There are many who deride bikes as snooty playthings.
Admittedly, there are many who treat their bikes like snooty playthings.
However, for every playboy with barf-inducing neon lights underneath his bike,
there are hundreds of connoisseurs who know their bike inside out, who have
learned to interpret every little bump and fizz, who are so in tune with their
bike that it starts to speak to them.
The life lessons that bike-riding folk have learned from their bikes are
equally applicable to bike-deriding folk. So what can a non-living living
and pulsating thing that is made of plastic and metal and functions on tiny
explosions, teach us?
1. A Concentrated Atmosphere Leads to A Concentrated Mind
A combustion engine draws fuel from the bike's tank and mixes it with air
sucked in from its surroundings. On cold mornings, this mixture is not
combustive enough to make an engine run properly. This calls for a choke,
a valve that keeps out the air, forcing a unilateral flow of fuel from the
bike's tank into the engine. This allows the engine to get started and warmed
up with minimal fuss. Soon enough, the engine gets warm enough to allow the
intake of air, and thereafter, the air flow only works to maximize the engine's
output.
The analogy to draw from the choke valve is that in every endeavor you make,
you need to force everything you have into it, without relying on or waiting
for outside help. Before your idea is strong enough to meet dissenters head on,
external influence will do nothing but spoil your best-laid plans.
Only once the idea has been refined and strengthened should
you seek outside help. When your plan is strong enough and you are committed to
it, opportunities start to fall your way, seemingly of their own accord. The
idea becomes strong enough to convince dissenters to change their mind, and
feeds off the support thereafter.
2. Recreation Rejuvenates
After a few months or a few thousand kilometers of relentless riding,
undesirable deposits start to collect in an engine. Nuts and bolts start to
come loose. Cables start to fray. The electronic components start to go wonky.
The accumulated dirt and grime start to corrode the underlying paintwork. The
lubricant starts to become stale and useless. This calls for a servicing, where
the exterior is polished to a sparkling finish, the air filter is scrubbed
clean, the engine is cleaned and refreshed, the cables and nuts and bolts are
tightened, and the essential fluids are refilled.
Our unavoidably hectic lifestyle in these times of plenty forces us to pile on
stress and frustration onto our mind and body. The inevitable result:
frustration, sleeplessness, indigestion (urrgh, I know!), short temper, chronic
weakness, lethargy, a weakened immune system, and a whole lot of other
ailments.
Your mind and body need and deserve a refresher once in a while. The 'six-month-vacation-twice-a-year'
jokes aside, there is no shame in demanding some 'me time', however cheesy that
may sound.
Instead of spending Sundays slumped on your sofa, head out
into the ever-welcoming embrace of Mother Nature. Go on a hike, go camping, go
to a beach, go on a wildlife trail. Not to state the obvious, but hey, go for a
bike ride!
Take the time to wash away the layers of grime you have been
unwittingly accumulating, and emerge anew.
3. Bravery =/= Stupidity
The point of wearing heavy riding gear on road trips is not just acknowledging
that you can make a mistake, but being ready for the idiocy and recklessness of
others. You may think you are the most accomplished bike rider in history, but
even discounting the highly plausible possibility that you are entirely wrong
about that, there is no way you can adjust to a drunk driver suddenly veering
into your lane, leaving you with two equally grim options.
In life, as on a bike, there's bravery and there's stupidity.
By all means, be impulsive and make your own way through
life, but be prepared for cockups along the way. Make provisions for possible
adversities.
However confident you may be in your capabilities, no one is
perfect. Even if you are perfect, in which case I need to know your secret, you
depend on others in a myriad ways, and they may not always be up to scratch. It
would be stupid to recommend pessimism, but a dose of realism would sit well
with an optimistic mind.
4. Corners are Memorable
Ask any rider worth his salt about the best road he's ever driven on, and he'll
regale (and sometimes bore) you with tales of the twisty bits on a mountain
road. No rider likes a road that goes straight as a needle, endlessly.
Nobody remembers the straights; they are just not
that memorable. Sure, it's nice for a while if there's greenery, or if you are
riding into the sunset, but after a while, you inevitably find yourself craving
the smallest of kinks in the road.
Likewise, the boring, open stretches in life may be easy, but nobody lies on a
deathbed wishing he had been more normal, more routine, more clockwork. It's
always the more adventurous, riskier times in life that you remember. The
linear trajectory of John Everyman's life is easy and safe, but there’s a
reason nobody remembers John Everyman’s actual name.
5. Eyes On the Road
The open road is not a place to take lightly. Road conditions can shift in the
blink of an eye. Animals may run into your path from out of nowhere (and that
includes the humans). There is a reason why ‘designated drivers’ are a thing.
Despite the many disadvantages of multitasking, we live in a time where being
able to do it is considered a badge of honor. Contrary to popular belief,
multitasking doesn't help you accomplish many things at once, but rather leads
you to messing up many things at once.
We may believe that our brain is capable of handling two
tasks at once, what the brain actually does is constantly switch attention
between the two, so quickly that our conscious self doesn't notice it. For
the sake of your own brain, concentrate on what you are doing at the moment.
That's what the brain has evolved to do, and naturally, that's what it does
best.
6. Know Your Limits
A bike, however sturdy it may seem, is only designed to carry a certain amount
of weight. Exceeding this limit for a short period won't hurt the bike, but
continual overloading causes numerous problems: The suspension sags. The power
output suffers terribly, since the same amount of power is now distributed over
a larger load. Braking distance increases significantly due to the increased
momentum. Even tiny deviations to either side are magnified several times over,
again due to the increased momentum. The only way to increase the carrying
capacity of a machine is to enhance its fundamental structure in a sustainable
manner.
In life, as on a bike, it is important to recognize your limits. While
self-confidence is a veritable boon, there is a thin line between confidence
and vanity.
Don't make promises you can't keep; you will be letting down
not just yourself, but someone else who depends on you. Don't try to be someone
you are not; if you aren't paid to do so, looking like Hollywood actors all the
time is not possible. Don't base a relationship on convenient lies; they will
come out eventually, causing much more devastation in the long term.
Be comfortable in your own skin. You have unique strengths and
weaknesses, just like every other human being in the world. If you really want
to exceed your limits, so to speak, bring about changes in ways that will stick
– ways that are sustainable.
7. Smooth is Steady, Smooth is Fast
Lubricants are a crucial class of fluids which lessen the abrasive damage naturally
caused by the regular use of a machine. While some abrasion is inevitable in
the long term, lubricants keep the motor running smoothly even when it hits
temperatures in the thousands of Fahrenheits.
Just like any other machine, the body also needs its own
lubricants. Joint pain is one of the most avoidable and yet most prevalent
conditions in the world today. The skeleton may define our internal structure,
and the muscles may be our powerhouse, but it's the collagen in our ligaments
and tendons that really keeps the body together. If you really want to stay
healthy, focus on the joints.
Secondly, social lubrication has been a cornerstone of
progress for us humans since the very start. However independent-minded
and freethinking you may be, you still need to rely on other people for
unavoidable necessities, and sociality is built deep into our genetic
foundation. Ignore it at your own peril!
The story of human progress has been one of collaboration, not isolation. Those societies that stayed together during hard times survived the longest. As an Indian, I can't ignore the fact that repeatedly, foreign invaders have taken and still continue to take advantage of the divisions in Hindu society to conquer us. A few thousand Redcoats from Britain landed on a rich foreign land half a world away, saw what was happening, and built the biggest empire the world had ever seen, based on nothing but a common devotion to Queen and Country, while we Indians kept squabbling about which one of us was the purest and which one didn't deserve to enter our temples and drink from our rivers. Without smooth social lubrication, the global superpower of medieval India was reduced, first to a slave, and then to a global nobody by the time Independence was granted to it.
These are seven of the lessons the Rambler has learned from his love of the motorcycle. What others can you think of? Let me know in the comments!
