Take It Easy: Motorcycling for Rest

Ever feel like you're caught in life's turbulence with no escape button? After a week of corporate travel, bumpy flights, and the constant rush that defines modern existence, I discovered once again that my motorcycle holds the key to reclaiming peace of mind.

There's something magical about peeling off business attire, throwing on your favorite riding gear, and hitting those familiar roads as the sun sets. My "Masonville loop" – a simple 25-mile ride through the foothills west of my Colorado home – transforms from a physical journey into a spiritual reset. The contrast is striking: from the collective "whoas" of nervous airplane passengers to the peaceful "ahs" of solitary riding.

Motorcycling creates the perfect conditions for natural mindfulness to flourish. Like the Eagles sang about taking it easy, or Lionel Richie's smooth reminder about being "Easy Like Sunday Morning," riding helps us shed expectations and reconnect with the present moment. It's a moving meditation where the journey truly becomes the destination. No schedules, no digital distractions – just you, your bike, and the rhythm of the road allowing your mind to finally breathe. When was the last time you gave yourself permission to simply take it easy? Maybe it's time to gear up, roll out, and rediscover that peaceful, easy feeling that's waiting for you on two wheels.

#gofastdontdie

Episode Transcript

Ron (00:08):
This past week I was traveling for business.
Corporate America requires thatsometimes Flights, uber rides,
big cities traffic yeah, youknow the drill.
It's usually a bumpy flight inand out of Colorado.
They say that the bumps arecaused by the mountains, where

(00:28):
the westerly winds coming fromthe flat deserts of Arizona and
Nevada bump into the high peaksof the Rocky Mountains, causing
all that turbulence.
Well, I'm not sure what thecause is, but one thing's for
sure Dramamine is my friend.
Oh, my goodness, you know thatmotion sickness miracle.

(00:48):
You know the flight is bumpywhen you hear everyone on the
plane collectively say whoa atthe same time.
Anyway, last evening, onceagain, we landed safely at
Denver International Airport.
I drove home and as soon as Icould get settled I peeled out

(01:09):
of my business travel clothes,put on my favorite t-shirt the
one that says Go Fast, don't Dieput on my riding gear, got on
my motorcycle and I went for anevening ride just right around
sunset.
I call it my Masonville loop.

(01:32):
There's a small community abouttwo foot hills to the west from
my home.
Little to no traffic out there.
It's just a valley between themountains.
The loop, as I call it, it'sabout 25 miles.
I've made that loop hundreds oftimes.
It never gets old not to meanyway.

(01:53):
Rather than the whoa of thepassengers on the bumpy flight,
I said, ah, as I thank the starsabove for the opportunity,
truly the gift, to just relax onmy bike and take it easy.
You know, there's a certainrhythm to motorcycling that

(02:17):
encourages us to, yeah, take iteasy.
At least that's my experience.
Take it easy, at least that'smy experience.
No more getting to the office,getting to the airport.
No waiting in line, no bumpyflights, just you, your bike,

(02:48):
and, for a little while, all thetime in the world, just to take
it easy.
Hmm, sounds like a song,doesn't it?
You probably know the one.
It was a big hit for a littleband called the Eagles.
So, yeah, it was going out.
To just take it easy is what Ineeded so badly, and it worked,

(03:11):
like it does.
Every time I came home a happyman.
Motorcycling, for me, is aboutfinding that flow.
It's about finding that sweetspot, you might say, where the

(03:33):
world just slows down.
It's where mindfulness can kickin.
You know the whole breathe andknow that you're breathing thing
, because mindfulness, I think,is supposed to be easy.
Yeah, it's what we could do askids, without even thinking

(03:54):
about that.
I think that it's the weight ofthe world, the bumpy flights in
life that keep mindfulness atbay.
But maybe if we can just learnto take it easy, life would be
so much more wonderful.
Let's talk about it.
Thank you for joining me today.
Recorded in beautiful Loveland,colorado.

(04:19):
Welcome to Peace, love Moto thepodcast for motorcyclists
seeking that peaceful, easyfeeling as we cruise through
this life together.
Are you ready?
Let's go?
I'm easy like Sunday morning.

(05:01):
That's why I'm easy.
I'm easy like Sunday morning.
I mentioned the song by theEagles a little earlier, but
another favorite of mine is asimilar song sung by Lionel

(05:25):
Richie of the Commodores.
It's called Easy Like SundayMorning.
Yeah, that's a good one.
It was written by Lionel Richieand it's a song that expresses
a man's feelings as he decidesto change his outlook on life,
in this case after after apainful, failed relationship.

(05:45):
Instead of being depressed anddigging himself into a hole of
sadness, he feels a sense ofease and liberation, describing
himself as easy like Sundaymorning.
The phrase easy like Sundaymorning evokes a feeling of I

(06:06):
don't know peace and tranquility, similar to the calm of a quiet
Sunday morning in a small town.
You see, when I was growing upin a small town in Texas, Sunday
morning was a quiet time.
Town in Texas, sunday morningwas a quiet time.
Most stores were closed onSundays.
Most folks didn't even mowtheir lawns.

(06:34):
For many of us, sunday morningtoo was about going to church to
gather with our friends, to betogether, to sing together and
to thank God above for the goodthings in our lives and pray for
those things that we neededhelp with.
I remember Sunday morningsgrowing up very, very fondly.
So that song Easy, like SundayMorning.

(06:55):
It's about a move towardpersonal happiness.
Maybe the singer states that hepaid his dues and no longer
needed to try to be what otherswanted him to be, and that's an
important message in the songtoo, I think.

(07:16):
So, on that note, let's go fora ride.
Let's go for a ride.
Imagine a Sunday morning, 70degrees, a sunny day, a winding

(07:42):
country road with no schedule,just the hum of your engine and
the sound of the wind.
That's the feeling ofeffortless joy, of shedding the
week's worries and simply beingpresent in the moment.

(08:05):
As they say, breathe and knowthat you're breathing.
Think about motorcycling.
Especially when you're notpushing yourself as some of us
do.
Sometimes, motorcycling can bethe ultimate remedy, the
ultimate escape from the dailygrind, from the worries and the

(08:28):
weights of the world, fromdigital distractions, the
24-hour news cycle and reconnectwith the world.
That's all around me and it'salways been around me.

(08:55):
I just haven't paid enoughattention, but now I do.
The smells, the sounds, thechanging landscape as we're
rolling along.
We know that very well, but itfeels like we're standing still
and the world is just passing byus.
Just the two of us your bikeand you.
Maybe it's like a movingmeditation, a chance to let your

(09:21):
mind.
Take it easy.
Yeah, that was the Eagles,their first big hit.

(10:01):
I think it could have easilyalso been a slow, reflective
song.
Take it easy.
It's not just a suggestion too,it's a way of life for many of
us, many motorcycle riders.
This song, with its imaginaryopen roads and the freedom that

(10:22):
we know that motorcycling offers.
It's not about getting boggeddown in the little things, about
having the confidence to Idon't know, maybe the confidence
to just roll with the punches,trusting that the journey itself
is the destination.
Think about that, if you would.

(10:44):
The journey itself is thedestination.
Just like riding my loopthrough Masonville.
I didn't need to get toMasonville, I just needed to
ride through it.
I think that over time you learnthat sometimes the best plan is

(11:05):
no plan at all, just awillingness to go and take it
easy and see where the roadleads you.
We've all been there, right,pushing ourselves too hard,
getting caught up in the ratrace the whole career thing.
I've been there.
But motorcycling offers apowerful reminder that there's

(11:30):
another way.
It's about embracing thejourney, not just the arrival,
taking a few minutes to stop andlook around, look where you've
been.
And, unlike in corporateAmerica, it's not all about
results.

(11:51):
It's not about being productive, necessarily.
It's not about hurrying to makeyour flight or making sure that
the Dramamine has kicked inbefore you take off.
No, it's about going for awhile on your ride, on your
schedule, going where you wantto go.

(12:13):
It's about finding thosemoments of peace, finding your
zen, your mindful moment and, ifyou're lucky, finding peace of
mind.
So, my friends, the messagetoday yeah, take it easy, easy,

(12:36):
like Sunday morning.
And with that, I wish you peaceand I wish you love.
Thank you.