To the driver I never met...

I saw the situation you put yourself into. You were driving too fast and you weren't paying attention to traffic. There was a long line of stopped cars in front of you and you were completely oblivious. Was your phone conversation that important? It must have been because once you realized that you were going to hit the car in front of you the conversation didn't end. You just cut the wheel hard to the left without any consideration of who was there. 

Luckily, if you want to call it that, I wasn't on the phone and I was paying attention. I had even prepared myself for the fact that you might be an inconsiderate driver. Before you reacted, I had already eased off on the throttle and covered my brakes just in case. Nothing that you did was a surprise to me up until this point. My only surprise was what happened next. You saw the motorcycle that was beside you and you slammed on your brakes and I kept mine covered. Then you made a decision I could never do. You decided that my life was less important than the POS car you were driving and you took your foot off of the brake and floored it pointing your 3,000 pound cage right at me. If I hadn't been prepared I would have had to drop the bike or risk being run over by you. Would you have stopped? I doubt it. 

Meditation in Motion

I have had a few people approach me recently about running. Usually the conversation focuses on the point that running bores them. The point that I try to get across is that I understand this challenge. 

Running to exercise is boring to me as well. I can't stand running at a track; it makes me feel like I'm a hamster running in circles. The most satisfying form of running that I have found is trail running. 

There is something about going outside of the groomed tracks and sidewalks of the world and stepping into nature that reawakens a sense of adventure in me. I have also found that footwear plays a large part in my satisfaction while running. I use the Vibram Bikila LS when I run. It's a lightweight shoes that moves with your foot and keeps your connection with the ground. 

Barefoot running is even better, although sometimes I'm not willing to tenderize my feet when I could just slip on my vibrams. Once I get past the first mile I just slip away and get lost in the present. It's one of the most satisfying experiences I know.

Motorcycle madness

Back in January I took the MSF course. For those of you who are unfamiliar it is the motorcycle safety course. Basically you ride 250cc bikes around in parking lots for two days performing low-speed maneuvers and you learn the fundamentals of riding a motorcycle.

Most of the people in the class are typically lifelong riders that have either never had their license or they no longer have the m certification for one reason or another.

I was one of the rare rookies that didn't own a motorcycle and had very little experience with them. I just knew that it was something that I wanted to try.

I'll be updating the story of how my motorcycle education and my life on two wheels goes in this blog.