March 19, 2003
"On a cycle the frame is gone. You're
completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just
watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That
concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing, the
same stuff you walk on, it's right there, so blurred you can't focus on
it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole
thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate
consciousness."
This extract from Robert M Pirsig's
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" were set to change me in a
lot of senses. The book is a philosophical treatise, with a bike ride
as its narrative glue. And this particular piece caught my attention
and changed my view of bikes.
Bikes are no longer just a means of
transport to me. My bike brings me closer to being in peace with the
world. Every time I swing my leg over the seat, I feel subdued by the
overwhelming reality of life. Be it my daily ride to work through the
hustling Bangalore traffic or one of the many long rides I go on with
other 'bikers', I am at peace. Even when I am amidst utter cacophony of
traffic jams, the familiar, happy rumble of my bike's 16 horsepower
engine blocks out all the unwanted noise and I am at peace.
Agreed I don't have the best bike
in the world. Bikes in India are not even marginally close to their
counter-parts abroad. Blame it all on the transport vehicle status of
bikes here. But a bike is a bike is a bike, whether it tops out at
120kmph or touches 100kmph on just its first gear. Riding is not just
about the bike, it is a feeling, a state of being.
The biker's relationship with his
bike starts with that initial period called 'running-in'. Carefully
cajoling her to get ready to start, you help her get her oil moving.
And then ever so lightly you depress the self-start button to wake her
engine to life. When you ride her, you are careful to go easy on her
throttle and when you park her you make sure she wouldn't get scratched
by some psycho. For a while every bit of dirt and every slight scratch
is enough to give you a heart-ache. Ofcourse, sometimes you want to see
her exhilarating power just a bit and so you throttle a bit harder. But
not a moment later, you return to sanity and ease out.
The day dawns when you decide she
is fully run-in and you are sure her moving parts are smoothly worn.
You decide to take her for her first real ride. You still don't know
for sure she is ready for the fast lane. It takes a little easy riding
time to pump up your spirits and then you decide it is time to go all
out. And then when you find an empty stretch of silky balck tarmac, you
prepare for the ride of your life, put her in gear and the twist the
throttle and go. The world starts flying past your visor. The world
seems to be muted except for the vrooom of the engine. The tarmac slips
past you with a blurr.
At the end of one hair-raising
sprint of thumping acceleration and speed, you stop, remove your helmet
and let out your breath with a stupid-looking smile on you face. That
is when you fall in love with your bike and riding, biker style.
From that moment the little dents
and scratches mean lesser pain because now you know that you love not
the bike but riding. You realise it is the drone of the engine that you
love, it is the sights whizzing past you that you dig.
Riding is full of surprises. You
get to see the most awe-inspiring moments in your life. You meet people
that are so very different from you. It gives you a strange high when
you see the people stare at you as you ride through unknown
villages. It makes you happy to wave back to the children, who stop
their play to watch you ride past. People are always surprised to hear
that you actually rode all the way to that place. And their
courteousness to complete strangers would suprise you.
To talk about the scenes you ride
past, it would take ages. When riding a bike, you experience the chill
of the wind blowing over you, the warmth of the sun shining upon. It is
an awesome feeling to ride through lush green bushes and fields and
negotiating the grains that the villagers spread on the road to chaff.
The twists and turns in the route are a rider's glee. Going uphill and
downhill couldn't be more fun than on a bike. Riding is true getting
close to nature.
Bikes are not all sweet and no
pain. Riding is one of the riskiest business on the road. Riding is
open to all sorts of peril, but when riding you will be very aware of
the perils. Cagers (biker-ian for "cars" and other
"caged" vehicles) give you a very false sense of security. Because
everything outside the cage is shut out, you never realise the threats
on the outside. Inspite of the best safety devices, you are still at
risk. The risk is further multiplied because you are not aware of the
risk. But when riding you are face-to-face with reality. You know that
anything can go wrong and you realise are extremely aware of what is
happening around you.
When you are in a cager, you are
protected by the structure itself. On a bike things are very different.
On a bike you are part of the structure. You are no longer just a
driver, you are in charge of safety, you are the crash-guard.
Responsible riding is hard to attain. It is always a thrilling prospect
to zoom through the road like Ethan Hunt or Trinity. But once you
master your savage desire and ride with safety in your mind, you will
never unlearn it. You will not just be a responsible biker but also a
responsible adult in everything you do. Nothing brings you so close to
danger and mortality as riding. And nothing teaches you better that
your actions can avert or cause disaster.
But there are times when you cannot
do anything. That is when the helmet and the jackets and the gloves you
wear save you. I crashed at 115+ kmph once. Not entirely my mistake.
Just that my tyres decided they were going to slide for no reason. My
helmet saved my life and never have I left my head unprotected ever
since. It changed me forever. I am sometimes a little too careful on my
bike now.
A long time after I got my bike and
ran her in (bajaj insists its a he but I don't care) and after numerous
aimless rides of less than 100 kms, I discovered the bajajpulsar
mailing-list on Yahoo! Groups, thanks to fellow avid-rider and
co-worker, Glifford. I never knew the real joys of riding until I was
part of this group. We go on rides - long and short. As somebody put it
"We ride not to reach a place." Many of our rides are planned as
"Wherever we reach that is the destination". The mutual respect and
brotherhood in this group is inspiring. We share our experiences and
voice our opinions. This group has been and still is helping me mature
into a responsible and good rider. Every member of the group knows the
importance of safe riding and the value of protective riding gear.
Riders share their life-threatening incidents and how protective riding
gear saved them.
Ride safe and ride for the joy!
~ Riding there is the whole point, the destination is just an excuse!!