This is your brain on a motorbike.

 This is your brain on a motorbike.

My brain sitting on my motorbike

Yesterday I convinced myself I had to, I mean HAD to jump on my motorbike and head downtown to my fav tech mall. It was midday and the traffic was horrendous. Bumper to bumper on crowded city streets. But, over time, I've learned to drive my motorbike like a Thai person. That means you learn to find space between cars, squeeze in beside that long lane of stopped cars and slide right past them. Sometimes, if the way is clear, I'll swing out to the outside and cruise up the center line. If something big comes down the other way

I duck in-between two of the idling cars, there's always enough room to squeeze in, even sideways if necessary. And no one minds. Nobody yells, blocks or interferes in these sneaky dodges. I've seen someone pull a move that I might say "What hell was he thinking" and then "Good move. Wish I hadda thought of that." Anyway, came out of Tuk Com and traffic wasn't any better, actually a little denser if that's possible. So I slithered my way into the very slow traffic, got to the outside and sped down the wrong side of the street (see outside move)

Hey, not one else was using it, no oncoming vehicles so why not? Once I got past the bulk of the traffic on Pattaya Tai (South Road) and made it to 2nd Road, things sped up. 2nd Road is totally different from Pattaya Tai in that it's a 4 lane one-way street. So the speeds ramp up, aggressive tactics appear and 4 lanes becomes 5 lanes. The whole trip becomes a game of "Rollerball" but, as in the socked-in mess on South Road, no one minds, it's the way it's done. Keep in mind, most Thai people grew up on 2 wheels.

I managed to get my stuff done, even had to make up some 'needs' because, no matter how looney it gets out there I love how I can hammer through traffic and still have enough awareness left over to spot the shops I need and to ogle that gorgeous young woman as I speed by. I wonder about mental sharpness, thinking about a brain as old as mine. Maybe I'm crazy here but I think, when on the bike, the constant pressure to be hyper aware and to react to the chaos of Pattaya's streets, has amped my brainpan up a bit, a couple of extra wrinkles.

My motorbike waiting for curbside service.

Balancing throttle/lean on this switch back is another skill set and takes a little finesse. Those city streets have led to a stirring up old parts of my neural net. The speed of making decisions over what can be a real risk of injury pushes the brain to make faster choices. So, here's a whacky out-of-the-box idea for those involved in helping those old folks whose brains are deteriorating. Instead of sewing or pottery classes to keep them sharp - why not buy a few EV scooters and set-up a twisty little racetrack. Why not?

I'll let myself out.

*Note: Those who deride this thread and want to tell me how puny I am b/c that's a 'scooter' (some think sliding down the pavement at 80 km is different if you crashed a Harley or a Vespa) This blog is not about riding a motorbike, it's about my brain riding a motorbike.😷