Bike safety and skill building are a couple of things to consider, but I've got some thing a bit different for you to contemplate.
So how about sitting down next to me for an hour or so and consider Inquisitive Riding.First I would like you to make a little list of things you wonder about, things you would like to understand or even things that puzzle you or perhaps confuse you. I'll give you a few examples:
1. Why do low pressure cells rotate in a counter clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and in a clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere? I know the answer to this one.....but it still is a cool question.
2. How can humming birds migrate to South America from Northern Minnesota?
3. Why is it that my wife is correct 97% of the time?
4. How can matter pass through our bodies and not hurt us? I'm talking about neutrinos.
5. Where did matter come from in the first place, if there is no God?
6. Where did God come from?
7. If intelligence is so important to us humans, why are many of the happiest and wisest people I know rather simple minded?
If you are having trouble coming up with any questions of your own, you need to get out on your bike and clear out your head so you have room for some seemly useless questions. By the way they are not useless. In fact this cycling season you can use your bike riding to help you see the world in a new way.
Inquisitive Riding is a mental process which uses motorcycling to trigger and stimulate thoughts that are; original, creative, unusual, deep, that are different than those one usually has and progressively more detached from one's own life experiences.
Now I must warn you that I am not suggesting that you allow cycling to become a heavy, arduous mental experience. In fact Inquisitive Riding, further promotes the shear joy of cycling.
Are you ready?
Here is your first exercise. I actually hate using the work exercise as it connotes work. Let call it your first IR
Get on your bike and ride for at least one hour. This ride must not have any purpose other than riding. You may choose a specific route, but if you are able to simply pull out of your driveway and start wandering that would be best. Simply enjoy the ride. If at any time a random thought comes to mind capture it. It is important that this thought is totally random. Make sure it is not any thing to do with a responsibility you have such as I need to clean the garage today or to do with a problem you are wrestling with such as my son is not listening to me lately. When you have started to understand the IR process you will be able to spin off a more practical thought in a new direction. Let's just say you captured this random thought: " That railroad track looks like a musical instrument". Instead of trying to figure out why that thought crossed your mind allow it to take you for an Inquisitive Ride. You could go in a number of directions and actually as you become more willing to just let it go you will be surprised where you end up (both on your ride and your mind's travels). I don't want to specifically tell you what your next step should be.....but if you are still a bit fuzzy about this entire IR process let me make a few suggestions:
1. You could make up a song about the railroad track
2. You could back track back to the track and stare at it for a while (you never know what might come down that thar track (either in your head or for real)
3. You could ponder, if railroad tracks were made out of licorice what would some of the advantages and disadvantages be and would the candy industry be any different?
OK at the end of your first IR, don't worry if you really didn't get any where, because it take time to be willing to get lost. If you did have some rather unusual random thoughts, don't try to convert them into anything useful or to analyze them. You don't need to show any thing from you ride or from your thoughts.
Until next time " Take a ride without reason".
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