A pilgrim on a motorcycle

I have just spent a week driving my motorcycle through the beautiful byways of Burgundy; hiking up small mountains in the mid-day sun and discovering hitherto unknown facts about myself, mankind and ancient history.  And while many people may not see this as an appealing way to pass the time; one person’s idea of a holiday can be very different from another.

For me a holiday is a relaxing break away with my wife, whereas what I like to experience at least once per year, is really more like a secular pilgrimage - a journey that one undertakes by oneself but in the company of others. And like many a pilgrim before me (along with a sense of destination, purpose and objective) I have an inner desire to have fun along the way.

A pilgrimage has never been without risk. The middle ages threat of being attacked by robbers or wild animals has today been replaced (for me) by misjudging a bend and crashing my motorcycle or a countless number of other possible occurrences. This year I had the privilege of driving alongside eagles, lizards, snakes, deer, dogs, cows, cats and whole range of other animals, each with their own sense of discovery and threat.

My annual solo breaks away from the things, events and people that keep me busy the year round are extremely important for me.  I even have a kind of mathematical equation for it:

The amount of time out, multiplied by the experiences witnessed, equals the amount of enhanced appreciation I have of the people and things that surround me during the everyday life I lead for the rest of the year.

What’s your equation?

Have a good week,

Harley