Friday, April 19, 2019

Rush Hour


One of the many great things about working with Team Oregon is talking with former students, they love to tell us their stories and experiences of their classes and instructors. I was visiting with a vendor one day, who happened to be a former student, and he mentioned something his instructor said to him that stayed with him for years,  although he couldn’t remember his instructor’s name, he recited “Never ride like you’re late for work”.

We tend to get in a hurry, whether late for work, late for an appointment, fetching groceries, shuttling kids to their game, or simply trying to make up some time. Regardless, that’s when we make mistakes, and as we teach in class, a mistake in a car may result in a minor fender bender, a mistake on a motorcycle can be fatal.

Driving isn't what it used to be, long gone are the days of going for a Sunday drive, and stopping alongside the road for a picnic lunch. Driving just for the enjoyment of driving.

Motorcyclists still get it, but even then many of them are in the same hurry, hurry, rush, rush mindset as car drivers. Destination over journey.

Brandy likes to leave for work early, I’ve always contributed this to her OCD (or as she calls it “CDO” because it has to be in alphabetical order), so I’ve also adopted this schedule and learned that I beat the “rush hour” traffic. This allows me to ease into my day, appreciate the sunrise, and the quiet stillness of the morning. I take my time and admire the scenery. My commute is much more pleasant now that we've moved and changed jobs.

And, I can stop to take photos like these ones I took this morning.



Cemeteries are quiet places to reflect 



So I thought this would make for a great challenge to other riders, and commuters alike to leave a little earlier, take your time during your commute, pull off on that side road for a moment, and take a picture. Whether you work day shift, night shift, split shift, or maybe you’re retired and you’re out picking up the morning paper. 

It can be of your bike, your car, your bicycle, or simply of you stopping to smell the roses…

Slow down, and appreciate the small wonders along your commute.



~ I regret less the road not taken than my all-fired hurry along the road I took. ~ 
Robert Brault




13 comments:

  1. "Never ride like you're late for work." A lot of wisdom in that in regard to safety. And rushing in general is a buzz kill for the good things a ride has to offer.

    I've never understood the attraction of speed -- on two wheels or four. Just scares the wits out of me.

    Being retired now I no longer have the daily commute to sooth the soul. And surprisingly I've not found an excuse to ride daily. Too much long put off house maintenance to attend to. A big tree fell down on the house last night so my list has gotten longer.

    I'm not doing something right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no, a tree on the house!?! Hope the damage isn't too bad, and not only does the to do list get longer, but the priority shifts too.
      A couple of friends are retired, and they brag about riding mid-week with little traffic, the coffee shops aren't busy, they alway find parking, and never have to wait in line for a table for lunch. They'll ride just for the sake of riding, then they save the honey-do projects for the weekends when there's witnesses around to prove they did it.

      Delete
  2. My commute is from my bedroom, down 2 floors to the kitchen for breakfast and then up 3 floors to my office. I won't bore you further with photographic evidence!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for not taking pictures, but do you appreciate the commute?

      Delete
  3. Some good pics on your commute! And yes, when we hurry is when shit happens....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dom, I've stopped there before to watch the sun rise.
      What bothers me with everyone in a hurry is no matter how much they tailgate and push me, I can't make the cars in front of me go any faster. That, and the herd mentality, go cluster elsewhere.

      Delete
    2. Ah yes the herd mentality, people in groups get progressively more stupid the larger the group

      Delete
  4. I miss commuting by Burgman but even my reduced work schedule after my wreck leaves me too tired to contemplate riding after 8 hours overnight. I miss riding to work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry Conch, you've have a long recovery, but you'll be back in the saddle soon. Unfortunately, it was the commuter in a hurry that hit you is exactly what I speak of.

      Delete
  5. Sagely advice there Brad. My commute is rather boring and through city suburbs, not sure anyone wants to see that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Troubadour for a thought provoking post. I don’t commute now I’m retired, but this morning I was on my way on the bike to the triumph dealer, got stuck in heavy traffic through the small country lanes we have here. Where before I would have fought my way to the front of the procession, one car/truck at a time, I reflected on your post and just kept my place, riding slowly I actually enjoyed the ride & got there fresh instead of frazzled. Great idea!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. So true! When I was commuting I rarely touched the freeway ( I hate the freeway). My commute was my "me" time. And backroads only took 10 minutes longer, unless I left extra early and added more miles - :D

    You've captured some beautiful scenes on your ride.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well said Brad and I always appreciate the reminder!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are more than welcome, however, thanks to an increase in anonymous spammers of late, you now must be a registered user to comment.

Thank you spammers!