Sheep skin raft to cross the Yellow River in China.
We had 4 heavy people on the raft and it carried us accross the river without problems. Simple but very effective river crossing.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Unit of Time
Unit of Time
One gets some crazy ideas when on the road. The brain does something unique and sometimes these ideas or thoughts get stuck in the brain and like a broken record play over and over. Some songs are like that, too or simple tunes that are stuck in my head and I hum the same melody over and over and can not get rid of it. I caught myself humming Bach’s cantatas over and over; the little Fugue over and over. Even to the point that I was annoyed at myself but could not stop it. Riding along the road there is was, in my head and I was humming it and it created a mixed feeling of road, weather, noise and thought. Was that me? Was I the music, the noise, the road, the song in my head?
I remember vividly the ride along the panhandle of Oklahoma. The road is very flat, devoid of any features. No tree, no hill, no focus but the road I rode on. I was going about 75 miles an hour, the wind in my face and the drone of the motor in my ears. The little fugue stuck in my mind, over and over. Then… like a brain flash and for a moment I did not know if I was riding or if the road was sliding under me. I was stuck in time. Yes, I could hear, see, smell but so what? Nothing changed. I was sitting on a droning beast going to? Nothing changed! It was the same landscape no matter the speed. Time was sliding by UNDER me. I was not there, or I was there but the world around me was passing by. It is hard to put into words, this feeling of being in one place but not being with reality the way I thought about it before that point. Like I said, this feeling did not last long; it was a mere minute maybe. I can look back and remember it but I can not recreate it. I tried a few times, when on a trip, to recreate this feeling but it never happened since. What does happen to my head is that since that moment I sometimes dream about time. Yes, Time!
I ask myself what time is. What is a unit of time?
I can not find the answer. In my head I put myself in situations like a dark cave without any light at all. How would I know what time it is?
If I lived in this cave without light and could see nothing and talk to nobody and just existed what would time mean to me? Would I measure time by the growth of my hair? What would the unit of time be?
Would I measure time in between meals? What meals? If nobody is around me and feeds me, how would I live? I imagine that I would not need anything like food, drink or that my body would not age or is in need of anything. I am just there! How would I measure time?
I can not see anything except that I exist. I KNOW I exist, so what time is it? What is a Unit of Time?
I hear people say, that time flies! They mean it flows like a rapid river and nobody can stop it. Is this true? Can Time not be stopped? I know about the ideas of Einstein that time can be slowed down, but can it be stopped? Can the river of time be dammed? Like wind that blows, can it be stopped? If it can be stopped, what will happen? Is there an ANTI time?
Those are things that pop into my head and just like the song that is stuck in my head when I ride, Time is stuck in my head when I sleep.
What is a unit of time?
I can tell myself not to think about it but…..it pops into my head when I least expected.
Just like the stuff that seems to be stuck in my head when I ride and the strange experiences I have when I sit on my bike Time is with me.
I know of people that create math problems for themselves when they ride their bike. They just HAVE to solve them!
I wish I could solve what a unit of time is. I am stuck, it’s in my head and I can not get rid of it. It follows me in my dreams.
So, if you KNOW the answer, just tell me, it will help me out.
What is a unit of time?
One gets some crazy ideas when on the road. The brain does something unique and sometimes these ideas or thoughts get stuck in the brain and like a broken record play over and over. Some songs are like that, too or simple tunes that are stuck in my head and I hum the same melody over and over and can not get rid of it. I caught myself humming Bach’s cantatas over and over; the little Fugue over and over. Even to the point that I was annoyed at myself but could not stop it. Riding along the road there is was, in my head and I was humming it and it created a mixed feeling of road, weather, noise and thought. Was that me? Was I the music, the noise, the road, the song in my head?
I remember vividly the ride along the panhandle of Oklahoma. The road is very flat, devoid of any features. No tree, no hill, no focus but the road I rode on. I was going about 75 miles an hour, the wind in my face and the drone of the motor in my ears. The little fugue stuck in my mind, over and over. Then… like a brain flash and for a moment I did not know if I was riding or if the road was sliding under me. I was stuck in time. Yes, I could hear, see, smell but so what? Nothing changed. I was sitting on a droning beast going to? Nothing changed! It was the same landscape no matter the speed. Time was sliding by UNDER me. I was not there, or I was there but the world around me was passing by. It is hard to put into words, this feeling of being in one place but not being with reality the way I thought about it before that point. Like I said, this feeling did not last long; it was a mere minute maybe. I can look back and remember it but I can not recreate it. I tried a few times, when on a trip, to recreate this feeling but it never happened since. What does happen to my head is that since that moment I sometimes dream about time. Yes, Time!
I ask myself what time is. What is a unit of time?
I can not find the answer. In my head I put myself in situations like a dark cave without any light at all. How would I know what time it is?
If I lived in this cave without light and could see nothing and talk to nobody and just existed what would time mean to me? Would I measure time by the growth of my hair? What would the unit of time be?
Would I measure time in between meals? What meals? If nobody is around me and feeds me, how would I live? I imagine that I would not need anything like food, drink or that my body would not age or is in need of anything. I am just there! How would I measure time?
I can not see anything except that I exist. I KNOW I exist, so what time is it? What is a Unit of Time?
I hear people say, that time flies! They mean it flows like a rapid river and nobody can stop it. Is this true? Can Time not be stopped? I know about the ideas of Einstein that time can be slowed down, but can it be stopped? Can the river of time be dammed? Like wind that blows, can it be stopped? If it can be stopped, what will happen? Is there an ANTI time?
Those are things that pop into my head and just like the song that is stuck in my head when I ride, Time is stuck in my head when I sleep.
What is a unit of time?
I can tell myself not to think about it but…..it pops into my head when I least expected.
Just like the stuff that seems to be stuck in my head when I ride and the strange experiences I have when I sit on my bike Time is with me.
I know of people that create math problems for themselves when they ride their bike. They just HAVE to solve them!
I wish I could solve what a unit of time is. I am stuck, it’s in my head and I can not get rid of it. It follows me in my dreams.
So, if you KNOW the answer, just tell me, it will help me out.
What is a unit of time?
Sunday, December 11, 2005
A new life behind the curtain.
It’s reflective time now that winter has settled in and snow covers the ground. My bikes are waiting for clear roads without ice and danger.
If I had a smaller bike and the right tires I might dare to venture out despite the frost on the pumpkins. The way it stands, however, the LT with 850 Lbs is too heavy to hold up and actually dangerous to ride with the slick highway tires I have. There is nothing to do but wait for spring or some dry cold days with clear roads. Like I said, it’s reflective time.
On one of those sudden insight flashes I now know what has been bugging me for some time. I could not put a name to it but now I can.
For weeks, even months, I have watched people around me pursue their dreams as usual.
I watch when they buy a new car without getting excited about their new car.
I learn they have changed housing without being impressed with the new house they have bought.
A new camera does nothing to me.
I am not impressed with their ‘impressive’ different job.
Things bought by anybody are just those…things! A job is just a job and provides. Their life is ‘theirs’ to do as they please. I let them do their thing, buy what they want to buy and mainly watch what they do.
I am not impressed anymore.
The consumerism in America leaves me cold and unemotional. Ads still bombard me with what I should buy and what I should have in order to be ‘with it’ or ‘hip’. Yet, they have lost some of their impact.
I am not the man I used to be. Am I getting smarter?
Or have I, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, finally looked behind the curtain?
Remember how impressed she was when she finally came to Oz? She was even scared by the huge image of the almighty wizard. She just had to learn that behind the curtain is a guy pushing handles and pulling rods and pretending to be ‘all’ powerful and magical.
Well, I have found lately that those Oz wizards are all over the place. They are in stores and on advertisements and they want us to buy, buy. They want us to believe that they are all knowing and powerful.
Not only is that true with business but also when I ride my motorcycle.
I do not have to have the latest model in order to enjoy a good day’s ride.
I do not have to believe all the magazine stories about good trips.
I do not have to keep up with the good riders in front of me and then ‘over-ride’ my abilities.
I do not even have to travel to exotic places in order to ride my bike.
I also do not have to buy people Christmas presents, or even send those X-mas cards.
I am not saying humbug, because I like the traditions, but I do not HAVE to do anything just because someone pulls a lever or wants me to believe his or her way; or buy this or that.
I have a house, thank you. I do not need a better one.
I have a few motorcycles; I do not have to get the latest, newest or even biggest. I am fine with what I have.
I guess that once you look behind the curtain, once you get over the shock that there are people pulling the strings so that you ‘believe’. Once you understand that they are no wizards… you might even become content.
If I had a smaller bike and the right tires I might dare to venture out despite the frost on the pumpkins. The way it stands, however, the LT with 850 Lbs is too heavy to hold up and actually dangerous to ride with the slick highway tires I have. There is nothing to do but wait for spring or some dry cold days with clear roads. Like I said, it’s reflective time.
On one of those sudden insight flashes I now know what has been bugging me for some time. I could not put a name to it but now I can.
For weeks, even months, I have watched people around me pursue their dreams as usual.
I watch when they buy a new car without getting excited about their new car.
I learn they have changed housing without being impressed with the new house they have bought.
A new camera does nothing to me.
I am not impressed with their ‘impressive’ different job.
Things bought by anybody are just those…things! A job is just a job and provides. Their life is ‘theirs’ to do as they please. I let them do their thing, buy what they want to buy and mainly watch what they do.
I am not impressed anymore.
The consumerism in America leaves me cold and unemotional. Ads still bombard me with what I should buy and what I should have in order to be ‘with it’ or ‘hip’. Yet, they have lost some of their impact.
I am not the man I used to be. Am I getting smarter?
Or have I, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, finally looked behind the curtain?
Remember how impressed she was when she finally came to Oz? She was even scared by the huge image of the almighty wizard. She just had to learn that behind the curtain is a guy pushing handles and pulling rods and pretending to be ‘all’ powerful and magical.
Well, I have found lately that those Oz wizards are all over the place. They are in stores and on advertisements and they want us to buy, buy. They want us to believe that they are all knowing and powerful.
Not only is that true with business but also when I ride my motorcycle.
I do not have to have the latest model in order to enjoy a good day’s ride.
I do not have to believe all the magazine stories about good trips.
I do not have to keep up with the good riders in front of me and then ‘over-ride’ my abilities.
I do not even have to travel to exotic places in order to ride my bike.
I also do not have to buy people Christmas presents, or even send those X-mas cards.
I am not saying humbug, because I like the traditions, but I do not HAVE to do anything just because someone pulls a lever or wants me to believe his or her way; or buy this or that.
I have a house, thank you. I do not need a better one.
I have a few motorcycles; I do not have to get the latest, newest or even biggest. I am fine with what I have.
I guess that once you look behind the curtain, once you get over the shock that there are people pulling the strings so that you ‘believe’. Once you understand that they are no wizards… you might even become content.
Friday, December 02, 2005
The deadliest place on earth - Taklamakan -
<-- The last oasis before Takla Makan 
Swaying thru the desert
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