Reddit mentions of Ghost Rider

We all deal with our grief of loved ones in different ways.

My mom passed away in 2012. She had a wonderful and long life. I was 50 years old, working in IT doing SQL scripting and working on SQL and Windows Servers.

I felt I needed time away from work to process my grief, as I'd never really taken extended time off over my life except for holidays. So I decided to fill a few buckets while I was still young enough to do so. Like her, I have diabetes (Type 2) and watching her go through dialysis, develop dementia and eventually have to have a leg amputated shortly before having a stroke and go into a coma was difficult. Added stress from an asshole alcoholic step-dad didn't help as well.

So, after asking for (and not getting) a sabbatical from a job I'd had for 6 years...I decided to pull up roots from Seattle and move out east to be closer to my brother, wife and niece and nephew and be the cool uncle. I also traveled the country, finally driving through all 50 states. I indulged my photography bug and started flying drones. I finally drove through my 50th state (Alaska) back in November of 2015. I've driven about 300,000 miles since then and moved back to Seattle since I still love the area more than any other in the country now that I've seen most of it.

Partway through my journey, I realized what I was doing was very similar to what Neal Peart of Rush had done when his daughter and wife had died. I took a lot of back roads avoiding major highways and finding solace in seeing parts of the U.S. most people will never see. It's helped, however the loss never truly goes away.

Even though I'm finding it hard to find work again because of the gap in IT employment...I don't regret a moment of these last 4 years. I've been generous like my mom was, donating money and time to various things.

Here's some drone video from my Alaska trip.

Here's a time-lapse video of typical back-road driving I had done

I spent a lot of time indulging my love of cars and meeting great car-people

Edit: I'm going to add a link to Ghost Rider: Travels on a Healing Road by Neal Peart. Great read!

I'm so sorry about your loss, I can't imagine what you're dealing with right now... I hope this helps.

Neil Peart's Travel Journal 'Ghost Rider' on Amazon:

>In less than a year, Neil Peart lost both his 19-year-old daughter, Selena, and his wife, Jackie. Faced with overwhelming sadness and isolated from the world in his home on the lake, Peart was left without direction. This memoir tells of the sense of loss and directionlessness that led him on a 55,000-mile journey by motorcycle across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again.

http://www.amazon.ca/Ghost-Rider-Travels-Healing-Road/dp/1550225480

I have it at home. It's a bit tedious and not a very exciting read.

I'd recommend this:
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Rider-Travels-Healing-Road/dp/1550225480

Neil Peart, of the greatest band ever, wrote it.

Big fat internet <hugz!> to you, sweetie! I know how it felt when it was me...

I lost my ex-husband (and father of our son) a decade ago; we ended up better as friends than partners. After all this time, I still get choked up once in awhile. Sometimes it'll be a song or the smell of his brand of deodorant or the fact that our son has his hands and eyes and hair. I recently found my stash of all the letters he wrote me when we were dating, and I was just a pile of goo for the evening.

But it does get easier. Life goes on, and it isn't a sin to be happy when he isn't here. I recommend this book as an excellent guide for anyone who's grieving.

Recently shared that book with a guy I ran into at a gas station.

He recommended to me that I read Ghost Rider

I highly reccomend a read of Neil's "Ghost Rider".

While I agree with you about Moon's drumming, I feel that I should mention that Neil watched the Who on the Tammy Show as a teenager, and it was Moon's performance that inspired him to buy his first drum set.

source: Ghost Rider by Neil Peart

Neil Peart's "Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road."

http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Rider-Travels-Healing-Road/dp/1550225480

I'm a huge fan of Neil Peart as the drummer for the band Rush and this is the book that inspired me into getting a motorcycle.


I'm interested in this book too: "Roadshow: Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle."

http://www.amazon.com/Roadshow-Landscape-Drums-Concert-Motorcycle/dp/1579401457

Neil Peart's books:

The Masked Rider

Ghost Rider

Traveling Music

Far and Away

Disclaimer: I have not thoroughly researched Amazon's support for or against SOPA. Please research before making any purchases!

Here's a list, off the top of my head - I know all these are on my bookshelf, but I'm probably missing a few more:

Hell's Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club by Sonny Barger

Freedom: Credos from the Road by Sonny Barger

Ridin' High, Livin' Free: Hell-Raising Motorcycle Stories by Ralph Sonny Barger

Dead in 5 Heartbeats by Sonny Barger

Under and Alone by William Queen

No Angel: My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels by Jay Dobyns

Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Modern Library) by Hunter S. Thompson

Street Justice by Chuck Zito

The Original Wild Ones: Tales of the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club by Bill Hayes

Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart

The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa by Neil Peart

Against the Wind: A Rider's Account of the Incredible Iron Butt Rally by Ron Ayres

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford

Honda CB750: The Complete Story by Mark Haycoc

Shovelhead Red The Drifter's Way by Roy Yelverton

Shovelhead Red-Ridin' Out by Roy Yelverton

A Twist of the Wrist 2: The Basics of High-Performan​ce Motorcycle Riding by Keith Code

Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques by Lee Parks


Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig - Still my favorite. A high school english teacher bought it for me when he found out I had just passed my motorcycle road test. I've read it at least 15 times, and get something new from it each time.


But the best recommendation - Buy the FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL for your bike and read it. Read it often, until you can almost turn to the exact page for each procedure.

This is very "Ghost Rider."

And I'm very jealous! Nice!

You should read Ghost Rider by Neil Peart as well as his other books.

Neal Peart, the drummer from the band Rush lost both his wife and daughter in a very short time period. He was depressed to the point of suicide, but he decided to quit the band and go on a trip with no end on his R1200 GS. He went all around Canada, the US, and South America.

At the end of it, he had a completely new lease on life, and he wrote an incredible book about his experiences

I would HIGHLY recommend this book; it's what made me want to ride in the first place, and made me aware of the bond between man and machine.

Thanks for sharing your story OP, I love reading stuff like this :)

Ghost Rider by Neil Peart.

Neil Peart of the band Rush one of the greatest drummers of all time. He lost his Wife and Daughter within a year. He wrote this book as part of the grieving process and maybe it will help. My condolences OP. http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Rider-Travels-Healing-Road/dp/1550225480

I want to do this sooo bad. Sometime you should read Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart (yes, the drummer) for a story very similar to yours.

I'm curious: Have you ever read Neal Pearts book "Ghost Rider"? Your first photo in the album is a lot like his. In fact, even the red bike looks the same. He is the drummer for Rush.

Anyhow, I recommend it as it is about his travels on his bike after he had some pretty unfortunate things happen to him in his life. I bet you would really resonate with his words and story! It is a great book!

Ghost Rider by Neil Peart is a pretty good read , but its about him dealing with loss through solo riding. Can be a bit depressing.

Neil Peart from Rush did this after he lost his wife and daughter. Wrote a book about it. Pretty good read.