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The Joys of Dissipation
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The Healing Power of a Solo Motorcycle Ride
Bill Stermer
Summer 2004
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I rode out to my favorite road, a twisting snake of a California
canyon that starts at about 1,000 feet and soars to more than 5,000 feet. Its 40
miles are laced with broken pavement, curves and challenges. Soon I had the bike
rolling hard, leaning way over to the left. I felt the cornering loads building
on my shoulders, tires biting asphalt, then a quick flick whipped the bike into
a right turn where it settled on its suspension and the tires fought for
traction.
From 25 years of riding this road, I knew that dirt would be around
the next corner, that moisture could be in this hollow on a spring morning, that
one could pass in this brief chute but not in the next one. Up ahead I could
whack the throttle and let the engine breathe. It was familiar territory, ridden
hundreds of times with good friends, to wonderful experiences. And today I
needed this purposeful act and focus and coordination more than ever.
Miles
later, I pulled off at an overlook to find that much of my tension had been
dissipated by focus and concentration and wind, and replaced by a quiet reverie.
I contemplated how my grandfather had emigrated from the Ukraine in 1909 to work
on the Trans-Canada railroad, how my mother had moved to Chicago and met my
father, how they had moved to Michigan, and how 30 years later I had moved to
California. Our family had been in motion for 95 years, and I was grateful for
where it had brought me.
And I was grateful for motorcycling. Riding changes
the focus momentarily so that we can break the tension and think more clearly.
Riding allows the cares and sorrows crammed into a helmet to dissipate in the
wind. Riding a motorcycle may not solve our problems, but it does change our
perspective, clearing our heads so we can solve problems ourselves.
Like
Mary in the joke, motorcycling has always been there for me, and it has not been
bad luck. Instead, motorcycling has been the focus of many of my good times and
has made the bad times better. There is still a lot of living to do.
I love
you, Mom. Thanks for the ride that made it all possible.
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