Lessons from a Bike

Lesson #1. Wear a helmet. 

My first bike was bright neon pink, and I clipped a playing card to the frame so that the wheel rotations would patter against it - some kind of propelled machine sound that annoyed everyone but me. 

Overall that bright pink bike afforded me many hours of what felt like unimpeded freedom. As long as I returned home when the street lights came on.

Ironically, one of my earliest bad injuries was from being run over by a kid biking in my neighborhood on the sidewalk right outside our front door. I literally bit the concrete, losing one of my front baby teeth; my bloody, black-and-blue lips swelled up past my nose. I have the pictures to prove it!

Lesson #2. Wear a helmet

As an adult, I take my fair share of bike rides, both for pleasure and also for exercise. But at some point right around turning 30 I made up my mind to buy a motorcycle and learn how to ride it as my primary vehicle. I enrolled in a motorcycle training and certification class where I learned both the book knowledge and actually getting on the bike. 

I started with a very small beginner bike called a Grom. I didn’t know the first thing I was doing, so my husband showed me some videos, I geared up, strapped myself on that Grom, and spent countless hours tooling up and down the street outside our house. Wearing all the proper gear took some getting used to, but I practiced until everything felt comfortable.

Lesson #3. Wear a helmet

Riding a motorcycle has a well-known rule to act as though no other driver on the road can see you. 

There’s another little trick that is not very often talked about. The trick is how the direction of your head and eyes will lead the direction of your bike. With a small turn of the head or a sideways eye glance, you’ll simultaneously begin to veer in that direction. 

I see a direct parallel between this way of riding a bike with the way we live our lives. In other words, the body will follow where the head and eyes are focused.

the body will follow where the head and eyes are focused.

On an actual bicycle or while riding a motorcycle, there are distractions in every direction. While some are far more important to focus on, it will still take practice to make those decisions at a moments notice. There are other cars, pedestrians, road hazards, and weather that must demand your attention at all times. 

Similarly, in life, you’ll have distractions. If you’re only focused on the person crossing the road, it’s more likely for you to fly over a huge pothole. And if your daily attention and energy is to find the love of your life, it’s possible you’re missing the family member who needs you.

Final lesson: Wear a helmet!

When I was relearning to walk, it was arduous for me to even look left and right. I had to look at the end of the hall while willing my feet to move forward one after another. But at that time, I was focusing my head and eyes toward recovery, so that my body would follow suit as I set my aim on the Boston Marathon.

Now, more than ever, I’m reminded daily about the importance of where my eyes and head are focused.