Pillions Perspective

Pillions Perspective...

Patti Weckerley

It’s a wonderful place, being on the back of the bike, with the beemerman in front (and between my legs, no less!) He’s a fantastic driver and I can totally relax, knowing that I’m safe and sound with him driving, and stoked up on Monster Energy Drinks. Actually, my only concern is that I might relax too much and fall asleep behind him.  There have been moments on long rides that I’ve caught myself drifting off.  The Beemerman is an avid reader of the BMW website and someone actually bungees his wife down when they go on long trips. He didn’t say whether he bungees her to the bike or to himself, but it has definitely been a tempting thought now and then.I’ve been riding, as a passenger, since May 2005. I’ve been told, that I’m a great passenger. I credit this to putting my trust in the person I’m riding with. They’re the ones who’ve been driving the bike and have the experience to get where we need to go. I have no business looking over his shoulder and trying to compensate for turns or other terrain we may encounte.  So, I look to the sides and enjoy the scenery. When we hit some nice twisties, I use my heels to maintain my balance, loosen up my knees so he can get that hip action going round the turns, and lean back and relax. Of course, if you don’t have a back rest or trunk box, you have a totally different situation going and I suggest you hound your riding partner to get one. It makes being a passenger a much more relaxing experience, especially on long rides.I’ve found being a passenger on a bike to be an excellent metaphor for a personal journey I’ve been taking. On a recent ride to Kernville, CA to spend a quiet, solitary, and spiritual quest weekend, it came to me that while on the back of the bike I am probably “in the present” more than I am at any other given time. Behind the beemerman, I don’t look forward much, I leave that to him-he will control our future. It’s difficult to look behind us-the past is gone. All I have is where I am, right now. Even that is fleeting and I have to take what I can of the precious seconds surrounding me, before they’re whisked away and become part of the past. So, in a sense, on the bike the Beemerman is in the position of my higher power-he controls my destiny, the ultimate outcome. I can make the ride uncomfortable and scary by looking ahead and reacting to what I anticipate might happen-grabbing the driver, trying to shift my weight to compensate for the curves ahead or in fear of falling over, the possibilities are endless, or I can let the driver do his job, the one he’s trained to do, and relax and enjoy the ride. By looking back, nothing is accomplished, except rehashing old feelings which usually include self-destructive ones that do no one any good. By looking to the sides I can enjoy what is immediately around me, as it is at that moment in time. It’s not something that is dreamed of or anticipated, it’s real. Once I took that frame of mind, the ride took on a new feel. We’ve taken this route several times before, but this time I studied the sides and enjoyed the scenery, knowing it would never again be exactly like I was seeing it at that moment on that gorgeous day.