Stunning autumn hues aside, motorcycling in the Pacific Northwest is a lot about winding roads. It’s about navigating curves at an optimal trajectory and speed, creating those lively moments when your foot pegs brush the tarmac. It’s about discovering the thin line, the line which separates recklessness from precarious optimism, the belief that everything beyond your control is going just right! Discovering that trajectory requires a clear view and an understanding of the full turn ahead. That, along with instincts and skills, shapes the plan on how to approach the turn, how to maneuver, at what speed, etc.

High-level plan aside, how you cover every inch of this trajectory also matters because this determines the viable options ahead. In fact, at every point on that curve, along with basic physics, our own limitations and constraints of our machines determine possible trajectories. Beyond motorcycling — it’s like working towards a long-term vision, while shaping the specifics of the execution as we go along. Reaching the long-term goal requires constant adaptation to what the road presents, not what was anticipated.

Quoting the Canadian death metal band Beyond Creation — “Every decision we take. Every step we make. Every word we use. And every rule we choose.” – With every single step, we are shaping the details of our own trajectory, and at the same time influencing the lives of others connected to us. So, if you had a fortunate or an unfortunate accident, it might not be the immediately preceding step. It could be any action leading up to the accident, which actually set in motion that unfortunate trajectory. 

 The question is – what were those steps that maximized the probability of that incident? It could be that disturbing conversation with the neighbor or that reckless driver on the freeway. With an exhaustive set of variables, identifying and modeling those sequences is non-trivial. It requires omniscience and intractable computing power. Complex realities are nuanced but expensive too, so a civil society demands a practical approach – that of individual responsibility. A fair assumption is the existence of free will. In short, we shape our good and bad accidents by acting or not acting to compensate for external pressures.

To go back to the analogy of motorcycling PNW winding roads — there are always unforeseen factors affecting the specifics of the execution. Low probability but high impact variables like twigs on the road, those strategically placed potholes, or a deer gently crossing the path — all these and more impact a motorcyclist’s vision of navigating curves with finesse. But that uncertainty is not a cost; it is the reason to feel alive, which is vital to motorcycling. It’s also critical to know that, even with determinism provided by the law, uncertainty is an artifact of a highly interconnected system.

Republished at ridersmodel.com