Posted by Hakan Erman

Lately, I don’t resist to the temptation to watch the latest episodes of my favorite You Tubers, some of which are, of course, long distance motorcycle riders. I used their motivation to get on my own, on July heat and ride to  Taurus mountains for a few days. The ride, being alone, learning new places and thinking were intense and wonderful.

At one stage, after one of countless set of corners, I found myself evaluating my “performance”. My line, vision, throttle use, body position and all that… There was no one else evaluating or judging. Yet I was after achieving a certain state, an ideal ride. What exactly was that? Was it just about ticking all the right boxes on a check list? There must have been more to it.

I ruled out total control and safety, as those are always relative and even illusions. Like any mortal, my knowledge and abilities have limits. I lack full concentration. I am not particularly fit. Therefore, any state of perfection is beyond reach.

Could it be “Realistic Self Evaluation”? Again, this is more an ideal rather than an actual reality. With many internal and external limitations, excellence can not possibly be my mission here.

And yet, some sections of my riding day are so much better than others. I then feel satisfaction, joy, relaxation, engagement, fluency and presence. Bike feels like an extension of the body. These are special moments and never last an entire riding day. What exactly happens then and why do I want more of it?

Luckily, before engaging with the next set of corners I came up with a conclusion: these are the moments, when the human mind, the most complicated thing in the known universe, is almost fully engaged with a task. In modern living, these moments may be rare, but the mind has evolved for problem solving for the whole evolution and life time. So it craves for such tasks.

For great joy and riding or life moments here is a debatable and open recipe:

• Present the mind a series of meaningful problems
• Make sure it is armed with knowledge, skills, and tools to deal with them
• ‎Maintain just the right flowing speed of information… Not too slow or too fast
• Enjoy your restless brain, finally engaged and satisfied.

I surely ride for many reasons. Among them, this hidden one will remain as most precious.