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I parked my bike this afternoon and was paying the parking meter a few feet away. About that time, a very old man who appeared to be homeless with a face covered with sores wandered up. He turned to face in the direction of my bike and stared for a while and then said "spectacular" and started to walk away. I said "Thank you" and he said, "It's a work of art but it is so much more than that. Anyone who sits on that bike must become metaphysically one with the bike. It's impossible not to."

Such words struck me as odd coming from a homeless man so I looked closer. I can't be sure but he did look quite a bit like Pirsig. I knew that following the BMW through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance had to ignite some degree of passion for the marque. Thankfully, he didn't suggest I shim my handlebars with a strip of aluminum from a beer can.

I loved that book (read it several times before I felt like I understood it). Could it have been him?

Did he look like this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_M._Pirsig

Bill

Well played, Sander, well played.

Da**it! Now I have another book to go get and read. Didn't realize that there was so much "Zen" related to my 2-wheel obsession, but on further reflection, why not?!

My daughters gave it to me as a birthday present a couple of years ago. I'd never read it when young but it resonated with my now that I'm a rider. Having an undergraduate degree in philosophy helped too.

I found some pictures of the original ride here http://ww2.usca.edu/ResearchProjects/Pr ... -1968-trip

I wonder how many people have retraced the trip over the years since the book first came out.

fastdogs2 wrote:Did he look like this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_M._Pirsig

Bill

He looked like a much, much dirtier version of that.

Someone asked if it could have actually been him. I would say that is highly unlikely. Nonetheless, it was an odd experience.

Love the white saddlebags on that Honda.

Catchina wrote:I wonder how many people have retraced the trip over the years since the book first came out.

Many folks have, and one (at least) wrote a good book about it:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2756399-zen-and-now

Sander Abernathy wrote:I knew that following the BMW through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance had to ignite some degree of passion for the marque.

Pirsig actually rode a Honda on that ride. His friend, the one who rode with him part way--don't remember his name--was riding a BMW.

See the picture posted a few posts above this one. It's a Honda.

Loved that book! Read it a couple of times in my 20s. Lila was a good read too. I always hoped he'd put something else out.

It's possible that it was him. He has been treated for serious mental illness over the years. Last I heard he was in Sweden, but he has knocked around quite a bit. It's possible he's a beggar.

For those who haven't read it, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has very little to do with motorcycling or motorcycles and a good deal to do with the subject-object problem. The business of riding motorcycles and zen were the devices Pirsig used to try to resolve the problem. The book is virtually useless as a guide to understanding motorcycles or motorcycle riding, but it is very useful in understanding Buddhism and the mind generally.

It's all about Quality

I think it's all about how motorcylces are the best way to spend quality time thinking

LumpyCam wrote:I think it's all about how motorcylces are the best way to spend quality time thinking

Agreed! I went on a 200 mile ride yesterday thinking about how I will miss riding this week because I'll be in Portland for work.

I thought Pirsig's book was self-centered, self-indulgent rubbish, but that's just me.

R12Gecko: -

Socrates said "The unexamined life is not worth living"

Pirsig's book is an examination of himself, trying to find a way to live a quality life. This is a modern equivalent of socrates' quest to live The Good Life.

Satre said, in response, "The unlived life is not worth examining".

I suspect most folk who ride bikes would incline more towards satre than socrates, but, as any good Taoist will tell you, it's all about the balance.

self centered and self indulgent are very relative terms. One man's self indilgance is another mans honest examination of himself.

stay centered :-)

Please. He examines himself way too much, alienates his kid and has no patience or understanding for his non-mechanically inclined friend. I found him tedious and pretentious with all the quasi-mystical stuff. There's way better writing out there - Ted Simon ("Jupiter's Travels") for starters if we want to go that far back in time, and tons more current material, e.g., Melissa Holbrook Pierson ("The Perfect Vehicle"). I'm sure others on the board can come up with more suggestions for better use of precious reading time...

r12gecko wrote:Please. He examines himself way too much, alienates his kid and has no patience or understanding for his non-mechanically inclined friend. I found him tedious and pretentious with all the quasi-mystical stuff. There's way better writing out there - Ted Simon ("Jupiter's Travels") for starters if we want to go that far back in time, and tons more current material, e.g., Melissa Holbrook Pierson ("The Perfect Vehicle"). I'm sure others on the board can come up with more suggestions for better use of precious reading time...

THANK DOG!

Indeed. I found Pirsig supremely annoying and his insight shallow. Glad to see someone else got the same from it. I never finished the book. I grew bored with it.

Other good moto writing (and both author's you mention above are somewhat personal friends.. and both are really interesting people besides being good authors - Melissa probably "gets it" about bikes and is able to articulate it better then anyone I've ever met or read.. Ted usually stays a few days when he's on the east coast.. I'm hoping to visit with him while I'm in CA this summer..) One I didn't get to meet (I meant to, but it just never happened) Robert Fulton - One Man Caravan, great read, and his movie "Once Upon a Caravan" will give you insight into the middle-east that you wouldn't expect from a film shot in the 1930's..

One I don't particularly recommend - Neil Peart "Ghost Rider" - WAY too much sorrow, insight and angst IMHO.. some of it perhaps understandable, some totally unfathomable (like his drug dealing friend..) Got to the last chapter and decided I actually just didn't care anymore.

I've got another sitting here waiting to be read: Running With the Moon, Jonny Bealby... although it seems to follow the usual fiancée dying and taking a long ride to recover, so it may get put down well before the last page.