Peace Love Moto - The Podcast

Miguel Oliveira is amazing and so is MotoGP in which he competes.  Today I share my experience attending the 2024 MotoGP races at the Circuit of the Americas with my longtime friend, Kent.  We talk about the bikes, the riders, their families and our own.  

Jeff Johnson said "I’m drawn to open country.  It’s where everything becomes clear.  It’s where the world makes the most sense.  When I put myself out there, I always return with something new.  The best journeys are those that answer questions that in the beginning, you never thought to ask". (2010 - 180 Degrees South)Whether it’s imagining yourself as a cowboy, or some kind of adventurer, riding a motorcycle takes us to a new space and time.  It’s hard to explain, isn't it.  As for me, out on the lonely dirt roads up in the mountains, often standing on the pegs and riding slowly, yep, I’m a cowboy.  Just like Jeff Johnson said in that movie, I too am drawn to open country.  Out there, the world does seem to make the most sense.  

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass: it’s about learning how to ride in the rain! We have to ride with some degree of confidence that all will go ok in the end.  If we are in fear all the time, well, we’d should probably sell the bike and switch to pickleball.  Nothing against pickleball, but as for quitting? We won’t do that.  We love motorcycling too much.  It means too much to our heart and soul.  We accept the fact that we don’t have 100% control in motorcycling, or in life for that matter.  And that’s OK.  Maybe that’s the best part! 

Courageous people.  People who step out when others won’t.  Those are people that we call heros.  I had heard about such a person.  And when I learned that she also has a passion for motorcycling, well that’s someone I really wanted to talk with.Kirsten Midura is a change agent in the environmental and social good spaces.  Professionally, Kirsten is a career consultant in sustainability, renewable energy, and marine conservation, with experience in nonprofit, corporate, and startup environments.In her spare time, Kirsten runs Engines for Change, a nonprofit that uses motorcycles as tools for environmental and social good. She is an avid motorcyclist, diver, sailor, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and community-builder. The common thread? Everything she does is driven by a cause.I’m excited today to share with you my conversation with a true hero.  Kirsten Midura. Kirsten's Website: https://kirstenmidura.com/ Want to be a Changemaker?  Consider donating! Engines for Change:  https://www.enginesforchange.org/ - Our mission is to build and foster a community of changemakers who use motorcycles as tools to address today's most pressing global issues, and to provide education and resources that informs and inspires others to make a difference in their own ways.Rebels With a Cause - Pakistan humanitarian tourBe Nice Rally - Bay Area event supporting Tiba Foundation and their Boda Girls (women moto taxi riders)Bright Future Kenya - Delivering food, medicine, and clothing to street children and families in slums throughout KenyaRide My Road - Using motorcycles and photography to support survivors of human traffickingMotorcycle Missions - Using motorcycle builds to help veterans and survivors of domestic abuse address PTSDTwende Solar - Partners for the Peru solar project

The"Biker Wave" with the left hand comes in several forms ya know, but to me it means just one thing.  It means that you care.  And that is what the Peace Love Moto podcast is all about.  It’s about spreading the good news that riders do care for that total stranger who’s also out on two wheels.  You may be out on a solo ride, in the middle of nowhere, but just about guaranteed, if another motorcycle rider is coming your way, you’ll see a wave.   And once you see that wave, and you respond back, then yes, you've got a friend.

Some folks say that you can never go back in time.  But I think we can.  As a child on my first motorcycle, I was moving through the air with a motor and two wheels under me.  Wandering from place to place with just the sound of the bike and the open road ahead of me.  You and I can do that now!  Why not go back in your mind to a wonderful place and time.  Your happy place.  Your Luckenbach, Texas where there "Ain't nobody feelin' no pain".  On your next ride, go there!  So will I.

I had to learn to be quiet.  Because that’s when Mother Nature can speak to you.   In today's episode, we talk about riding East to the plains of Nebraska, meeting a rancher with an amazing story, and then experiences with quoting from James Taylor in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Motorcycles are a perfect transport into a conversation with your mother.  Mother Nature.

I could hear those motorcycles coming my direction.  They had to be going fast!  Echoing down through the canyon on that steep dirt road.  There’s no guard rails up there!  Slide off the road and you're a goner.  Coming my way.  Coming really fast!  Those engines screaming.  Two KTM’s roared up and parked near my bike, right next to the outdoor table where I was having breakfast up there in that mountain village.  2 matching KTM 500 Enduros.  The riders, also in matching KTM off-road racing gear.  Klim adventure helmets as I recall, neck braces, KTM jerseys, enduro pants and boots.  Oh yes, these two were pros.  They knew how to ride. And the shock that ran threw me when they pulled their helmets off….?  Wow, you’ve got to be kidding me!!!    Ha ha, I’ll tell ya about it.

We’ve just got to slow down sometimes, now more than ever.  No, I’m not warning against riding fast, I’m referring to the speeds that our brains and emotions are built for.  With 24*7 news cycle, constant social media updates, work stress.  Now we’ve got Artificial Intelligence creating more and more content out there to absorb, like Youtube videos that are clearly not narrated by humans, and much of the content is either inaccurate or at best misleading I think.  We can’t keep going at that pace and keep our sanity anyway.  Fast all the time is not good for us.  I firmly believe that.  We’re not made for that.  So when we’re on our bikes, just pick a place sometimes and stop.  Turn off the bike.  Be quiet.  Look around.  That’s hard, but I’m convinced that it’s worth it.  Let’s talk about it.  Thank you for joining me today!

What music do you hear in your head when you ride?  The Doobie Brothers?  Pearl Jam? John Denver?  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir?For me, it’s any one of those music styles, playing over and over in my head as I ride, but for yesterday’s ride, about a 300 miler, the song in my head changed multiple times.  I didn’t have a plan for this ride, but I felt compelled to ride for a few hours, out into the open spaces.  Yesterday, I needed the road time.  Maybe to un-clutter my head.  And guess what?  It worked.  

My grandmother was Nettie Mae.  That’s a beautiful name, isn’t it.  A little lady, full of spirit.  I remember when I was a kid, 10 or 11 years old, going fishing with her way out in the country near Blue Ridge, Texas.  She drove my cousin and I in an old pickup truck out to the fields where our grandfather was working, usually driving a tractor.I didn’t realize that what I was experiencing was a picture perfect moment.  Maybe we as motorcycle riders need to keep our eyes open for those picture perfect moments, because we probably are exposed to those with every ride.

Are you planning a motorcycle trip to Colorado?  Maybe visiting the Rocky Mountain National Park region?  Oh, we need to talk.  Ha ha.  This is my 25th year of living and motorcycling all around Northern Colorado. This is a great place to ride!   As a tour guide in the National Park, spending a lot of time up in the mountains, I have gotten to know of those really special places that are not in the guidebooks and I love sharing the info with you!  You and I know that when you take a trip by motorcycle, the real fun of your vacation begins not when you’ve reached your destination, but it begins as soon as you back you motorcycle out of the garage.  We are so lucky as riders that the fun begins right away.  That’s what you’ll find as you ride to these destinations that I’ll be describing, cool places that are a whole lot of fun to ride to and these places are relatively unknown, and I don’t know why.Be ready to take some notes because today I’m sharing with you some of my favorite hidden cafes, porches, coffee shops and maybe a couple of surprises, all to be found here in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  

Late November and that means it’s Thanksgiving holiday here in the US.  Hard to believe that 2023 is beginning to reach its close.  It’s been snowing the past couple of days here in Loveland, Colorado.  Time to browse through our motorcycling magazine and plan for rides on those nice days coming up.  Yeah we do have a lot to be thankful don’t we.  This motorcycling thing that we’re so crazy about, what a gift. Maybe now it’s good timing to reflect back on some stories and interviews we’ve shared these past weeks.  Seems that it wasn’t that long ago that we reflected back on the first 20 episodes, starting with breakfast with a stranger on Route 66.  I had no idea.  No idea, that conversation in Gallop, New Mexico would turn as it did.  I’ll never forget that man.  That was Episode 1.  So if this podcast is new to you, maybe start with Episode 20 to hear summaries of the first 19.  But for today, let’s talk briefly about where we’ve been starting with Episode 21.  Thank you for joining me today!

Young riders pick a destination and go.  Old riders pick a direction and go.  That's good. I get it.Henry David Thoreau talked it way back in the 1860s, this idea of wandering.  As motorcycle riders, we have the freedom to wander aimlessly, and nobody’s going to question us about it.  Some of us feel compelled to do that as we ride.We don't always have to be going from point A to point B. We don’t always need to be accomplishing something.  What we do need is peace of mind, freedom of both mind and body.  Wandering around without a specific destination in mind can be amazing. Where will your motorcycle take you? Let’s talk about it. Thank you for joining me today!

There are lots and lots of things we love about motorcycling and for me, an overarching thing that I most appreciate.  Motorcycling is real.  There’s no Virtual Reality.  There’s no AI.  Nothing Artificial going on here.  For those of us lucky enough to have a motorcycle in the garage and the ability to ride it, …. Wow, we are just so fortunate!  I think that riding is not so much an escape from reality.  Riding motorcycles returns us to reality.  And for that, we can be very grateful.The Film Festival referenced in this Episode:  https://vahna.com/

It was there, boarding our motorcycles onto the ferry, that the fellow next to me pulled off his jacket to reveal a t-shirt that not only caught me by surprise, but made me laugh.  We struck up a conversation right away.  His black t-shirt had a simple slogan on it that said “Go Fast, Don’t Die”.  Oh, now that’s genius!  I get it!  I’m sure that statement could be interpreted in many ways, but for me it means, do what you can, while you can.  I guess, live life to the fullest.  Mindfulness helps!  Do what makes you happy.I love the feedback and want to hear from you!  Here’s my request.  Send me an email:  ron@peacelovemoto.com.    Thank you!https://www.gofastdontdie.com/https://youtube.com/shorts/-4fwQ10BCdY?si=p7q_E6xbYXmSmh-6Music by:Gary Schmidt: https://www.garyschmidtmusic.com/Brett Wilson:  https://www.mountainzenden.com/Oleg Kirilkov from PixabaySergii Pavkin from PixabayVitalii Korol from Pixabay

I had stopped for lunch in a tiny mountain town here in Colorado when he rode up on this unbelievable motorcycle.  I know that my first word to Charlie was “Wow”, followed by “What kind of motorcycle is that”?  He briefly described how this bike was handcrafted in Indiana with some of the fabrication done by the local Amish community.  Yes, you heard right.  The same Amish folks that you see using buggies pulled by horse for transportation.  You talk about a beautiful, well made machine!I had to get to know this guy and beg for a chance to ride his Janus Motorcycle.  That’s spelled Janus.  A bike like I’ve never seen outside of a history book.  Not only did I get to spend an afternoon riding with Charlie high up in the mountains, he let me ride it!  Oh, that was cool!!!I’m so excited today to share with you an interview with my new friend, Charlie Hansen-Reed, Design Engineer with Janus Motorcycles in Goshen, Indiana.  This was a fun conversation. Contact Mitch, Charlie and the crew at Janus Motorcycles at: (574) 538-1350https://janusmotorcycles.com/

Do you know what I love about riding motorcycles with friends?  Everything!  As the old Christmas carol goes, “Oh what fun it is to ride” and so it was just this morning, riding with two great friends through the twisty mountain roads here in Colorado, reaching our destination which was the Howling Cow Cafe at the Morning Fresh Dairy in Bellview, Colorado.Today we continue with Part 2 of my conversation with Doug Logston of the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association.  And yes, Doug was one of the two guys I rode with this morning.  If you’re wondering “Is Doug a good motorcycle rider”.  Yes, yes he is.  Doug is very good!

As I have described in previous episodes, a large credit for the idea for this podcast, Peace Love Moto, is due to the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, an international fundraiser for men’s health issues focused on prostate cancer research and suicide prevention.  I described how this event is attended by men and women, all dressed up in dapper outfits, all with the common heart for raising money and awareness for these important issues that impact thousands of men throughout the world. I also mentioned that this past year, I was honored to be the host of the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride event in Fort Collins, Colorado.  I met people with hearts the size of our Colorado Mountains.  One such person, is our guest today.Not only was Doug Logston the first place fund raiser for our Fort Collins event, I also learned that Doug is one fascinating guy, including being the State Director for the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association!  It’s such a joy to present to you my interview with my new friend, Doug Logston.  

Melissa and Brett Wilson described how it’s about gratitude, it’s about appreciation for our ability to ride because of how much you love it!  Today, we continue with Part 2 of our conversation with Brett and Melissa as we find ourselves amazed by the parallels between motorcycling and horseback riding.  Both transport us physically, yes, but also emotionally and even Spiritually.  We’re calling it, Views from the Saddle.  Thank you for joining me today!So now, let’s get back to Views from the Saddle, our conversation and the conclusion of our visit with Brett and Melissa Wilson.  Well, I’m so grateful for that visit with Brett and Melissa.  Ya know, when I’ve been asked what the Peace Love Moto Podcast is all about, sometimes I say it’s just about joy.  The joy we feel doing what we love to do, just being out riding, and sharing a smile with a stranger along the way.  Yeah, as simple as that.As always, thank you for spreading the news about this podcast.  You can simply Google the words Peace Love Moto Podcast and you can find it, or go to peacelovemoto.com.  Until we meet again, I wish you peace.  I wish you love.Music by:Brett Wilson:  https://www.mountainzenden.com/Alexi Action from PixabayPineAppleMusic from PixabayYoav Alyagon from PixabayOlexy from Pixabay