that it’s worth it.  Let’s talk about it.  Thank you for joining me today!

What music do you hear in your head when you ride?  The Doobie Brothers?  Pearl Jam? John Denver?  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir?

For me, it’s any one of those music styles, playing over and over in my head as I ride, but for yesterday’s ride, about a 300 miler, the song in my head changed multiple times.  I didn’t have a plan for this ride, but I felt compelled to ride for a few hours, out into the open spaces.  Yesterday, I needed the road time.  Maybe to un-clutter my head.  And guess what?  It worked.  

My grandmother was Nettie Mae.  That’s a beautiful name, isn’t it.  A little lady, full of spirit.  I remember when I was a kid, 10 or 11 years old, going fishing with her way out in the country near Blue Ridge, Texas.  She drove my cousin and I in an old pickup truck out to the fields where our grandfather was working, usually driving a tractor.

I didn’t realize that what I was experiencing was a picture perfect moment.  Maybe we as motorcycle riders need to keep our eyes open for those picture perfect moments, because we probably are exposed to those with every ride.

Are you planning a motorcycle trip to Colorado?  Maybe visiting the Rocky Mountain National Park region?  Oh, we need to talk.  Ha ha.  This is my 25th year of living and motorcycling all around Northern Colorado. This is a great place to ride!   As a tour guide in the National Park, spending a lot of time up in the mountains, I have gotten to know of those really special places that are not in the guidebooks and I love sharing the info with you!  

You and I know that when you take a trip by motorcycle, the real fun of your vacation begins not when you’ve reached your destination, but it begins as soon as you back you motorcycle out of the garage.  We are so lucky as riders that the fun begins right away.  That’s what you’ll find as you ride to these destinations that I’ll be describing, cool places that are a whole lot of fun to ride to and these places are relatively unknown, and I don’t know why.

Be ready to take some notes because today I’m sharing with you some of my favorite hidden cafes, porches, coffee shops and maybe a couple of surprises, all to be found here in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  

Late November and that means it’s Thanksgiving holiday here in the US.  Hard to believe that 2023 is beginning to reach its close.  It’s been snowing the past couple of days here in Loveland, Colorado.  Time to browse through our motorcycling magazine and plan for rides on those nice days coming up.  

Yeah we do have a lot to be thankful don’t we.  This motorcycling thing that we’re so crazy about, what a gift. Maybe now it’s good timing to reflect back on some stories and interviews we’ve shared these past weeks.  

Seems that it wasn’t that long ago that we reflected back on the first 20 episodes, starting with breakfast with a stranger on Route 66.  I had no idea.  No idea, that conversation in Gallop, New Mexico would turn as it did.  I’ll never forget that man.  That was Episode 1.  

So if this podcast is new to you, maybe start with Episode 20 to hear summaries of the first 19.  But for today, let’s talk briefly about where we’ve been starting with Episode 21.  Thank you for joining me today!

Young riders pick a destination and go.  Old riders pick a direction and go.  That's good. I get it.

Henry David Thoreau talked it way back in the 1860s, this idea of wandering.  As motorcycle riders, we have the freedom to wander aimlessly, and nobody’s going to question us about it.  Some of us feel compelled to do that as we ride.

We don't always have to be going from point A to point B. We don’t always need to be accomplishing something.  What we do need is peace of mind, freedom of both mind and body.  Wandering around without a specific destination in mind can be amazing. 

Where will your motorcycle take you? Let’s talk about it. Thank you for joining me today!

There are lots and lots of things we love about motorcycling and for me, an overarching thing that I most appreciate.  Motorcycling is real.  There’s no Virtual Reality.  There’s no AI.  Nothing Artificial going on here. 

For those of us lucky enough to have a motorcycle in the garage and the ability to ride it, …. Wow, we are just so fortunate!  I think that riding is not so much an escape from reality.  Riding motorcycles returns us to reality.  And for that, we can be very grateful.

The Film Festival referenced in this Episode:  https://vahna.com/

It was there, boarding our motorcycles onto the ferry, that the fellow next to me pulled off his jacket to reveal a t-shirt that not only caught me by surprise, but made me laugh.  We struck up a conversation right away.  His black t-shirt had a simple slogan on it that said “Go Fast, Don’t Die”.  Oh, now that’s genius!  I get it!  I’m sure that statement could be interpreted in many ways, but for me it means, do what you can, while you can.  I guess, live life to the fullest.  Mindfulness helps!  Do what makes you happy.

I love the feedback and want to hear from you!  Here’s my request.  Send me an email:  [email protected].    Thank you!

https://www.gofastdontdie.com/

https://youtube.com/shorts/-4fwQ10BCdY?si=p7q_E6xbYXmSmh-6

Music by:

Gary Schmidt: https://www.garyschmidtmusic.com/

Brett Wilson:  https://www.mountainzenden.com/

Oleg Kirilkov from Pixabay

Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

Vitalii Korol from Pixabay