ZEN RIDE

Zen Ride is based from one of the most influential and important books written by Robert M. Pirsig, the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This book is not really all about motorcycle maintenance but it covers the topics about how Pirsig literally and figuratively relate his trip from Minnesota to the Northern part of California riding a motorcycle together with his son, Chris.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintance is a book that explores Pirsig’s Metaphysics of Quality. Being described in the first person, the book is all about the author’s 17-day journey with his son on his motorcycle together with his close friends, Sylvia and John on the first 9 days of the ride then parted ways in Montana. The journey pointed a number of philosophical discussions which includes topics about the philosophy of science, epistemology and ethical emotivism.

Along the trip, there is a Chautauqua monologue about the issues of Pirsig pertaining to personal, family, career issues and man’s relationship towards quality, technology and philosophy. Here, there is a discussion of the contexts in defining and redefining himself.

In relating the concept of motorcycle maintenance, the story also displays some point of the subject about roadside maintenance in the form of chain adjustments, oil changes then setting the valves and so on. But, looking into its deeper context, the author did illustrated the discussion of doing things on the specific motorcycle model and he discussed different factors which lea people in fouling up the motorcycle maintenance and repair.

Pirsig called the factors as the “Gumption traps” wherein the first type of trap introduces you to the Quality track with the conditions that may arise from any external circumstances and the second type of trap is with the Quality trap that primarily comes within yourself. This best explains that gumption traps like unexpected needed parts, intermitted failure, out of the blue reassembly and wrong parts situation can really ruin the picture out of your expectation as well as the DIY mechanic.

The story best describes the author’s motorcycle trip with his son that engages and helps you realize that the odyssey may be similar to you, though some of the parts of the story narratively discussed the philosophy of Pirsig that your journey can also make you stop like the overheated engine.

Then with the Zen Ride, we will retrace the route outlined in the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. We will be able to feel as we are like Pirsig having his own unique journey. We will coordinately relate ourselves to the concepts by the author realizing some perspectives in our life in defining the things that affects us to our triumph for journey, whether it will come from external or internal circumstances. We will trace once again the route of Pirsig starting from Minneapolis up to the several backroads including the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon then winding the road to California and will end to San Francisco.