Saturday, February 4, 2012

Sport-touring: A work in progress...

If Confucius was around these days, I’m pretty sure he would be a moto-enthusiast and he may be quoted as saying: “A moto-journey of a thousand miles begins with a single mile” or something along those lines. Motorcyclists form their own microcosm, a subculture that deviates from the standard means of transportation and to some extent form of existence.

And similarly to the Macro society we inhabit it encapsulates individuals with different approaches to the sport. Some choose to be commuters, long distance tourers, weekend warriors, dedicated motorheads year-round riders or a combination of the aforementioned. I fall somewhere along weekend warrior and long distance tourer, at least for now, in an ideal world I would be a year-round rider, that is the goal.

This past month marked the completion of yet another yearly cycle of my existence on this blue planet. After a few decades of roaming around this place, yearly cycles become less of a party occasion and more of an assessment event, just like a rest stop when one tours. And the following questions may surface: Is this the intended path? How far is it from point A to point B? Am I on track? All these questions may only cause a bit of anxiety, and so at times it’s best to just roll along…. eliminate self-consciousness and simply ride.

When I first returned to the sport after nearly a ten-year absence, I felt I had to go out and make up for all those years and ride. I soon realized I should slow down literally and figuratively, and simply enjoy. I have now found a nice rhythm and a style that suits my state of mind. If I must identify myself I suppose I’d consider myself a tourer, but fundamentally simply a motorcyclist. My goals and moto-aspirations these days are simple: ride and record the adventures.

This is one of the reasons why I started this blog. The other day I came up with the idea that I should record and display the places I’ve traveled to on my bike, but how? The answer came in the form of stickers, State flag stickers that is. I’m also a Military history fan, and decided to borrow an idea from past military aviators and display the flags on a panel on my 250R, just like they would have displayed number of kills in dogfights. Only time will determine how many stickers I will be able to add to my panel, but that is less relevant than the adventure.

Ultimately, I do agree with Confucius, in that epic journeys begin with a single movement, my journey so far has taken me 3400 miles/ 5440 km, 8 States, and it has been awesome!


Some may think that motorcycling is a dangerous sport, and I agree, but I also ask the following: what isn’t dangerous? Would you rather sit in the safety of your home and wake up tomorrow and wish you had...[fill in the blank]. I won’t have that problem, motorcycling is my life’s passion! What is yours?. Enjoy the Ride!