Comparison

Debbie and I rode to Williamston last week and I have had the "opportunity" to drive that same route three times this week. Unfortunately I was in the company vehicle which has more than two tires.






I couldn't help but replay the two wheeled trip in my mind and compare mental notes. While on the bike there was a sense of calm but yet heightened awareness and of course there was the fun factor. I vividly remember the width of the road, the rake of the curves and the quantity of farm crops along the way. I also remember the good number of unused tobacco barns and family farms that are in various states of disrepair and stand as monuments to our past rural successes. What happened to these farms and homes that lay empty? The family suddenly disappeared into the night or more likely the children moved on to a "better" way of life once Ma and Pa couldn't take care of themselves any longer.

With the big family dog by your side as you ran down the dirt path, dragging the stick along the fence, click, click, click. The cane pole over your shoulder while thinking about the big one that won't get away.







Boy I sure wandered away from the point on that one....









Driving in the cage you are so isolated from everything that it's a disconnected journey at best. You are a bystander not a participant. You are more concerned with the destination than the experience. I don't fault cars entirely, I actually enjoy cars quite a bit. A few weeks ago we drove to Winston-Salem to visit Allan and returned through Raleigh to visit Adam. We took our '02 Yukon on that trip and drove non-stop to Winston-Salem. It was very pleasant and we were never concerned with traffic or our safety. But yet I hardly ever have memories from the drive like I do when we ride the bike. When you ride on two wheels you are more aware and you tend to take the back roads so that explains part of the difference. I wonder if the cage driver attitude is partly responsible for so many of the accidents that occur? The disconnected, isolated traveler.


Traveling on two wheels is motorvational!