has always been one of my favorite books. In fact, it’s a reason I wound up with a motorcycle.

People talk about feeling free on a motorcycle. That’s never been the appeal for me.   Some folks like the speed and the danger, but that always struck me as a sort of external way of getting your jollies.   Some think it’s “badass.”   Bullshit.  Unless you happen to be a great-grandmother in India balancing three sacks of grain, two infants and a baby goat.

That’s badass.

But motorcycles do require a concentration, a presence, a oneness with your environment that is salutary. Riding a motorcycle is an exercise in give and take with your environment, in learning how to discern what is and what is not within your control. A successful journey is the product of a thousand small, thoughtful decisions. It’s applied intelligence. In this sense it is a concrete lesson in the art of living, a lesson in some skills that I’ve struggled with more generally.

The book is actually more about the importance of caring about what you are doing than about motorcycles. When you do something well—with attention, with concern—you make it better. You make you better. And the effect it has on both you and the work ripples outward. People can sense it–the humility, the generosity—and they just might be inspired to do something similar. You can make the world better in ways that you could never have predicted.

Out before 9:00 a.m. this morning for the first time yet, and heading for Broomfield, CO, where my ex-wife and I will stay for two nights with my ex-girlfriend. Will keep you posted.