MindMap: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values" by Robert M. Pirsig is my best fellow traveler on my journey 21 days bikepacking to Norway.

The book is narrated by the author and describes a motorcycle trip he takes with his son, Chris, across the American Midwest. As they travel, Pirsig delves into discussions about philosophy, technology, and what constitutes "quality" in life and work. 

What have I learned from the book: ABOUT TRAVEL

You see things vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you’re always in a compartment, and because you’re used to it you don’t realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You’re a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame. On a cycle the frame is gone. You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.

-> passive observation = like watching TV

# active engagement = be more immersed and directly connected with your surroundings, enhancing your sense of presence and making experiences more vivid: lying on the grass and feeling the wind; getting some sunlight while cycling; listening the birds chipping, the insects buzzing and engaging in conversation with local people; playing in the rain; sleeping under the Milky Way; watching the Sunset;…

We want to make good time, but for us now this is measured with emphasis on “good” rather than “time” and when you make that shift in emphasis the whole approach changes. Twisting hilly roads are long in terms of seconds but are much more enjoyable on a cycle where you bank into turns and don’t get swung from side to side in any compartment.

I’ve wondered why it took us so long to catch on. We saw it and yet we didn't see it. Or rather we were trained not to see it.

The truth knocks on the door and you say, “Go away, I’m looking for the truth”, and so it goes away. Puzzling.

What is in mind is a sort of Chautauqua and, of course, when you discover something like that it’s like discovering a tooth with a missing filling. You can never leave it alone. You have to probe it, work around it, push on it, think about it, now because it’s enjoyable but because it’s on your mind and it won’t get off your mind.

Red-winged blackbird