Motorcycle Rider Discovers Joy in 2-Hour Beach Trips

Charlotte Smith had convinced herself that if she couldn't ride her motorcycle for at least six hours, there wasn't much point in going at all.

For months, her bike Dora sat waiting in the garage while the Mexican summer heat blazed. Smith made excuses: it was too hot, they didn't have enough time, a short ride wouldn't get them anywhere interesting.

Then she realized something important. She'd started confusing the therapy of riding with the number of miles on the odometer.

So Smith and her partner Omar took Dora out for a short ride along Highway 200 between Mismaloya and Boca de Tomatlán. The coastal road winds past bougainvillea-covered walls, palm trees, and colorful concrete houses before opening up to reveal the Pacific Ocean crashing against rocks below.

They rode for less than two hours, pulled over at a beach, and bought shrimp on a stick from a local vendor. They sat in the sand, watched families playing in the water, and did absolutely nothing else.

It was exactly what Smith needed.

Why This Inspires

Smith's realization cuts to something many of us struggle with: waiting for perfect conditions before we do the things we love. We tell ourselves we'll go when work settles down, when the weather improves, when we have a whole weekend, when we have time to do it properly.

When you're on a motorcycle, Smith says, there isn't room for thinking about unanswered emails or unfinished tasks. You have to pay attention to the road, the traffic, the bend ahead, the smell of trees, the sudden glimpse of ocean.

For those two hours, that's all there is.

Smith now wonders how much of life gets missed while we're waiting for "properly." Sometimes two hours is enough. Sometimes you don't need to go somewhere new or clock enough miles to justify the effort.

Sometimes you just need to get on the bike, buy shrimp on a stick, and put your feet in the sand.