I want to mention a phenomenon I recently noticed - I call it Moving Across Surfaces. That's not so poetic, but it's the best description I have so far.
Do you like to walk? ride a bike? row or sail or drive? Then you enjoy moving across surfaces . . .
and so do I.
When I rode a bike at the beach last week, something reawakened in me. There's something about moving across a surface to somewhere or no where in particular. No treadmills for me - where am I going? I'm not fired up about mere moving, that's called exercise.
Is this making any sense? Maybe not, but I know it feels good to move and not to do sit-ups in my living room. (A hint is that when I'm done I haven't seen anything and the carpet feels the same on sit up #1 as on #20.) Wheels rolling over a boardwalk with hundreds of miles of ocean to look at, now that's a moving experience and worth it!
On the view from the mesa, it's seeing so far you don't know how you could ever get there, but you think it might be fun to try. So when I got home from my visit to California, I fixed my tire and started moving across the mesa - feels great.
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So, I didn't have a car when I went to college. My GF at the time had a grandparent with an old scooter - a 1981 Honda 80 scooter, based on the Vespa, that 'swept' the country in the late-70's early-80's. I bought it for $150, found a helmet, drove across town to get a motorcycle license (they are actually required) and almost failed the test. Sure, it was an instance of not studying, but I also outweighed the bike which makes it hard to stop, hard to go, and so on. Plus, I've got this weird-shaped head that makes helmets painful. Regardless, always wear a helmet.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it died after a while, and when I got back from my year in Europe and still didn't have a car that continued to work, my family and I bought a 'real' motorcycle - a 1998 Honda Shadow 600. It was a tiny bit too small for me, but a tiny bit too big for the fiance'. From that point on, motorcycles are my favorite.
Here's why: when you drive, you're IN nature. Even with a helmet on, you have better vision - no door posts or roof over you, wind in your 'face', sun on your leather (in my case), and freedom. When you turn, you actually turn the wheel the wrong way, which tips the bike over and then centripetal force keeps you 'up'. Faster turns, deeper lean. It's fun. It's the most fun driving outside. Sure, cars are nice, but a motorcycle is an activity...
Thanks Leon - I haven't tried a motorcycle, only a scooter, which my husband loves 3 seasons of the year. When I have more time, I could see moving about on a motorcycle - looks like very kinethetic experience.
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