Raylean, my wife, standing next to our two small bikes
I have two small motorcycles and learned to ride at a young age. One of the motorcycles (the red one) actually belongs to my wife who learned to ride more recently. They are both 250cc displacement machines which means they, at least the two we own, get about 80 miles-per-gallon and have a top speed of around 80 miles-per-hour. Occasionally someone will ask, "why don't you get a real bike?" meaning, a large displacement, expensive bike with a lot of power, such as a Harley-Davidson. They see little motorcycles as not very significant or desirable. Environmental and conservation issues aside, here's a response... I call it:
"Illusions and Metaphors"
There's a Zen saying that goes something like, "since the barn burned down, I can see the beautiful sunrise!"
Certainly, 250cc class motorcycles (my favorite) aren't the fastest machines on the road. You'll not get there quickly. Some see this as a limitation. Might it be better to look at it, instead, as an opportunity - one not for everybody. Choose the roads less traveled and go slowly; one can find things there one never knew existed. When John Steinbeck set out to discover America, he didn't choose a Ferrari and travel the interstates. He chose a pickup truck and traveled the back roads, with a dog named Charley. When Henry David Thoreau walked into the woods beside Walden Pond to live among nature and write about life, he didn't build a mansion, he built a simple shack. If one is concerned only with power and prestige, and the justification of bigger and better to others, is it possible to truly see anything of life? A humble bike, a road less traveled, and an open mind make as good a tool as any for seeing the things that matter. But it's not for everybody.
"Fill yourself with desire and see only illusion. Empty yourself of desire and understand the great mystery of things." The quote is from Xena Warrior Princess (the TV series). The posers who ride (and drive) expensive status symbols may never get it. But perhaps a few, who choose a different path and a different pace, will. As for me, I'm confident that tomorrow I'll get up, go to work, earn a meager salary, and start desiring a larger bike like everyone else, knowing full well that none of what I just wrote will make any sense once the Illusions begin.
Pat Henry
Copyright 2002
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