Recently a friend asked if I would share some of what I have learned since I came back to riding a motorcycle. This may not be what she had in mind but my first thought was maps. Real made of paper able to be crumpled up and folded maps.
In today's world of GPS and Map Apps helping us find our way, paper maps may seem outdated. Perhaps, but all these gizmos have many times resulted in riders (and drivers) blindly following that little electronic voice telling them where to turn/go/stop. The operative word being "blindly".
In my opinion it's incredibly easy to depend on those devices because many of us actually have no idea where we are on the planet relative to where we want to end up. Hell, some have no idea where they are on any part of the planet period. Sometimes it's even genetic: my granddaughter and I share a "no sense of direction" gene - no matter how hard I try (even if I can see the sun) I can't reliably figure out which direction is which. But I can read a map and follow directions!
It's one thing if you are out for a day ride and don't really care where you are but shouldn't you at least have a general sense of your location?
Once upon a time (all good stories start that way) it wasn't a dark and stormy night - it was in fact a bright and sunny day. There I was among hundreds of riders gathered in a parking lot in Massachusetts setting up to go on a charity ride. I was a new returning rider then and a little leery (yeah, a lot leery) of how this might turn out but I'd been assured that the event was extremely well organized. I would be able to stay with my group of riders and eventually end up at the BBQ surrounded by familiar faces.
Turned out not so much.
Instead of releasing us from the parking lot in the rows as we had parked, the organizers let everyone go at once - funneling through one gate. Predicable result was that everyone got intermingled and except for one glimpse at the BBQ that was the last I saw that day of anyone I knew. The ride was a trip in terror: flying down a partially blocked highway on a semi-escorted ride surrounded by strangers who didn't seem to know any more about where they were going than I did. Most seemed to think that if they went faster it would start to make sense!
Eventually the group I was in did end up at the BBQ location. That's when I caught my one and only glimpse of a person I knew. Never even got close enough to cling to them and cry for mercy!
Now to the map part;
I had not a clue in the world where I was. Yes, I knew I was in Massachusetts and I knew that meant I was west of the Atlantic Ocean and south of my home state of New Hampshire. Other than that it was anyone's guess as far as I was concerned. I wasn't even sure what town I was in. I knew where they had said we'd end up but they'd also said we'd stay together so I had a fairly high level of distrust going on!
And I had no maps.
When I left I rolled the dice and started taking any road that seemed to go north or east figuring that I would sooner or later find either the ocean or New Hampshire. That eventually worked and I found Rt 495 and headed north (I still have no idea how I got there).
Side note: one thing that sticks in my mind was stopping at an open fire station to ask directions and finding no one there. I've always wondered if I could actually have upgraded to a fire truck with no opposition!
So my lesson for today is get maps. When I drove back and forth to Arizona I had what might be considered a plethora of maps, maybe even an overabundance! I had an atlas, I had state maps and I had that wonderful book that shows you what services are available at each exit of all the interstates in the country.
I had a smart phone with a Map App and there was a GPS but I had maps! I also knew in a general way where I was and where I wanted to be.
Try to remember that in most of life we first and foremost should be depending upon ourselves - not some electronic non-person who sometimes seems to have a really evil sense of humor!
Get maps!
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