Today is marked as Go For a Ride Day. It’s very simple – pick a mode of transportation and go! You can pick any mode you want – bike, car, motorcycle, boat, horse, snowmobile…the possibilities are endless! For us, a new mode of transportation became one of our passions and a key keto motivation. We started riding motorcycles.
The Motivation to Ride
The idea behind this day, according to National Today, is to enjoy your journey and appreciate the freedom we have from our modes of transportation. If you read this blog, you will see that I am always planning for our next road trip. Now, I’m planning road trips that incorporate the actual journey there – not just the destination.
Bill and I have always enjoyed things that are just slightly on the edge. Nothing too life defying – but just the adrenaline rush you feel from things like roller coasters. A couple of years ago, Bill started working with a guy who enjoys motorcycles. They started talking, and before you know it, he was talking to me about the possibility of riding them.
Why Riding Became a Keto Motivation
You often see larger men riding motorcycles. It’s kind of a stereotypical biker picture. But, you don’t often see larger women riding them. I think that’s partly because we attract more attention. Women on the backs of bikes are typical and no one pays much attention. But, when you start to ride them yourself, people pay more attention.
When I was larger, the last thing I wanted to do was attract attention. I wanted to be hiding in the background. But now, I’m a very average size and I’m more comfortable with being front and centre. In fact, if I’m honest, I kind of enjoy the attention that I, and other women, get from going out there and riding our own ride.
Not Giving Up
It hasn’t been an easy road for me to learn to ride motorcycles. In 2021, Bill and I went to take a course to learn. He did well. I did not. After I dropped the motorcycle for the third time in one day, I was done. We had a lot of personal stuff happening at that time, and while I don’t usually give up, my mind was not in it and I knew if I kept going, I could really get hurt. So, I threw in the towel – for the moment. Bill continued with the course and got his license.
This spring, I made my appointment to take the course again. I practiced on Bill’s bike in a parking lot a few times to get the feel for how it worked. I practiced turns, speeding up, and braking. The bike was a lot heavier than the ones you learn on, so I gained some confidence. And when the time came to do the course, I passed.
Adrenaline as a Keto Motivation
I have traveled over 5,000 kilometers this summer and I am literally grieving the freedom and feeling riding gives me now that winter is firmly on the horizon. Riding motorcycles, for me, gives me a feeling of exhilaration and freedom. I still have so much to learn, and so much more riding to do, before I’m actually good at it, but little by little I am improving. To me, going around corners is similar to the feeling you get on a roller coaster – but it’s all in your control.
Motorcycles are a new passion, and it ties in so well with keto. Knowing I can take control of what and how I eat has given me a new lease on life. This life is full of adventure and excitement that comes with an open road and an open mode of transportation. It all leaves me with one final question – is it spring yet?
Wendy
