FALL 2022 RETROTOURS NEWSLETTER
Fall is just around the corner. The nights and mornings are a bit cooler now, and it sure feels like a relief. It has been HOT. I have taken to wearing lightweight, heavily ventilated gear intended for desert riding, along with a camel-back for ‘in flight’ re-hydration. Hey, whatever it takes; gotta keep riding, right? In addition to the scheduled tours, there have been 3 or 4 ‘custom tours’, so the schedule has been very full. Autumn is surely prime riding season and there are still 3 scheduled tours to go, the first of which, Local Loops, is very much (over)sold out. Plenty of seats still available for October and November rides. If those don’t appeal, design your own and let’s do a custom.
It does seem like the climate is heating up, doesn’t it? Storms have intensified, record setting temperatures abound, and wild fires seem to be everywhere. Where will things go from here? I thought I heard 115° mentioned for much of California today. Ironically, this will prompt heavy use of air conditioning which will dump even more heat into the environment. Will we finish our lives cowering from the heat in underground shelters? What about the next generation? What about the generation after that? It is easy to be pessimistic. My best hope is that the suffering will eventually prompt people and governments into doing something about it. We just may have to change the way we live.
I have felt recently that I am glad to be in the latter part of my time on this planet. I suppose I will not live to see the worst of it. Then again, every past generation might have felt the same way. Is the world finally, really coming to an end? Well, not the world, but maybe mankind. Think about the time, the money, and the effort we spend going to the moon and even Mars. Never mind the environmental impact of burning a million gallons of rocket fuel. Maybe we should settle on Mars. It’s pretty cold there I understand, and Mars could use some global warming. We are certainly experts at that.
Ah well, enough lamenting. While I still can, I plan to ride. When I am cruising around with a group of like-minded individuals, I take a mental break from all these concerns. Full concentration is required and that leaves no space for worry. We are blessed to be alive at a time when living is not just bearable, but even pleasant. In the pre-dawn this morning, when I looked up, I saw Orien, resplendent in the dark sky.
The sensation of riding tingles all my senses. Consider what one thing is most necessary for life. Is it love, food, water? No, there is one thing that none of us can live without for more than a minute or so: AIR. This one thing that is so essential is all around us and absolutely free. All we have to do is breath it which requires no effort, being an involuntary activity. To me that is an amazing fact. Optimism prevails! Life, after all, is good.
Good, but not everlasting. There is a limit to our days. If there is RetroTour on your bucket list, what the #@*^ are you waiting for? Hey, my vision sucks, my body is fading in so many ways. One of these days I will have to hang up my helmet, and so will you. Don’t wait until it’s too late! I try to list shorter rides that do not require an iron butt. Even if you can no longer ride, you may want to consider coming along in the side car. Its not just about the ride, it’s the adventure and especially the camaraderie. We can sit around during breaks and discuss our physical ailments if you wish, as older folk are wanting to do.
Even if you are still in your prime, come on, you will learn a thing or two. When you have to kick start your engine, apply choke and throttle manually, when there is no anti-lock brake system, no cruise control, no windshield, no traction control, no GPS, no 6-way inertial sensor, no electronic fuel injection, no cell service…..then you may capture the pure essence of motorcycling. RIDE TO LIVE. LIVE TO RIDE!
Sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere.
Sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, we find ourselves.
