In my last post, I defined adventure as any activity where the outcome is uncertain. I really do mean that quite literally. Learning a new language, joining a social club, reconnecting with an estranged relative, these are all adventures, even though they don’t involve a lot of physical risk.
Of course, some adventures do entail more risk. This past December, my friend Dave and I traveled to Southern California to participate in a 3 day motorcycle school at the aptly named RawHyde Adventures. The school teaches a number of off road motorcycle riding skills, using 600 lb. BMW’s over a variety of terrain, conditions, and obstacles. The basic rule of thumb: if you’re not dropping the bike, you’re not trying hard enough (by that measure, I succeeded handsomely since I had at least 20 drops and a few crashes to boot).
During the course, I reached many moments where I was faced with a simple choice: try the obstacle or don’t; there is no in between option. The most prominent of these (but not, as it turns out the most difficult) was the Wall of Death. The obstacle is actually three separate walls – low, high, and two walls in close succession. The angle of the walls to the ground is about 75 degrees, and my first though upon seeing them was that this was actually a joke designed to scare the bujesus out of the students and give the coordinators a good laugh. No, I was told, we’re going to climb those walls.
I simply couldn’t believe this was possible until I saw it demonstrated; surely the bike would just bounce off the wall sending me over the handlebars followed by a trip to the emergency room. Nope, totally doable as long as you remember two things – carry enough speed get up and over and keep your weight forward. Forgetting either of these would result in the bike going vertical – first up, then down – with me as the landing pad. Again, trip to the emergency room.
This is where the binary choice of go/no go presents itself and where agility kicks in in all its forms. Physically, I had to be capable of performing the moves; mentally, I had to do something that my instincts were telling me to avoid; and emotionally I knew that if I skipped it I’d miss out on the story telling around the campfire that night. So, I pointed the bike at the low wall, built up enough speed, leaned forward, and… no problem. Honestly it was a bit anticlimactic. The high wall was a bit more interesting, but same result. The double wall included an extra element. After the first wall, you must be pointed directly at the second wall, not at an angle. Otherwise bad things will happen. Here’s a clip of the high wall (note the coach reminding me to keep my weight forward:
Overall, the course was fantastic. I learned a lot, had a ton of fun, and avoided serious injury. Most definitely checked the adventure box.
My 3rd Third 