Pilgrimage Ride Report – Two AMAZING rides of my life! (1 of 2)

“To really live from the heart, one needs to take a journey to new places to unplug and explore, separate from family and familiars, in order to be open to new influences, to bold growth, and dramatic change.” ~ Dave E. Anderson, (a modified Katherine Butler Hathaway quote)

I recently returned from two amazing rides (Pilgrimage Rides) and would love to tell you about them. I’ll start by telling you about the first one, and in a follow-up email tell you about the second. If you don’t ride... hang in there because this is more than JUST a ride-report... these have been two experiences that have produced needed change in my life. PLUS, you will also get the detailed story of the crash... that totaled my bike (sad to say), in the follow-up email.

Ride #1: DEAL’S GAP (a.k.a. “The Tail of the Dragon”) in North Carolina. (The Inaugural Ride)Saturday, May 13, 2006, we pulled out of N. Houston, for a 7-day, 2,740-mile journey. Enthusiastically, three men on three BMW bikes (two on the K1200S and my K1200GT), headed out for North Carolina to ride “the Dragon”. This is the “Mecca” for motorcyclist. Why? Because of the 318 curves in an 11-mile stretch of road... plus a plethora of other roads uniquely incredible. Yeah baby! The first day we made it to Birmingham, AL, 687 miles of interstate (not the fun part), but we were on “a pilgrimage”, so we paid the price of sore buns. Of course we had to take the necessary “tourist” pictures by all the state lines: LA, MS & AL. Traveling four states on the first day felt really good. The second day we headed out for a 320-mile day through Atlanta and into twisty roads of Suches, GA, home of the T.W.O. (Two Wheels Only) Campground and Wolf Pen Gap road, on our way up to NC. Suches was the beginning of where you really had to pay attention to the extreme technical twisties in varying inclines, which demanded our 100% focus. Even though I had ridden the area before and they had track experience, we all had to polish-up our skills with the intensity these roads offered. These weren’t the normal “Texas twisties” we were used to. We stopped for a picture at T.W.O. and you should have seen the WOW factor in our eyes... we were in Motorcycle-Heaven! That night we completed the 1,007-mile trek, arriving at the Tapoco Lodge, NC, where we stayed in a remote cottage overlooking the Cheoah River. After a relaxing massage from Teresa, the local therapist, we soaked in the chilled moist air of the mountains. With no TV or phones in the rooms, it was quiet, except for the smoothing sound of the river below. Ah, this was truly unplugging in style. Our cottage was nestled in a rainforest-like setting, complete with a path, overflowing with foliage that led down to the main lodge, where we enjoyed breakfast each morning. Over the next 4 days, we road “The Dragon”, Cherohala Skyway, Blue Ridge Parkway, Foothills Parkway, and more back roads of the Smoky Mountains. Our journey took us through riding in the heat, cold, rain, and even sleet (with temps below freezing). We hiked to waterfalls; walked along the river; herd local ghost stories; road the Dragon at night; and experienced the amazing adventure of life in so many spontaneous ways. On the sixth and seventh days, we made our way back through Memphis, taking in the BBQ Festival and staying at Elvis’ Heart Break Hotel (a surprise detour), then on through Arkansas into Texas, for a total of Seven States. We took in and experienced so much beauty in our surroundings; in ourselves; in our conversations; and in the quiet times we took alone with God. It was like we, and God-who created it all, was intimately connecting to our hearts deeper than ever. It WAS a ride of our lives. So, thank you B.W., B.R., and R.H. (one more who joined us from Atlanta) for the ride together.

While this inaugural ride was a truly amazing trip to the best roads and sceneries in the USA, it also had a few very rough moments mixed in. And it’s only after a lot of deep soul searching and introspection of the experiences, conversations and feelings we had before, during and after the trip, that I’m able to write about it... almost 2 months later. Before now... It just didn’t make much sense. Trust me... It’s making more sense now, because I’m committed to being a learner from my entire journey in life, however ugly it can look at times. I’ll explain. This particular pilgrimage ride was set up to be “a spiritual journey... to become better men, husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and friends, while asking God to show us how to remove that which was not in our best interest as men.” This meant that I would lead the group with that intention from the beginning, which is by the way, one of the primary objectives of the “Pilgrimage Ride” experience. But that’s where things seemed to fall apart and my greatest lessons were realized. This was the first trip to guide others on... so I had to put together “the agenda” for the experience. That was my first mistake. I went to an ego place of, “I know what they need,” and began to work my agenda, which was met with much resistance, followed by more of my own resistance to stop, lay down the agenda and listen to their hearts and God’s “ultimate knowing” of what we all needed. Yep, I just plainly forgot that HE INVITED ALL OF US into His beauty to learn... not just them. So basically, in my attempt to create the spiritual experience of a lifetime, my ego (not my heart) showed up and created a disruptive connection within the group. It was like the proverbial “elephant in the room”, or in this case... the elephant on my front fender... blocking where we needed to go; ruining the steering ability; and creating all kinds of tension and unbalance. Yep, being out of integrity, even so slightly, is a huge thing to ride around with... yet so freeing as I’m learning to stop the bike (my life) and properly deal with the root problem that’s within myself... versus blaming someone else for it. Now that feels really good to own... which is impossible for me to do until I surrender it over to God and let it all go... anger, blame, guilt and even trying to fix it. I’m learning to trust, surrender, love and forgive others and myself through this whole experience. I believe this was still designed for each of us to learn from it in our own way... and so I trust Him to work it out in His timing and in the way He chooses to in the end. I have learned a very costly lesson about myself that will stick with me for the rest of my life. The place He has called me to work, involves the precious hearts of people, and it is a sacred work, and I’m committed to doing it with His ability, which is far better that the best of my ability... as I’m so clearly learning.

Two days later, just to see if I was listening and taking notes from the lessons of the first ride, I left for a second Pilgrimage Ride with three other men, that’s incredible in it’s own way... and I can’t wait to tell you about it. Ok, here’s a small taste. It involves multiple crashes and my own bike being totaled in the end. So, stay tuned for part two of these back-to-back real life adventures...

Living and Loving Life and Others... OUT LOUD!

Dave E. Anderson, Humbled Guide

www.PilgrimageRide.com “A Motorcycle Journey of the Heart & Soul”
...A Freedom Life Consulting motorcycle experience!