Why I Chased a Train: Rediscovering Joy in Your 60s

Remember what it feels like to have something to prove? To show your family—and yourself—that age hasn't dimmed your spirit? That's exactly what drove me to orchestrate one of the most exhilarating motorcycle adventures of my life: purchasing Amtrak tickets for my family's westbound journey through the Rocky Mountains, then chasing that train along parallel country roads on my motorcycle while they watched and filmed from the windows.

The pure joy on my eight-year-old grandson's face as he spotted his sixty-something "Papa" racing alongside their train was worth every mile. This wasn't just about showing off—it was about creating a memory that might someday become family legend, a story he'll hopefully tell his own children about his grandfather who truly embraced life's adventures.

This experience perfectly captures what makes riding country roads so magical. Whether paved or dirt, these lesser-traveled paths offer a unique form of soul therapy you simply can't find on highways. The moment your tires hit loose gravel, time slows down. You're no longer just passing through a landscape; you're becoming part of it—breathing in pine-scented air, feeling the earth beneath your wheels, and experiencing a meditative connection to nature that washes away the stresses of modern life. Like John Denver's iconic "Country Roads," these journeys represent more than just physical travel; they're pathways to rediscovering joy, peace, and that essential spark that keeps us feeling alive regardless of our age. Why not take the road less traveled on your next ride? The memories you create just might last generations.

Episode Transcript

Ron (00:04):
Imagine this You're in your 60s.
You've ridden countless mileson your motorcycle ever since
you were a kid, but, yeah,you're starting to feel your age
a little bit.
So how do you show your familythat you've still got some spark

(00:24):
?
How do you show your familythat you've still got some spark
?
Oh yeah, here's an idea.
I buy tickets to put my familyon the Amtrak cross-country
westbound train out of Denverand then, as the train reaches
the back roads deep in themountains, I will chase that

(00:46):
train on my motorcycle alongthose country roads that
parallel the tracks, all thewhile, my family watching and
filming out the window of thetrain and my friends.
That's exactly what I did and,yes, I demonstrated in my 60s I
do have some spark left and Ibelieve I have never had more
fun on a motorcycle in my life.

(01:08):
So the big question was did Iimpress my family as they
watched and videoed as I rodealong the side of the train and,
most importantly to me, myfriends?
Did I impress my eight-year-oldgrandson, sam?
You bet I did.

(01:30):
Oh, my goodness, I hope he willhave some stories, but that
just did it for me.
I'm so excited to share withyou today a talk about chasing
trains, riding through the RockyMountains and, more importantly
, how we can keep that spark.

(01:55):
Stay tuned.
Recorded in beautiful Loveland,colorado.
Welcome to Peace, love Moto,the podcast for motorcyclists
seeking that peaceful, easyfeeling as we cruise through
this life together.
Are you ready?
Let's go.

(02:16):
There's something really uniqueabout peeling off the main
roads and going out into thecountry, venturing onto those

(02:40):
lesser traveled back roads,whether they're paved or unpaved
.
It's a different kind ofchallenge, though, out on the
dirt, isn't it?
It's a different kind offreedom.
Maybe it's a different kind ofsoul therapy to really be off
the beaten path a bit.
Call it adventure riding, orcalling it just getting out on

(03:01):
the dirt.
There's, at least for me, animmediate sense of peace that
settles as soon as my tires hitthe loose gravel and the packed
earth.
I don't know, maybe it's like amore direct contact with the
earth, direct contact withMother Nature.
As I slow down on the dirt, bynecessity the world slows down

(03:25):
too.
Out there, there's no stripeson the road.
Few shoulders to pull off,because there's few cars coming
by to be pulling off on thoseshoulders.
Few guardrails, for that matter, too, out here in the country
and in the mountains, but outhere also, the scenery opens up

(03:47):
and so does my mind.
I'm just not moving through alandscape.
I feel like I'm becoming partof it.
The smell of the pine needles,especially after a rain, the
damp earth after that rain andfreshly cut hayfield Sound of

(04:08):
the engine seems to even change.
I know it probably doesn't, butit feels like it does.
It's a little more muffled, alittle more connected with the
terrain maybe and it's not justthe technical aspects that make
riding on country roads a littlebit more different.
Sure, you're looking out forthe ruts and the loose rocks and

(04:30):
maybe the surprised deer or two.
When I was riding through RockyMountain National Park just
recently, riding very slow on adirt road up there called Fall
River Road, there was a mooseright in the middle of the road,
like a thousand pounder rightin front of me.
So I guess I'm just trying tosay that there's a meditative

(04:53):
quality to it when you're outthere, when you're away from the
busyness of the world, awayfrom social media, away from
business deadlines and sometimeshigh-stress meetings.
Out here, at least for a littlewhile, that's not happening
right now.
That's for some other time.

(05:14):
Right now it's just abouttaking a deep breath, looking
around and just saying, wow,isn't life just great.

(05:47):
That trip following the trainthat was about three and a half
to four hours my portion of it,yeah, not a lot of time to stop
and take a break.
But I was cruising along thereon those dirt roads again, just
having a ball, just having aball.
But I was also thinking aboutthis episode, the feeling of
winding through country roadsthat take you somewhere, the

(06:07):
feeling of winding throughcountry roads that take you
somewhere.
And there was a song thatpopped into my head, a song
about country roads.
Some of you may know what I'mtalking about John Denver's
iconic anthem called Take MeHome, country Roads.
It was released way back in1971.

(06:32):
It's a song about I don't knowgenerations, about heartfelt
yearnings for a place, a feelingof belonging, a desire maybe to
return to simplicity andnatural beauty and for us as
riders, those country roads.

(06:53):
That's just not a metaphor,really.
Those are real.
Those are those dusty paths weseek out on a Saturday morning,
the trails that lead us awayfrom the stresses of our busy
lives.
Maybe, maybe it's a calling togo, to go and just experience

(07:21):
joy, bring a smile to our facesand a sense of calm to our
spirit, maybe peace of mind, ifyou think about it, think about
the words of that song AlmostHeaven, west Virginia.
For us, almost Heaven could bethat winding road through the

(07:44):
Rocky Mountains, or that dustyback road along the Great Plains
, or the tree-lined paths in thePacific Northwest.
Every region, I think, has itsown version of the idyllic
country road, a country roadthat may be just calling you so.

(08:07):
When you're out there, out ofthe city, into the country, and
not just riding, I think you'rediscovering hidden views that
just can't be seen from thehighway at highway speeds.
You're seeing forgotten barnsand the sheer majesty of nature.
Maybe that's been untouched byconcrete, untouched by the

(08:33):
busyness of modern life.
As for me, I love to stop atold log cabins that are up in
the mountains, and sometimes yourun across an old gold mine
operation.
I love to imagine what life waslike with no jet planes flying
over, no cars passing by, nodaily news, just the chores for

(08:58):
that day and a hope for a brighttomorrow.
So if you haven't yetexperienced the magic of country
roads, whether it's paved ordirt, I urge you to give it a

(09:20):
try.
Yes, I know that jumping offinto the dirt requires a
motorcycle capable of doing that.
But hey, that's what long-termfinancing is for right.
That's what long-term financingis for right.
I'm sure that your localmotorcycle dealer will find the

(09:40):
payments that are right for you.
But seriously, as for me, thispast week chasing that Amtrak
train with my family on board, Ido hope that something that my
grandson felt or saw or heardwill be something that he tells
his kids about someday.

(10:01):
Maybe he'll say that Papa was alittle bit crazy, but I hope
he'll also say that Papa reallyloved life.
Until we visit again, and maybeI'll see you out on one of
those country roads, I do wishyou peace and I wish you love

(10:24):
Country roads country roads.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
Take me home to the place I belong West Virginia
mountain.
Mama, take me home countryroads.
Take me home, country roads.

(10:53):
Take me home, country roads.