Every time you tackle something new in life, broaden your horizons, you find whole new, vast, and sometimes misty, vistas open up to you, friendships develop, and incredible opportunities present themselves.
I got the chance to run up and ride with a new, long-time riding, motorcycling friend on a bit of the Cherohala Skyway, one of the more well-known motorcycling routes, and National Scenic Byway, that runs through the Cherokee and Nantahala national forests, hence the mashup name.
It was a dreary, drizzly grey kinda’ day. But, how can you possibly care about that while swaying your way through that subtle, otherworldly dance of dipping and leaning, running highs and lows, up and over and around every curve along such a magnificent ribbon of asphalt, tree-lined by the pale, listless hungover leaves of late fall, bowed low under the clouded fog of a rough new morning?
Our private little world gave me the opportunity to grill Adam with motorcycle questions that my small amount of experience allowed me to form. I’d been out riding just enough to be able to identify some of things I knew I didn’t know – what to watch out for when riding in the rain, how in the world to manage wet manhole covers, a review of what to do if it’s the front or back wheel that locks up when you over-brake or go into a slide – a dozen questions to help me up navigate this whole new world, under all conditions.
Lessons: The exposure to someone who has a vast amount of experience is invaluable – always look for and take advantage of those opportunities, whenever possible, to dig deeper into your chosen endeavor, to ask clarifying questions.
Smarter-Not-Harder U 