5 Lessons I’ve Learned While On My Motorcycle 

Pastor Art Snow • July  10, 2022

5 Lessons I’ve Learned While On My Motorcycle 

Allow me to begin this blog by talking to you about how mentally healthy my years of motorcycle riding has been for me. The following is the signature at the bottom of my emails….

Chrome and asphalt put distance between me and whatever the world can throw at me.

Freedom and wind outlast hard times.

And the rumble of my engine drowns out all the spin of the evening news.

As the saying goes you never see a motorcycle parked outside a psychiatrist’s office unless it belongs to the doctor. From the time you release the clutch and engage first gear, you began a journey of freedom and euphoria that takes your soul to a completely different place than the grim reality you left behind. 

The last thing I want to get out of the way before sharing my 5 life lessons learned on top of my motorcycle is the question I am most often asked when people learn that I ride the iron horse. It goes something like this…”Isn’t it dangerous to ride a motorcycle?” My answer is always the same of course it is, but so is getting up in the morning. You can get hit by a bus or choke on your onion bagel or get shot in a drive by on your way to work . The reality is every time you throw your leg over a motorcycle it may be the last time. I don’t mean to freak you out, but I would rather die on a motorcycle than in a cancer ward. Ok enough of my motorcycle philosophy, let’s get on to the 5 lessons. 

Lesson One: Where you look is where you go.

This is a phenomenon only understood by motorcyclists. When you head into a deep curve you never look directly in front of you, you turn your eyes to the end of the curve where you want to end up. As the saying goes, “if you look down, you will go down.” Your bike will always follow the end of your nose, your end point may be a half a mile down the road, but as long as you are looking there you will end up there. If you take the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) basic rider course (which I suggest everyone take if you want to ride a motorcycle), they will drill this concept into your head until is becomes second nature. 

Not only will they teach you this over and over again , they will also teach you about “fixation”. Fixation is when you are on the road and encounter a threat. The natural and deadly thing to do is fixate on the oncoming car or animal crossing your path, when you fixate, you hit the obstacle every time, because where you look is where you go. The key is to look for the path to safety and travel that path, STOP looking at the threat and focus on the path of safety, and you will always avoid the crash. 

Life is full of threats and obstacles, and if we spend our time fixated on them we will crash and burn. But if we fix our eyes on the solution we will find our safe place. If you look down you will go down, but if you keep your eyes toward Heaven then the answer will come. Where you look is where you go. 

Lesson Two: The mirrors can only say no, and never yes.

Your mirrors will save your life if you learn how to use them. If you are traveling along the highway and want to change lanes, the first thing you do is check your mirror, all-right clear right, NO.  The second thing you do is turn your head to look into your blind spot. You may then discover that 18 wheeler a few feet behind you in the left lane. Your mirror will lie to you, at the very least it will only give you partial information. 

Your mirror is like your past, and can mis-lead you. It can tell you yes, when it should really be telling you absolutely no, there is danger there. So many people live in their past, allowing past injuries and hurts to control their path forward. As the saying goes, your windshield is bigger than your rear view mirror for a purpose. Stop living in the past, the mirror can deceive you, turn your head, and change the lane in safety as you navigate your future. 

Lesson Three: Lean into the curve.

Most motorcycle only crashes happen in a curve. This is when the motorcyclist has failed to correctly read the curve and make mistake that usually kills them. The MSF safety course will teach you this simple four-step process for safely negotiating a curve: Slow,Look, Lean, Roll. One of the most fatal mistakes while entering a curve is “coming in too hot”, the rider did not slow down enough before they approached the curve. And you CAN NOT touch your brakes while in the curve. It has to do with the traction patch. When you enter a curve and lean your bike over, you have less of the tire actually touching the surface of the road, if you hit your brakes that traction patch goes to zero and you crash in what is called a “high side” crash where the rider goes over the handlebars and often dies as a result. 

The second thing you do as I already stated is look toward the end of the curve, you know where you want to end up. The third thing you do is lean into the curve, never fight the curve but instead lean into it and when you hit the apex of the curve roll on the throttle and the bike will come safely out of the curve. 

Life will throw you curves, the best thing to do is lean into them and find that “sweet spot” provided for you by the Holy Spirit. Never hit your breaks, find the correct God-speed, and allow the God ordained curve to have its way with you as it teaches you another Kingdom lesson. Lean in, and feel His guiding hand. 

Lesson Four: There are two kinds of riders those who have gone down, and those who will go down.

I have gone down more that once, one time because I hit a deer and another time because I hit an oil patch in the middle of a thunder storm. Neither one of these accidents were my fault,  they were not rider-error, and nothing I could have done would have prevented them. 

Two lessons are important here, first I had on all my safety gear, boots, jacket, gloves, and helmet. When you go down, make sure you have done all your due diligence to protect yourself. Second as soon as I went down I made a decision to get back on the bike again. 

The Bible says in Proverbs 24:16, “But a righteous man falls seven times and rises again.” You will go down in your life, but you need to be “geared up” with all the protective equipment, you know prayer and a healthy walk with Christ. Then as soon as you touch the pavement, rise again. Learn the lesson then move onward and upward. 

Lesson Five: Search, Evaluate, Execute. 

Most accidents happen at intercessions (new opportunities or experiences in life) 75% of the threat is in front of you so you must correctly choose your choices and your path of travel. When you roll into an intersection you must assess the risk, where are the potential threats and where is your path of escape. You follow three steps, you search for those potential threats, you evaluate your paths of escape then when called upon you execute your plan. 

Life offers so many opportunities some of them are clearly God, and others are simply distractions. And with some distractions come with grave threats that can take you out of the ride completely. Whenever approached by opportunities, seek God, allow Him to have the final say, then follow the path He chooses for you. It will always take you to a higher place in him. 

Bonus: I may unpack these at a later date: Loud pipes save lives, let people know you are there, Balance is the key to a safe ride, keep your life balanced, Keep a safety margin (12) seconds between you and objects in front of you, pace and speed keep you out of crashes, Ride your own ride, when riding in a pack ride your own ride determined by you and the Holy Spirit, don’t allow others to control your ride. 

Keep The Shiny Side Up 

Pastor Art Snow | July 10, 2022

Edited and Adapted for Web Use by: Eric Muñoz Jr.