Episode Transcript
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Ron (00:07):
Ever feel like your
smartphone is dominating your
life?
Do you take it everywhere,including on motorcycle rides,
including attached to yourhandlebar, so that you'll see
every little pop-up that happensconstantly in front of you?
Yeah, me too sometimes, buttoday we're talking about
something that's become a prettybig part of our lives yeah,
(00:31):
those phones but something that,frankly, I think can get in the
way of the very best parts ofyour ride.
Today, we'll delve into theunexpected feeling of freedom
and even sharpened senses thatmaybe we can reclaim when we
ride phone-free.
(00:52):
Stay tuned.
Recorded in beautiful Loveland,colorado.
Welcome to Peace.
Love Moto, the podcast formotorcyclists seeking that
peaceful, easy feeling as wecruise through this life
together.
Are you ready?
Let's go.
(01:24):
We live in an age where we areconnected all the time.
These little devices in ourpockets.
They're incredible, aren't they?
But they put the whole world atyour fingertips, which isn't
always a good thing.
And now, with AI apps, you canknow anything about anything
from anywhere.
(01:44):
Wonderful, isn't it?
Well, I don't know.
I don't know.
It wasn't always like this.
You know, it was only untilabout 2010 that it became
somewhat common to even have acell phone.
It doesn't seem like that longago to me that I used to carry a
(02:08):
pager.
If someone needed to get intouch with me.
They would send me a page andit had the telephone number of a
number I needed to call.
So I would search for a payphone somewhere and I would try
to call them back.
Oftentimes it was businessrelated.
Yes, it was a hassle, but as Ithink back on it now, the
(02:31):
business or the friends andfamily would only page me if
they really needed me.
They didn't page me to say hi,otherwise whatever they had to
say would have to wait until Igot home, and if no one there
was there to take the message,then I would go to my answering
machine and the message would bethere for me.
Oh, yes, that could go all dayabout talking about the past and
(02:56):
, in hindsight, how things usedto be so much more simple and
less stressful, living in aworld that wasn't constantly in
communication, with the 24-hournews cycle.
Yeah, I could go all day onthat, but I won't.
But I won't because that's notour topic for today.
(03:16):
I will say this though For allthe wonders, all the ways they
keep us in touch, these cellphones can, rather ironically,
disconnect us from what's rightin front of us, and that is what
we're talking about today.
Because you see, from a seat ofa motorcycle, you want to be
(03:36):
absolutely connected witheverything around you, not only
for safety, but for the wonders,the views, the smells, the
sounds of everything that's allaround you.
If we can find ourselvesconnected with our mom, with
Mother Nature and the machine,oh my goodness, that's wonderful
(04:03):
.
Maybe even that's peace of mind.
Just think about it for amoment.
Riding your motorcycle isn'tjust about getting from point A
(04:26):
to point B.
It's an experience, isn't it?
It demands your full attention,your complete focus.
You're feeling the road.
You're leaning into the curves,accelerating, braking, changing
gears most of the time doingall that without even thinking
about it.
After a while you get into theflow.
(04:47):
You're part of the flow.
The wind, the hum of the engine, the way the bike vibrates
underneath you, the worldpassing by, it's all part of
this kind of dance between you,the machine and the landscape.
I may be wrong, but I currentlydon't believe that there is any
(05:08):
artificial intelligence-drivenexperience or a ride at
Disneyland for that matter thatcan replace that feeling.
Can you picture yourself inthat moment, on your bike, in a
zen state where all is rightwith the world, in a zen state
where all is right with theworld and then no-transcript, ah
(05:46):
yes.
As for me, I have family memberswho want to know where I am,
and I do check my phone fromtime to time, but most of the
time my phone is tucked awaydeep in the saddlebag, silenced,
(06:08):
out of sight and out of mind.
With as much riding as I do upin the mountains on dirt roads
that I've been doing especiallythis past year, my phone would
probably just get, it would justget ruined, actually, if I had
it connected to my handlebars.
There's just so much dust anddirt up there and all the
shaking and such, so I put it ina secure place out of the dust
(06:29):
and dirt, yeah, in a place thathas some cushion.
Especially these days when Iride a motorcycle, among other
things for stress management asmuch as anything, I typically
don't want my phone in sight orwhere I can hear it, hear it.
(06:51):
So what I found and what I'verediscovered really is quite
remarkable, at least for me.
When you take away that digitaltether, something else opens up.
Maybe it's my sense of beingalive.
(07:12):
You start to truly see again.
You notice the way the sunlightfilters through the trees when
I'm standing up on the pegs andriding really slow down a dirt
road, the changing colors of thefields, the scents that are in
the air, the breeze, the pinesmell in the forest, the fresh
(07:40):
scent of rain just before ashower the sounds too, become
just richer.
Sounds too become just richer.
It's the sound of the engine,the soothing sound of the wind,
(08:01):
the far-off sounds, even ofbirds.
When you're quiet, or a distanttrain, your mind no longer is
pulled in a dozen differentdirections.
It settles, it focuses on theimmediate, on the ride itself,
and it's a profound sense ofcalm for me, a real connection
(08:35):
to the moment.
And, fellow writers, to try itsometime On your next ride, big
or small, consider leaving yourphone out of reach.
See how that feels.
It may feel uneasy at first,but give yourself the gift of
being truly present.
I think that you'll find thatthe ride becomes richer, the
(08:56):
views more vibrant, more deeplysatisfying.
Because in the end it's notjust about the miles you cover,
right, it's about the journeyitself and how fully you
experience it.
And sometimes I believe thebest way to experience it is to
(09:16):
simply unplug.
It's a small step that can leadto a bigger world and perhaps
even help us bridge some ofthose gaps of isolation that so
many in the world seem to beexperiencing now with a phone in
their hand, as always.
(09:37):
Thank you so much for listening.
Until next time, be safe andenjoy that journey unplugged, if
you can.
Meanwhile, I wish you peace andI wish you love.