Feeling Lucky? Miracles and Motorcycles

A normal coffee run in downtown Loveland flips a switch in my head. At one table, I’m trying to write and think, and a young man paces near the door, locked into a world I can’t enter. Behind me, six teens with Down syndrome laugh with a kind of joy adults tend to hide. Sitting in that room, it hits me how high the walls can be for some people and how casually the rest of us move through doors we didn’t have to earn.

That perspective follows me back to a recent 280-mile Colorado motorcycle ride on my BMW GS. I crossed the Continental Divide, rolled through Winter Park and old mining towns, and chased the kind of twisty mountain roads that make you slow down in the best way. Adventure riding in Colorado is gorgeous, but the bigger point isn’t the scenery, it’s what it takes to experience it: clear senses, steady balance, fast judgment, and a brain that quietly processes an endless stream of risk and information.

Motorcycle riding is a complex neurological dance we treat as normal. Throttle precision, clutch control, braking, scanning for gravel and shadows, reading traffic, choosing lines, and adjusting to changing traction all happen at speed, often without conscious thought. That ability is autonomy, and autonomy is a gift. If you ride, take a second before you gear up, check your gratitude, and remember that simply reaching the handlebars is something to be thankful for.

Subscribe for more stories that make the miles mean something, share this with a friend who rides, and leave a review if it resonates. What’s one moment that reminded you riding is a privilege?

Tags:  Mindfulness, Motorcycle riding, mindful motorcycling, motorcycle therapy, nature connection, peace on two wheels, Rocky Mountain tours, rider self-discovery, spiritual journey, motorcycle community, open road philosophy.