On The Road

RIP RENO MMCF

Temple of the Weekend

Simply by turning on the light, you can instantly destroy the darkness. Likewise, even a rather simple analysis of ego-clinging and afflictive emotions can make them collapse. By suppression we may temporarily subdue our afflictive emotions, but only an investigation of their true nature will completely eradicate them.

—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, “An Investigation of the Mind”

Ready to Roll

In painting, as in any art, we can escape the prison of our minds and connect with what transcends ordinary perceptions. And just as a body of water stays still while a wave-form moves through it, consciousness remains stable despite the constant motion and flow of our thoughts.

—Fredericka Foster, “Spotlight On: Fredericka Foster”

Do not speak ill of the Shovelhead, If you are speaking from a place of ignorance.

Bikes change, Riders change, the Feeling doesn't.

This mind that we identify as the self, which we could call ego-mind, controls everything we do. Yet it can't actually be found—which is somewhat spooky, as if a ghost were managing our home. The house seems to be empty, but all the housework has been done. The bed has been made, our shoes have been polished, the tea has been poured, and the breakfast has been cooked.

—Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche, "Searching for Self"

Truth on a Ribbon of Highway

The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," 

and so it goes away. Puzzling.

-R. Pirsig

Actions, Not Words.

Impermanence

Everything is Transitive, even 16" apes and goofy ass mag wheels.

Kick It

After two months of ice age battery drain, one comes to appreciate a Kicker.

Especially when she roars to life on the second down-stroke.

Chasing Ghosts

Spring is Ghost

The slip in my clutch is a Ghost

That ever-present slow tire leak is a Ghost 

My rage is a Ghost

My serenity is a Ghost

I'm a Ghost

When you meet the Buddha on the road....

When you are road tripping to Santa Fe, one is obligated to pay homage to Georgia O'Keefe, when one finds a picture of Georgia O'Keefe on a Knucklehead (1944 photo), one is then obligated to post it in front of the Kiva style fireplace, in one's room.   

Solid Foundations

The most difficult portion of any inquiry is its initiation.  One may have the most rigorous of methods during the later stages of investigation, but if a false or superficial beginning has been made, 
rigor later on will never retrieve the situation. 
(F.S.C. Northrop 1947:1)

Purity and Danger

The anthropological concept of purity and danger relies 

on the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane.

The trick to putting together a worthy bike, is to err on the side of the sacred.  

The less parts, the less chance of slipping into the profane.  

Turn it off

Solitude can facilitate clarity,

However, like Robert Pirsig said: 

"The only zen you find on the tops of Mountains, is the zen you take up there".

Enlightenment is not geographically specific.

Organic Mechanic Evolution

Over time most machines wear into their own rhythm.

You can replace a worn part with a new one that is made to the correct specifications, 

and not have it fit, or work properly.

That is because the old part evolved a symbiotic relationship with the parts around it and the motorcycle in general.

It became more than the sum of its parts.

Over time, bikes evolve into their own Creatures.

Tastes Like Spring

Contemplation

 Contemplation of Spring, 

cold wrenches, 

scraped knuckles, 

dead batteries,

motor on the air compressor lopes to life,

warm whiskey.

ARTIFACTS

ARTIFACTS: Archaeologists don't collect or study artifacts because of their market value or because of the "thing" itself.  We study artifacts because of the intangible, abstract value they have to tell us about human behavior.  We collect things like broken risers, snapped gas tank tabs, and throw out bearings because of their inherent potential to be more than they are as discarded relics.  We hang on to them because of their inherent value as symbols.  Symbols of a life better lived on clear roads after the yearly Ice Age of the Rocky Mountains.