South West France Road Trip 2009

Have you ever got halfway down a hill and suddenly realised that you havn't been thinking any conscious thoughts for the last 5 minutes?

In between all the hairpins, miles of sweepers, flat-out straights, the higher functions of the mind put on hold for a while as your body deals with the constant challenges that skating a 10km long open road throws up.

Often you don't even realise that you've been anywhere different until you get back. You reach the runout, brake down to a stop, and pull off - and suddenly you are back in the normal world again. And suddenly everything is light and meaningless but full of importance and intent in the same breath, and you can't stop laughing.

Where does your mind go? What is it doing while it's away? Do you even care? Is the perfect fusion of mind and body for those few precious minutes such a bad thing to be craving and risking everything for?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardauden/sets/72157621652925351/