Country Trax Adventure Riding Tips

Stefan Boshoff, Country TRAX Free State

I write this having just returned from the 2010 Alfie Cox Dual Sport Festival. I have been fortunate enough to be part of this event since its inception and it has been awesome to interact with all those passing through the gates. It starts with a name on a piece of paper and it lives on in good friendships. This year was another highlight to me, because quite a few “legends” made the effort to come to Sierra Ranch. Along with Alfie, we were fortunate to have names (in no particular order) like Jan du Toit, Rod Gray, Dallie Terblanche, Richard Manning, Alex McDonald, Gary Nilson, Roger Kane-Berman, Jaco Liebenberg, Ron Bailey, André Kriel and Mark Roach on the enrolment list. Inside my helmet, whilst I was attempting to ride with some of these guys, I tried to work out what it takes to become a “legend”. What do all these guys have in common? And the result of this “helmet dream” was two fold: They can all ride a motorcycle. Lets call it “skill”, a result of varying combinations of talent, knowledge, commitment and practice. The other universal characteristic that came to mind is EGO, or rather the lack thereof. Part of any Country TRAX course is to go through a symbolic parting with your ego. We see the male ego as one of the biggest causes of accidents, and this weekend confirmed that we have a point. The ego of some of the less experienced participants was as noticeable as the lack of ego in the “legends”. And I asked myself: “Where does it come from, and how do you drop it?”

It looks like the ego is an accumulated phenomenon, a by-product of living with others. It is a result of a perceived reflection created by the reactions of others. If a child lives totally alone, he will never come to grow an ego. But that is not going to help. He will remain like an animal, and never get to know the real self. Can we say that often the truth can be known only through the false, so the ego is a must? One has to pass through it in order to drop it? In this game, it looks like you cannot know the truth directly. First you have to encounter the untrue, and work out for yourself why. Once you recognize the false as false, truth will dawn upon you. Things like “The ABS is independent on the front and rear of my bike” and “I am faster on gravel with the ABS on” and “Diesel engines have more low down torque” are examples of the untrue that people live through before the truth is discovered.

So you have two “centres”. One centre you are born with, it is created by existence itself. That is the “self”. And the other centre, which is a reflection created by society, is the ego. It is a false thing by nature. Through the ego the society is controlling you. The ego dictates that you have to behave in a certain way. You have to ride in a certain way; you have to dress in a certain way; you have to follow certain manners, a brand of bike, a code. Only then will the society appreciate you, and if it doesn't, you ego will be shaken. And when the ego is shaken, you don't know where you are, who you are. And you get hurt, you are now exposed. “See, my wife knows Jan du Toit very well, and I should have sent her on a course long time ago. I have been riding enduro bikes since the earth cooled, and whilst chasing Dallie on my 800, I realized that my cornering speed is much faster with the ABS on. Dallie is not as fast as everyone makes out.”

Unfortunately, dropping the ego is not as simple as placing a piece of paper in a glass….. Humility is not the opposite of ego. Humility can be another ego: “I have become humble” can be just another attempt to draw a reflection from society. And that is no-good.

So how do we live through it? Once you develop a continuous understanding that ego is the cause of some of your actions which you can identify, you will suddenly see that it has disappeared. Nobody drops it - nobody can drop it. This very understanding is the disappearance of the ego! And that is what makes the legends stand out. They have lived through the false, discovered the truth through living and learning and they no longer have to do things in order to draw a (perceived) reflection from others. The humility we see in the legends is therefore not the opposite of ego, but rather a result of the understanding created by the mastering of their passion – which in this case is all about bikes. The freedom that they experience through the disappearance of the ego enables them to focus more on investing in others, there is a sincere desire to assist and share their experience. It is not about creating a reflection, it is no longer needed. It is just about sharing the simple truth, the “self” becomes less prominent and the ego is no longer there. So whenever you encounter a “legend”, please do not place him on a pedestal and explain to him how much you know. Rather look and listen and learn and discover the truth. And one day you will realize that you have unexpectedly grown to be a better and safer rider with no ego. You may even become a legend yourself…..