Dancing the Polka

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Spend nine minutes watching this, then go outside

FortNine’s Ryan Kluftinger subtly explains why you should be riding

Chris Cope
3–4 minutes
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There comes a time in every digital creator’s story arc when he or she burns out. When, after years and years of constant grind, they wake up one morning and discover that all their enthusiasm for the constant grind has drained out of them. 

This is especially true for digital creators in the motorcycle arena. Because the focus of their grind is something that is infinitely more interesting and fulfilling than said grind.

When I started at RideApart many moons ago, there was an often-told and possibly apocryphal story of Wes Siler – the site’s founder. Allegedly (emphasis on that word, because I don’t think this is a story he’s ever told), he got sick of everything within the space of a day or two. By this time, he had sold his site and was effectively working as one of its employees. 

Allegedly, he rode a press bike that he’d been using to Ducati’s headquarters on a Sunday, leaving it outside the building with the keys in it and no explanation. He then allegedly disappeared into Joshua Tree National Park for two weeks, camping with his dogs and refusing to acknowledge any attempts at communication from the outside world.

As I say, that story may be a lie, but I kind of hope it’s true. If I had done that, I’d brag about it every day for the rest of my life. But the point is, burnout happens. Even on the lowest tiers. Some folks may remember when this site was called The Motorcycle Obsession. I had a head full of steam and dreams about what it could be. I even sold T-shirts. Then Covid happened and I was all, “I don’t care about any of this” for about four years.

(Thank you, Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello, for bringing me back)

Anyhoo, I’m not saying that Ryan Kluftinger of FortNine is on the verge of burnout, but if he is, making a nine-minute video explaining how our modern algorithm-driven existence is simultaneously stupid and evil is the kind of thing that you’d kind of expect him to do.

And he’s not wrong. His video explaining the so-called “greedy algorithm” is interesting, educational, and depressing – all delivered in Kluftinger’s trademark ‘I know more than you do‘ cadence and style. 

I don’t mean that to be insulting, but you know what I mean, right? He has this habit of saying things in a way that comes right up to the edge of annoying. It’s like a Canadian David Attenborough; he’s interested in what he’s talking about but he’s also pretty sure he knows more than you, and he wants to demonstrate this fact to you. 

I’ve never met him. I’m sure he’s a swell dude. And, as I say, he’s not wrong here. By which, I mean that I agree with the implicit message of the video. Too many of us are spending too much of our time wrapping ourselves up into tight little webs of nonsense. Life will not get better until we go outside and do things that aren’t for the consumption or observation of others.

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And, sure, that’s not a novel message. Remember the Harley-Davidson “Breathe” advert from five years ago? I mean, if the most corporate of moto corporations had clocked the importance of that message, it was hardly a cutting-age sentiment even then. But it’s nice to be reminded. 

So, watch this nine-minute video, then shut off everything and go hug your child, or kiss your partner, or ride a motorcycle, or play trombone, or just stare at a damned tree for a while.

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2 responses to “Spend nine minutes watching this, then go outside”

  1. Dave London Avatar
    Dave London

    Good article, good video. I like Kluftinger, based on that (I haven’t heard him speak before). He’s an old-school journo/commentator in a young man’s body. And that is a very smart analysis of why my algorithm-fed platforms (YouTube and Insta) give me what I want and leave me dissatisfied, sad and feeling somewhat ill. What he said about being being on a platform for hours, engaged with content I won’t even remember, really hit home.

    Another layer to the way that works is that constant hits of dopamine from “finding” (being fed) things that we think will give us pleasure (hedonia is the psychological word) does not increase pleasure. It just uses up our internal pleasure chemical, leaving us depleted and in a state of anhedonia, one of the symptoms of depression. What builds pleasure is a sense of steadily working toward something that will give us a sense of achievement. That gives our actions a sense of purpose. Once that something is achieved, we come down from the peak of pleasurable anticipation until we can find something to focus our energies on again. Achieve it too easily and we go too quickly into the post-achievement dip; take too long getting there and we risk losing focus. Failure (which can be the biggest fear), if it doesn’t harm us, doesn’t have to ruin this cycle of rising and falling pleasurable anticipation. If we learn from it, it might just reset our expectations or direction, and off we go again.

    We are not meant to have all our needs met instantly whilst we sit pushing the button of gratification again and again. We are, in our genes, hunters, gatherers, builders and farmers. The ancestors who got us here did so step by step, with hope and anticipation of a better future.

    I also love what you say about doing something that isn’t for the consumption or observation of others. Most of my meaningful, spiritual, and enlivened moments have occurred by myself or with one other person, when the attention was not on me. In my small forays into creating media, I have instantly become aware of an internal watcher who is thinking “Where does this fit in terms of what is cool or getting attention right now?” As opposed to, “Is this true? Is this original? Is it good?” Perhaps I have internalised the algorithm. Perhaps it was always there.

    Reply
  2. Lacey Avatar
    Lacey

    I watched it before seeing your post on it – agree with everything he says, and spent the last two evenings out on the bike once the kids were down. Much better than sitting in front of the computer.

    Reply

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