motorcyclemeditation.com

Just back from a hundred mile journey, parking the motorcycle, chatting to a neighbour, also just returned from a jaunt of similar length. Mine by motorcycle, his by car. He in the bad mood.

A familiar tale of traffic frustrations, though on gentle enquiry the fact emerging that actually the traffic flow had been reasonable. Got stuck behind this truck, see, couldn’t get past, for twenty miles all I had for a view was this dirty great slatted sliding door, bouncing up and down as the truck moved, the same commercial message, the same patterns in the dirt. Tried to pull out to overtake a few times, every time there was a car coming the other way, very frustrating. Wished I was on a motorcycle, actually.

Sympathetic head nodding from me. Refraining from saying, well buddy, here are a few of the things you need to know about travelling by car. First thing, even if the going’s good, the prospect that it might not be sours the experience anyway. Second thing, it takes such a little thing to mess things up, as you have just discovered. Or rather, rediscovered. Next thing, when things are messed up, you have almost no power to do anything about it, you’re trapped. Next thing, the onboard entertainment systems hardly help, or not for long. Next thing, a car trip isn’t a positive, it’s merely an attempt to avoid negatives, forget the car advert glamour. Next thing, at journey’s end, instead of being refreshed, you’re merely depleted, carrying a tiredness that resists sleep.

No point saying these things, he wouldn’t listen anyway, and besides, next to him a powerful riposte, his wife and two children, newly alighted from the car. Also looking less than happy, but at least there, sharing the family drive experience.

Difficult to fit a wife and two children on a motorcycle. Still, if you don’t have such entanglements, well, lucky you, you get to do the journey on a motorcycle.