If you do something and don’t post content, did you really do it?

I began to question my social media presence last weekend. Before filming for video content was involved, I had never had a frustrating day on a motorcycle. I’ve had long and uncomfortable days. I’ve had mechanical issues and delays but never overt frustration. Now I’ve experienced them two days in a row and it directly results from the ten hours of footage recorded during those days.

GETTING OUT

My motorcycles could not move from the garage since early November, trapped and hibernating. Holidays and inclement weather have not presented opportunities for riding. With a massive snowstorm looming in the forecast, I took advantage of the decent weather during the long Presidents’ Day weekend to stretch their legs.

Saturday consisted of boring adulthood activities such as a trip to the dump, a grocery excursion and cleaning. Sunday and Monday were for the bikes.

The sidecar had its turn on Sunday. It hadn’t been out since early October. Mrs. Bald Rider felt too chilly to join me on an adventure. A camera happily took her place. I didn’t go far, only about 30 miles in two hours. We puttered around my small mountain town area and posed next to a Jeep trail sign to pretend to be an influencer on the ‘gram.

Motovlogs require some level of narration or speaking to something. While I did that, I thought the mental focus required to pilot a sidecar kept me from being entertaining or talkative. I nearly crashed twice. That should entertain the internet, at least. I should concentrate on not dying.

Mrs. Bald Rider had to work the following day (Monday). She isn’t comfortable [with me] on the Goldwing yet. Another opportunity for cameras to tag along.

We took off from my house on a 323-mile loop to Amboy. The trip’s frustration level reached heights above where it needed to be. We can thank Google for that. More accurately, the cable connecting my Pixel7 Pro to the bike and Android Auto acted up and caused a loss of connection. Every time AA reconnected, the Amazon Music app automatically started playing Gangstagrass. Without cameras, this would be tolerable. I knew the general direction I needed to point my front tire and didn’t entirely need to rely on Google Maps. That music cannot play on my YouTube video, though, as I don’t have licensing. My battle with Android Auto on the Goldwing is another story for another time.

Technological frustrations aside, I had little to talk about. Piloting a big touring bike doesn’t take nearly the mental concentration a sidecar does. Still, I struggled to fill dead air with potentially engaging content for viewers. My experience suffered from it. I haven’t yet checked the audio (recorded separately) to find out if the sound suffered from losing the foam mic cover during the trip. I am sure it did. The day was ripe for disappointment. I reviewed some footage towards the end and all I noticed was that I am a terrible rider in the twisties, atrocious even. Embarrassing is an understatement. More practice is required.

WHEN CAMERAS AREN’T ROLLING

As my Ural trip wrapped up, I stopped by the grocery store on my way home to buy a container of Bar Keeper’s Friend. There was a small group gathering at the sidecar when I returned. Typical UDF (Ural Delay Factor) ensued. These are the only interactions I have with people who don’t live in my computer except for Mrs. Bald Rider. We talked about how it isn’t old but it is very slow. A Russian guy told me that his uncle has one from the 80s. Not much has changed since then.

I had just finished my beef jerky and water lunch ($18 with two stickers) in Amboy and packing up to return home when an older gentleman approached me about the Goldwing. I have never been approached on the Honda. We chatted for a bit. The man was enamored with the DCT. No clutch lever on a motorcycle is still a novelty. He once rode a 500cc Yamaha. After scaring himself with it on the Autobahn, his bike life ended so many years ago. Ten minutes had passed by the time our conversation wrapped up. His wife grew impatient waiting, as did my bladder.

WHY AM I DOING THIS?

YouTube provides most of the video content I consume, the rest being shows on TLC featuring the worst of humanity living their cringy lives. YouTube creators make content creation look easy. More riding means more footage means more content. I enjoyed the filming and editing process for the first video uploaded to my channel. They would all be this way, right?

You know what they say when you assume.

There might be 20 minutes of viewable content in those 10 hours and I need to wring them out. If the result is even remotely watchable, I’ll throw it on the platform. Even if it isn’t, I still will. How else will people know I’m cool and ride motorcycles?

Can you do something without putting it on social media? If it isn’t posted on social media, did it happen? That depends on your motivation. That may be the root cause of last weekend’s frustrating experience. I was trying to force something instead of concentrating on the experience and allowing content to create itself. I wasn’t living in the moment.

If the act of creating video content removes the joy from the experience, is it worth it? Decidedly not. This goes for other social media outlets, as well. I post more pictures of beer than bikes on Instagram. My Twitter presence is mostly limited to links directing the Twitterverse to my favorite website. I make no money from any platform and have no contracts for sponsorships I am beholden to.

I think I’ll still make videos because I like seeing the results and the editing process can be entertaining by itself. I don’t know what that will look like but that is all part of finding your footing in the space.

I completed the Ural video before publishing this post. If you want to watch it, here it is: