I’ve been reading through the other ‘Things to do before you die’ articles and I’ve got to say, I’ve been really inspired to get out their and start ticking these things off my own list. I’ve always wanted to build my own track car and that’ll hopefully go a long way towards some of the other items I need to check off but I want to talk about something that is so often overlooked.
We talk so much about horsepower figures, suspension setups and a thousand other details that we often forget WHY we build or tune our cars. I believe that at some stage we are all guilty of chasing numbers and losing sight of the big picture – the simple enjoyment of driving.
It doesn’t matter what you drive or where you live, we should all take the time to break away from the mundanity of everyday life to just get in our cars and drive somewhere.
I’m not talking about attacking a section of road, that in itself is a completely different topic. I’m talking about actually getting some friends together or going on your own and just driving to somewhere or nowhere, it doesn’t matter once you’re sitting back and absorbing what this great planet has to offer.
Modern society has us all in a rush. For whatever reason(s) we are always stressed out and in a hurry somewhere. The many motorway networks around the world only emphasizes this point further. When was the last time you got off at the wrong exit, just to get away from the day-to-day commute?
This is something I’ve found myself doing more and more often recently. Rather than aiming at the horizon for a couple of hours at a steady speed, I’ll dive off somewhere and just get lost on the roads that modern times seem to have forgotten.
This particular route is one my father used to travel regularly when he served in the military and it’s also one of the first roads I can remember travelling on as a kid.
Because everyone else is in a hurry to be somewhere, these roads are practically empty as others prefer motorway journeys to save time and money.
Well, not entirely empty.
It’s amazing the effect that a ribbon of asphalt, winding its way through the land can have on the body and mind.
I touched on this in a previous article about how we always seem to lust after what we can’t have and how the grass is always greener on the other side.
However, I do believe that finding and getting to know your own road(s) is something that we all need to get out there and do.
We can’t all live at the foot of the Stelvio or have the Col de Turini in our backyard, but there is always somewhere near to us that needs driving.
All it takes is to close this browser, walk away from your computer, pick up your keys and get into your car. If your route usually takes you to the right, why not try going left?
I have my own different routes that I’ll often use depending what mood I’m in, with all of them having the ability to clear my mind, put a smile on my face and remind me that the reason we go through the good and the bad with our cars are for these seemingly fleeting moments. But yet these moments are always there whenever we need them, it’s just up to each individual to get up, find them and know where they are.
Life is an aimless drive
that ya take alone
Might as well enjoy the ride
take the long way home – The Bloodhound Gang
-
Paddy McGrath
(Apologies for the reflections on the inside of the windscreen, the photographs were taken impromptu)