Back in my Ducati Days, I reprimanded my mechanic for riding recklessly. He replied “anyone riding faster than you is riding recklessly”. That wasn’t funny.

Later that day he tried to redeem himself by suggesting that faster riders were slow. I agreed and we laughed and laughed and laughed. That thought always stuck with me.

I am an over thinker, I have now been clinically diagnosed, so now have a certificate for being slow. I see challenges, threats and obstacles, that people with less brain activity, don’t see.

Recently, while exercising , I asked my date what she was thinking. “Nothing” she replied. “Impossible” I argued, “everyone is always thinking something!” I argued, overthinking she was trying to hide something from me…. And that’s how I learnt, I am hyper-alert and suffer from anxiety… but I digress.

This past weekend, Riaan kindly loaned me a BMW R1250RS to follow the Cycle Tour. My first ride in over a year….

After a year of therapy, I’m here to tell you that riding without thinking is not recommended. Frantic congestion, cars blocking trucks blocking taxis offloading passengers… an average day in Africa, agreed, but my first time on a bike. Traditionally I wouldn’t think twice about navigating myself through this mayhem, but today, everything was foreign. Including the BMW 1250 Boxer, with its clunky quick shifting gears. I really don’t get why touring bikes have quick shifters. What part of touring didn’t you understand:

noun

1. a journey for pleasure in which several different places are visited.

Nothing about hurrying, saving milliseconds in gear changes or shaving milligrams off weight….

I recognise the signs, I’m pre-annoyed, I need to breath. I need to escape this traffic. Muscle memory kicks in, focused, I push through the congestion… riding myself back to clarity.

The longer I spend on BMW, the more I realise how healthy riding is for my mental health.

Still not convinced of the need for a quick shifter, I take in my usual sequence of corners and realise it’s about the ride and not what is in my head!

The real measure of a bike is handing the keys back… reluctantly!

Thanks again Riaan Swart for a great reminder of why we ride.