Sunday, March 27, 2011

The road less travelled.

One of the great joys of biking is travelling the road less travelled.  I take great delight in reading other peoples blogs, on how they have travelled roads that many ad void.  Of late I have been reading a lot of such adventures.  You ride that road simply because it is there and you haven't done it before.  The thrill of finding forgotten treasures, stunning scenery, the ultimate biking road, inspires and motivates us to seek out the forgotten roads.  The result is often full of surprises and delight.

"Kiwi road sign"

In a car it is always the direct route.  You need to get some where, and the quickest route is the one taken.
And lets be honest, when you are in the car you only want to get to your destination, and normally not interested in seeing anything else in your travels.  It is not as if you get in the car and say "lets takes that really windy and twisty road with the nice views, you know the one, the one that makes me throw up every time we do it in the car"

Trying to explain to the non biker why you have chosen the 300km route home and not the 110km one often falls on deaf ears, and you get that "Deer in the headlights look", as if we are missing a marble or something.
I was explaining recently to a person I knew that I had just been to Cape Reinga, ."Why on earth would you go all the way up there?" they asked.  It seemed a some what pointless excise to try and explain it.  The answer being simply  that it was there.


I have discovered I am wasting my time  explaining my actions, because non bikers just don't get it! and they never will.  To them they see biking as  a dangerous, and reckless pursuit which can only end in disaster.  They don't understand the concept of it at all, the camaraderie of fellow bikers, the passion and freedom you feel when on the bike, the joy of seeing a 65km road ahead of you with no straight bits, the shear adrenalin rush as you lean the bike into corners, feeling at one with the road and the bike.  That sense of exhaustion after a 600km day, yet once showered and relaxed that is all forgotten, and you go to bed dreaming of the great day just been, and hanging out for the next one.

I remember my first ever weekend away on the bike after I got back into it, I remember distinctly coming to a cross roads, if I turned left  my destination for the night was just 60kms up the road, but if I turned right my destination would still be the same but I would be adding another 200kms to it.....I turned right.  Nothing has changed I still always choose the longest route...

13 comments:

  1. You've hit the nail right on the head Roger! Last month, I'd intended to do the "short" 200km Coromandel Loop as I had a clear morning. Got confused at the new Kopu roundabout and exited towards Paeroa. Rather than turn round for all of 50 metres, I simply grinned and carried on to do the 300km Loop.

    That's what separates us from other road users eh?

    Good man!

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  2. Stop talking to car drivers!

    Read more bike blogs...

    Ride, ride, ride!

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  3. Folks who only ride in cars will never get it. Why do motorcyclists travel 100 miles to eat lunch? Cause it's all about the ride... not the destination.

    Here's to traveling the roads less traveled... may they always be there for us!!

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  4. Yeah, what he said.

    Except Troubadour will still take those twisty roads in the car given any opportunity to avoid the major highways. Sometimes time doesn't permit it though.

    Great post.

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  5. Geoff; COuldnt agree more.

    Andrew; I am trying!

    Nick; Profound as always.

    Lady; May uour road always be twisty, and your side stand always up.

    Godbotherer; Amen also.

    Trobaritz; Thanks.

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  6. Well, I will have to second Trobairitz and Troubadour, we'll even take the road less traveled and longer in the car. Better scenery and more fun. :)

    You do make the point that we motorbike riders seem to have a different outlook. Yay!! :)

    -Lori

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  7. I find that riding has influenced the way I drive and changed the choices I make in getting where I want to go by car. Before I began riding, driving time was wasted time. I suspect this is why folks are always trying to do other things while they drive. Now, when I drive, I drive. The drive is something to be experienced not endured. That said, I'd still rather be on a vehicle with less than four wheels :-)

    Good post about something that there is just no way to explain to someone who doesn't already understand.
    ~Keith

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  8. Lori: We bikere diffinity have a different out look, not just about roads but life in general.

    Keith; I agree with you, I think I have become a better car driver since I did my advanced rider traing, I notice a awful lot more. And yes, people who dont love bike just dont get it.

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  9. Andrew:

    Car or bike, I always take the scenic route and avoid highways. I have been to many out of the way places where most people would never think of going to, so you are not alone. I also stop all the time to take photos

    bob
    bobskoot: wet coast scootin

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  10. So true, sometimes cagers will ask me why I went to a particular place (the destination) and I say because of the road leading there ;-)

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  11. Sometimes you just have to travel farther to get elbow room. Which I seem to need a lot of!

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