Is it the Journey or the Destination?
9 Minute Read
“Life shouldn’t be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand – strawberries in the other, body used up, totally worn out and screaming, ‘WOO-HOO, what a ride!”
– Mavis Moore Leyrer (1920-2017, who was in her 80s when she made this statement)
At the moment that I am writing this, we are all travelers. We are, after all, hurtling through space at 67,000 miles per hour!
In all my hundreds of thousands of miles spent in the seat of a motorcycle, riding near and far, what makes any of my travels an adventure versus an errand? The difference, I think, isn’t on where I’m going, but how I’m going. What’s my frame of mind? What’s my goal? Is the purpose of the ride the destination, or is it something else?
All too often we hear the phrase, “Life is a journey.” Life is a journey – a journey that is amazingly unique to each one of us. Interestingly, however, we all have the same destination. The only thing that changes is the path we take from birth to death – the choices we make, the mindset we have, and the road we take.
Riding is my life-blood…I have to ride! Yes, I ride my bike to get from “here to there,” but I also ride to ride. It’s like the difference between being a tourist and being a traveler. A tourist visits a place for a day, a week, a month, or even a year. They explore their new place in the world, and often decide that someday they’ll be back. A traveler, on the other hand, finds themselves at a new place and sees it and experiences it as if they’ll never be back; there is a desire to include everything possible along the way.
What do you think is the purpose of a ride? Is it the journey or the destination? (Hint: If your immediate thought was that a ride doesn’t necessarily need a purpose, then chances are you lean towards journey riding!)
Most motorcycle riders will adamantly profess to preferring one or the other. The debate of whether motorcycling is best experienced as a thrilling journey, or as an exhilarating way to get to an exciting destination, is an age-old debate. Many late night bonfires have been held captive with this particular conversation. If you know me at all, you know I like to challenge status-quo thinking, so I want to challenge you to take a minute and consider the journey as the destination, and the destination as the journey.
If you think about it, you don’t really need a destination to have a journey, but you end up somewhere – and that’s almost a destination by default, even if it is your own home. At the same time, you don’t really need a journey to reach a destination.
To the destination rider, the goal is the destination. They want to get off the road to enjoy a non-riding activity. It might even be a motorcycle-related activity, like a rally or drill team competition, but it can be anything. The road, however, should be direct and to the point.
A journey rider, on the other hand, is more interested in the challenges and achievements of traveling. They have a destination (sometimes) as a fluid goal, and may even have planned stops, routes or events to attend. But none of that is necessary to a journey rider – the key is the ride itself, not where they stop (if they stop).
Of course there is an overlap. Journey and destination riders are not polar opposites. At the same time, there are many riders who shift their mindset depending on the ride. Even a routine ride to run an errand or go on a stretch of road I’ve been on 1,000 times can feel more like a journey than a destination. Simply by taking note of something fun that I hadn’t seen before can turn the mundane to magic.
But why does any of this matter? In life, is it all that important the specific stops we take, or is it more important our journey along the way? The same can be asked of riding a motorcycle.
“The Joy of Motorcycling is that the journey can also be the destination, like riding through Zion National Park, which is basically an amusement park for your motorcycle.” – Joy Medved
What really matters? Is it the journey or the destination? Is it really an “OR” question?
The Moonlight Meeting
While I certainly prefer journey riding myself, I don’t own a car, so I ride everywhere, including when running errands and going to appointments. Anytime I can ride I’m happy, but I’m happiest when I’m riding my motorcycle long distances through beautiful scenic landscapes. Sometimes, however, those beautiful byways can also be frustrating.
I almost ran out of gas – five times – on this one particular trip. If you’ve ever traveled in the remote areas of the western United States, you know that gas stations are few and far between. My journey was a little more than 5,000 miles, and included riding through the five major national parks in southern Utah, as well as hitting the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona.
Most of the trip was awesome, but, because of the 600-900 miles I needed to get in each day before dark, I sometimes had to “miss” things – like the Petrified Forest – because I had to find a town with a gas station, fast! But, that’s travel. That’s life. It’s about trade-offs.
On one particularly long day, again almost running out of gas, I finally reached my destination for the night – Grand Canyon National Park. I was tired. I was frustrated. But, I was looking forward to seeing a friend I was meeting at the park. I had planned to visit the North Rim of the canyon also, but had to head straight to the South Rim due to the setting sun. I was very nervous about (literally) running into the animals that appear out of nowhere at dusk and nightfall in that particular area, and I didn’t want to worry my friend.
Riding into the park, the road was empty and quiet. After-hours, the park gates were opened and unmanned, so I rode quietly through the gate. The moonlight was incredible, reflecting on the needles of the tall Ponderosa Pine trees. The air was cool and moist, and I could smell the distinct vanilla scent of the forest. As I slowly rounded a gentle curve, I saw the silhouette.
There, standing in the middle of the road, bathed in the silvery moonlight, was a huge bison staring at me. He was easily twice as big as me and my motorcycle, and was taking up almost the entire narrow two-lane path. I stopped my motorcycle. I had to catch my breath.
It was just cool enough that I saw my breath leaving my body and floating into the air. My motorcycle went into a quiet idle. The bison stared at me, and I stared back at him. I saw his breath float into the air. We just sat there for several moments watching each other’s breath float upwards in the direction of the gentle evening breeze. There was no fear. There was no aggression. This moment was just two animals observing each other . . . in the moonlight . . . at the Grand Canyon.
A calm came over the both of us, and at some point the bison blinked at me, and walked off the road as slowly as the entire moment felt. I stayed there for a minute more, but it felt like time had stopped. As I exhaled, I turned my attention back to my friend, and rode slowly off, forever changed, and a lot less frustrated.
The Joy of Motorcycling
This is why I ride. This is the joy of motorcycling. There is no other experience that can compare to the exchange of stares with a wild animal in their own habitat. When I’m riding, I typically choose routes where I can be one with nature – smelling the trees, the air. Hearing the animals, and feeling what their environment feels like on my face.
You can smell the new dew in the morning, you can see the changes in colors, the sounds of the birds. You can watch the ebb and flow of the wildflowers, feel the different temperatures as you pass over a low spot in the road. When you ride enough, and observe enough, you start to know and feel the different activities of animals throughout the day, and even learn to recognize their migration patterns.
Is that journey riding or destination riding? Or both?
~
One day, Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.
“Which road do I take?” she asked.
His response was a question: “Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”
Lewis Carol, Alice in Wonderland
~
The Epicurean Rider
The joy of motorcycling is that your experience can be either a journey or a destination, or sometimes both! Whether you like spending an afternoon riding through the wildflowers of the desert, or taking a few weeks to ride through various parks and forests, the destination, as well as the journey, are all up to you!
And, one of my favorite parts, perhaps, is enjoying the local cuisine I find along the way. I love to eat, and consider myself a true Epicurean Rider. But much more than the food-based travel that most of us think of when we hear the term “epicurean,” this philosophy is based on the teachings of Epicurus, (341 – 270 BC). Essentially, the greatest good is to seek modest pleasures to attain a state of tranquility, and experience freedom from fear (“ataraxia”) and the absence from bodily pain (“aponia”). Does this not describe the perfect motorcycle ride?
Traveling by motorcycle can feel sometimes a little intimidating and is physically challenging (saddle soreness, anyone?), but the ride, and your travels, will take you places you can’t otherwise go. Not just physically or literally, but also spiritually and emotionally.
In her brilliant book, The Psychology of Risk, Glynis M. Breakwell, Ph.D., helps us understand the importance of managing risk by telling us:
“Risk surrounds us, it envelops us…without understanding it we risk everything, and without capitalising upon it we gain nothing.”
Life is a risky business. We can choose to be “safe” and “comfortable,” but what does that really mean in the context of our entire life experience? I’m often told that I’m “living the life” because of my travels and trajectory in life. But, there’s nothing I’m doing that most of us can’t experience.
My hope throughout this project is to help you “plan” an epicurean life through the Joy of Motorcycling! Above all, remember…conquer the risk, master the machine, and have more fun motorcycling!
I love hearing from you! What do you think is the difference between “journey” and “destination” riding, or does it even matter? Which do you prefer, and why? Where are some of your favorite journey and destination rides? What is your favorite Epicurean cuisine? What else would you like us to explore on this topic?
Thanks, as always, for your interest and support!
Ride to Ride Again!
Joy Medved, Founder
Joy of Motorcycling®
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