after reading giths most recent fantasic thread about touring to victoria and back , it reminded me about what i call "the drums" ...more specific "the drums of home "

its a funny occurence that i have noticed over the years especially when doing high distances to and from a destination or a multiple day ride .

whilst my last experience of this was sometime last year , on my return leg of "the areluen meet" way down south and usually whilst travelling alone ,

what are the drums ?

its that desperation of thinking of home and how far you have to ride to get there decresing all the time

its the quickening pace of your journey as you traverse farmiliar sections of road whilst still some distance from home on the return leg.

its the anticipation of being somewhere that you feel safe , all snuggled up after the ride

its the bonds that we have for our partners and loved ones urging you home even more

its also quite an emotional effect , affecting your judgement . you know you deserve a break from driving - riding to refresh and wake up a little , but the urge to get home exceeds the sensible options in some cases .

i have spoken to some others that also do high distance travelling and they also have experienced the same. and funny enough, that term related well for me ,,,and they gave me the term ...."the drums"

is this something you know or have experienced ?

You hit the proverbial nail on the head, old mate! Last night I was riding hard, in the pouring rain, on familiar-to me roads, probably going too fast (not probably, definitely), not stopping to replace my dark visor with a clear one, even though it was black as, following the tail lights of the car or truck in front of me and lost in their spray, unable to see any debris or potholes in the road, making poor choices as regards my safety, and only thinking of rolling in the driveway, that familiar comfortable place, but it's simply... arriving home.

Great question, great thread.

The 'drums' are a familiar feeling, for certain, and a bittersweet one. But it's another
feeling though that makes me want to leave home in the first place.

What
then, is that opposite feeling--the initial engagement of a
long-awaited long trip? It is the feeling felt after the first few miles
have passed taking you away from your immediate home base on your way
to some known or unknown destination. It's a sensation you may
experience when you are more than ready to get away from that home,
driving you away from sameness and through time that is unmapped. What
do you call it when fresh, awkward thoughts race through your mind as
you tear into a brave new world of possibilities--both exciting and
terrifying? Your preparation of the machine is giving you confidence
that you'll find success, but wondering what could happen in a myriad of
potential outcomes on the journey.

You are right charlie and GITH the judgement gets affected and one throws normal caution to the winds and presses on. Something I need to mull over how I stop myself doing that.
Regards,
K-BIKE

yes of corse bob ....got it in one ....for every home comming there is the anticipation and excitement of the voyage in front

so excited was i before the areluen trip ( the comeraderie , the journey , the anticipation of just getting on the road and away ) i forgot to go to bed ,,,at the right time ...i over slept the mark by a good few hours and needed to make up some good miles in short time ... for me the mark was 800 killometers away (500 miles ?) by night fall and it was already 10.00 am before i got out of the city ...grin

When coming from a long ride (usually 500k +), and riding back on the highway, I always stop at the town limit for a cup of coffee. Home is not far away, but it`s always difficult to go from 120k to 50k because of a posted speed limit sign.
A 5min. break let you re-focus on your riding and security.
That`s how I try to get rid of the `drum`.

Truth be told, last night I had a Toyota Hilux ute with a load way up high come up fast behind me, overtaking everything and tailgating me up, over and down Cunningham's Gap, in the rain. There was no place to pull over (for those of you who know that road and how it's under re-construction) so I twisted it and made some distance....then the real rain started on the other side and there was no going back, no easy way to explain it, madness takes over, poor decisions get made. Half an hour later the idiot in the ute (my own idiot self notwithstanding) blew past me as I exited the Ipswich motorway to head north - he'd caught up. I coulda, shoulda, woulda did this and didn't do that and made it home alive, but man, was it a mad dash crazy burn that last hour with the landing lights of my own runway and the home port in mental sight!

Advice taken.

I also hear the drums, Fernando. Auto pilot takes over at times and at night the pilot soon gets woken by that stupid roo deciding to move its 2 metre frame across your path. Reality reminds us that we are fragile.

ainsjac wrote:I also hear the drums, Fernando.

Abba fan, eh?

Abba dabba do! They have been around a long time..almost as long as the Flintstones.

I usually can't sleep much the night before the big trip because the mind is racing. Probably only a few good hours, anyway. Somehow the adrenaline kicks in though and carries me through a long day.

That road-to-rug transition back into the house can be tough, too. Stopping for coffee or other preliminary adjustment is a good idea to help 'decompress' from the journey.

true bob ...that "white line fever" is hard to wind down from ...ussually takes me a nice cuppa and a couple of gaspers , followed by a refreshing ale or two to slow down the old brain box over a couple of hours .

Last year they were offered a billion dollars to reunite and tour. They turned it down.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1424667/abba-nixes-billion-dollar-offer-reunite.jhtml

Personally I have always thought their brand of pop music was fluff, bubble gum. I liked guitars and bass and drums as a teenager in the '70s. Abba was for girls and fans of the ever-bombastic Eurovision. Now they are just a curious piece of music history to me.

bobgass wrote:I usually can't sleep much the night before the big trip because the mind is racing.

On the flip side, I've only managed four and a half hours sleep since arriving home last night. At least it's Sunday and I can have a good kip later on and then stay up to watch MotoGP from Spain! Go Jorge!

ainsjac wrote:I also hear the drums, Fernando. Auto pilot takes over at times and at night the pilot soon gets woken by that stupid roo deciding to move its 2 metre frame across your path. Reality reminds us that we are fragile.

We don't suffer from 'roos, but from the whitetail deer. They are frequently seen on the side of the road after the worst (last) night of their lives. As I sit and write this, I can see two that were hit last night out in front of the house on the highway--within 150 feet of each other. I'd venture a guess to say that in our region by the time one reaches the point in life when one stops driving a vehicle , there's a 50-50 chance one will have hit one. I've had many near misses, but no trophies yet . . .

For sure, better to do it with the car than the bike!

bobgass wrote:We don't suffer from 'roos, but from the whitetail deer.

How high can a deer fly?

I understand the feelings you describe. The distance covered, the anticipation in familiar territory and of arriving home, you can almost smell the tea/coffee.

However in the UK at least, most accidents happen within relatively few miles of home. Familiarity breeds contempt.

So take care out there!

P.S. Loved the travelogue, the photos were fantastic. Having been to OZ a couple of times (car only, no bike ) I wish I'd met you guys and had a chance to ride some of your favorite roads!

By consolation, we did make it to NZ and spent 3 weeks touring on a R1150RT and loved every minute of it.

Mike

mike d wrote:However in the UK at least, most accidents happen within relatively few miles of home. Familiarity breeds contempt.
So take care out there!
Mike

I dunno 'bout that particular phrase being apropo to the statistics. I quite like the roads close to home, and in no way view them with an ever-building derision.


I think it's more likely that when one has a sense of familiarity with their immediate surroundings, he or she is therefore less attentive on that 'home turf', leading to quick, more rash decision making, with the potential for errors being made, resulting in more crashes. One vital thing we must not forget about that statistic (which is true*) is that most riders/drivers spend more time nearer their home.

The law of averages is a dumbing down of sorts.

*Of 11,000 people polled, 52% were involved in accidents within five miles from their home and 69% were involved in accidents within ten miles from their home. Only 17% of those polled experienced accidents beyond twenty miles from his or
her home.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/33438

Lovely thoughts guys , love the Drums as an expression Im gunna steal , thanks Chas .
To Bob's question wh
at to call the leaving , how about the Pipes as in "the pipes the pipes are calling " (Danny Boy ) better than ABBA at least !
Nice thread guys very poetic.

Ghost who rides wrote:Lovely thoughts guys , love the Drums as an expression Im gunna steal , thanks Chas .
To Bob's question wh
at to call the leaving , how about the Pipes as in "the pipes the pipes are calling " (Danny Boy ) better than ABBA at least !
Nice thread guys very poetic.

Agreed, Ghost, ol' mate Chazza comes up with some truly genuine and heartfelt originals some times. He knows how to capture a feeling and get it down in words. Cheers to Charlie99!

Yeah that's what I meant to say ,Charlie is a grin , original , grin !
My last day Colac to Adelade after Araluen was the Drums. decided at midday to just go for it , home to family/security , 8 hours later hugging my old man after an intense 800km ride was brilliant . Treating the snail paced drivers with contempt 5 kms from "home" carving them up , not my usual PC ! Definitely the Drums !

Agree 100% about the accidents close to home thing , i relax at the 80 k sign and burble down the hill 100metres from home. Statistics are just that . Bikers can't let their guard down otherwise we become a statistic!