Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

February 16, 2009

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance combines two of my passions: motorcycles and philosophy. I woke up that day anxious to work on my motorcycle only to realize that I lent my tools to a friend. So I finished the book over coffee and a bagel on a lazy afternoon. I don’t have much to say about it right now, but I as soon as I finished I made a video and recorded some thoughts.

  • lpotter86

    I just downloaded this book on tape. I am always on the move so I will listen to it on mp3. Got through the first 10 minutes and its already very interesting.

  • windchaser

    What I have to share with you is clearly out of respect for what you have achieved on your bike. So here goes, have you ever been hit by a car or truck, while riding on your bike? I have. While trying to digest what you were saying about the book it became apparent how detached you were from operating your bike. I lost all of what you were trying to say in the “traffic” around you. If the video of your ride is any indication of observing conditions around you, your headed for a fall. That said I really enjoy reading your ride reports but believe it best to keep them separate from book reviews. Ride safe…you have a lot to offer.

  • http://www.atlasrider.com Atlas

    @windchaser

    I appreciate the concern, but I didn’t seem to me that I was all that detached from my surroundings. I’m curious, was there anything I did at a particular point that set off alarm bells?

    I had just responded on a YouTube comment that said, “You’re making me dizzy with all that head movement!” I had said to him that the traffic around me was getting more aggressive and so I was checking my mirrors more often.

    I don’t think I will stop riding and talking about these kinds of subjects, but maybe I’ll go pick a lonely road instead next time.

    Thanks for your thoughts.

  • windchaser

    Yes, the head movement and all the traffic around you is a great distraction when attempting to make a verbal statement as you were in this case. Picking a “lonely” road is good. In other travel reports that you have done this has worked very well. Finally, there was no “one” incident but rather the entire ride. Some incidents i.e.not turning your head to look both ways at interstions were obvious to me. I do realize the camera doesn’t have the field of view your eyes do, however the video gives the impression that you were very much detached from your surroundings. There was so much going “on” in the video your spoken message is lost and just becomes background “noise”. Ride safe my friend!

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