Mud

Mud slows us down. We get stuck in it. These are the images of mud. One more thing-- mud sticks to us. And many times, that's really the issue, isn't it? We can deal with slowing down. We can deal with getting stuck. But it's the slow accumulation of mud on our tires, our feet, our lives, that becomes the most limiting factor of our forward movement. It can get to the point where it doesn't matter anymore that we are driving, standing, living, on solid ground because the mud is on us.

Not too long ago I was driving out to a beach near Jacmel. The road's not great (typical) and rain had made it worse (mud). So it was actually quite a challenge to drive my motorcycle through it. I relish a challenge on the moto. I've begun to learn my limits and I don't do anything stupid, but a situation like this-- where a fall simply means getting dirty-- is perfect for me.

The motorcycle had almost no grip in the mud. Turning the wheel didn't turn the bike. Accelerating spun the wheels, but didn't make me go any faster. Brake slowed me down but only because it stopped the tires from spinning. I road through in first gear with my legs sticking to get as much balance as possible. Speed was very important-- too fast and I would lose control, too slow and I would get stuck-- but I was able drive/slide through the few hundred feet to the other side.

What surprised me though was that I continued to slide after the mud had ended-- still no grip, no steering, no starting and no stopping. So I put my feet down, hit the hand break, and glided to a stop. What I discovered was exactly what I have already described-- I was driving on solid ground, but I still felt the affects of the mud because it was stuck to me. As the tires spun through mud they flung some of it up into the mud-flap thingy that sits on top of the wheel. I was grateful for the mud-flap thingy because I wasn't covered in mud, but so much had accumulated that it was keeping the tires coated with mud long after the road had dried. I reached down to clear out the mud and burnt my wrist (it's an occupational hazard). But it was packed too tightly to pull out anyway. It took a few moments, but the solution came to me-- I needed to back up.

One quick quarter-turn and all the mud that was packed against the wheel fell to the ground. Turns out it was my very efforts to move forward that kept me right where I was.

Fallen
Jen Knapp