“Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,
The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.”

— Robert Burns, “My Heart’s In The Highlands”

‘Madainn mhath’ from Scotland, or rather, the rough border between Scotland and England — Hadrian’s Wall.

The Romans built this now ancient, 73-mile boundary to preserve their Empire ahead of Hadrian’s arrival to the British Isles in 122 AD.

It rivals the Great Wall of China at a proportionate level to its placement in Brittannia. It’s truly a marvel of design and architecture, despite suffering a heavy blow to the Brigantes, later known to us as the settlers of Yorkshire.

Speaking of which, this is my last stop before returning to the Dales, wrapping up an extensive motorcycle tour of the North Coast 500 (NC500), which has spanned nearly 1,600 and a full 24-hours of total riding hours through perilous roads across the mountainous countryside.

‘Man Plans and God Laughs’

Much like humanity’s venture into extended reality (XR), I faced a lot of unknowns throughout the journey. The XR industry has demonstrated it has travelled similar winding roads over the last few years of its ascent.

Reflecting, I’ve often chuckled at the words of wisdom spoken throughout generations: “Want to make God Laugh? Tell Him your plans.”

For me, it all began when I realised that I needed a permit a month ahead of the trip to Loch Lomond, or that most wild campers normally don’t travel by motorbike, but rather by campervan.

This completely threw my trip into Plan B, leading me from campsite to campsite whilst hoping that I could simply book and go, or that there was available space. The trip went from planned to fully ad-hoc in minutes.

This trust in the Unknown forced me to intuitively navigate the journey with surprising success, and circumnavigate the challenges therein.

Over the course of the ‘expedition,’ two tent poles snapped whilst in Lochcarron, forcing me to reroute to Ullapool, which did not disappoint.

Whilst in Lochcarron, a young couple of cafe owners generously assisted in my fibreglass conundrum, especially after both Duck and Gorilla taped proved futile in holding the wispy poles upright.

Instead, they recommended a shop, Ullapool Outdoors, which put me off my planned NC500 circular route, briging me to this hidden gem of the Highlands, complete with coffees, mountains, shorelines, and promenades full of happy townfolk.

Whilst there, the Outdoors shop owner selected the tent poles, broke out his hacksaw, and immediately sorted out the tent issue at a bargain price.

In this, every problem has a solution, and whilst it may not be the intended route, it works in your favour. A third tent pole snapped after pitching up at Hadrian’s. Rather than lamenting the loss, I immediately asked the campsite manager for a hacksaw and applied the skills learnt in Ullapool Outdoors, and kept it moving. This is my life philosophy in action.

Cultivating an Abundance Mindset

The motorbike trip across Scotland also taught me gratitude and abundance. There is always a community nearby to support you. Resources become available where previously, there were none. You’re never alone — strangers initiate a good chinwag, and even become friends.

Obstacles are cleared once you open up to advice from others, or reach out to this community of people willing to help. This is all incumbent upon setting your intentions and following through to making them happen.

Trusting and having faith also allowed me to resolve barriers, whether those were narrow glen-sliped single carriageways with 5-inch deep potholes, or the nefarious tetrad of knobhead drivers (Land Rovers, Audis, BMWs, and Mercedes, in no particular order). Planning the next place to stay fell into place after a quick search on Google, with surprising results.

The Midge: A Resident Evil

I also learned about the formidiable enemy that is the midge — the descendant of a secret tryst between a mosquito and a gnat, leading to tales of savage bloodlust near any Loch, river, or freshwater source.

They were my welcoming committee within five minutes of pitching my tent in Loch Lomond, paralysed me at Loch Ness, and subsided once reaching John ‘o Groats and the North Sea coastline. I fought back valiantly with a midge net mask (Google it) and full clip of Citronella candles from Loch Ness onwards, thanks to the wonderful shopkeeps at Inveraray.

Preparedness goes a long way against nature’s born villains, whether they’re midges, ticks, mosquitos, or otherwise. Your first line of defence determines your readiness to face your enemies, inverterbrate or hooman.

Stoicism and Transformation on Two Wheels

I received another nudge to stay Lochcarron, which is close to Eilien Donan Castle. No sooner had a pitched the tent, the skies opened up and the pissing rain commenced unabated for several hours.

Despite this, us motorcyclists in the UK are a different breed. Unlike the weekend warrior types on Route 66 or the Italian and French Coasts, we’re accustomed to the neverending cycle of wet and sun.

Again, rather than moaning about the issue, I threw on my full waterproof gear, rode cautiously, andhigh-tailed it to the Castle to catch a glimpse during sunset; a moment I will never forget.

Riding from Ullapool to Golspie to reach the stunning Dunrobin Castle, I truly began to appreciate well-maintained roads and began to admire the persistence and determination needed to endure treacherous times.

It is the alchemic process of transformation, or the cycle of life and death — whilst painful, they are necessary and even benefitial to growth. I fully understand that adversity is the fire that turns the strong into diamonds and the weak into ashes, all based on our reactions to each hurdle.

Speaking of hurdles, whilst in the Dunrobin Castle car park, made entirely of gravel (naked bike riders will fully understand how sadistic this infrastructure is to motorcyclists), I swung my leg over the panniers and 60L tail bag to mount the bike… only fall flat on my right side, temporarily trapped under about 220 kilos of metal and baggage.

A nice young woman ran over to help to stand the bike up, and I embarrasingly thanked her afterwards. I pray her friends and family in the adjacent caravan didn’t put the footage on Instagram. Oh well…

Embrace Serendipity

For most of the trip, instead of making elaborate plans, I went with the flow, which always leads to undiscovered, yet better-than-expected results. All discoveries in science seem to happen not by accident, but by serendipity!

Upon reaching John ‘o Groats, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief after rolling over the tent pitch grass to my spot, which was right next to a Suzuki Bandit 650. Whilst pitching up, a young lad stepped out of the adjacent tent, and we struck up conversation.

Little did I know he was a geographical neighbour of mine, from Leeds, that had decided to stay in John ‘o Groats for two days. Had my tent poles not snapped, pushing me upwards to Ullapool, I would have never met a new riding mate for future expeditions.

We had a great time chatting with the locals, chatting about all things Yorkshire, and later, riding to Durness to explore Smoo Cave, hitting up the village pub for a boozer and the odd game of pool.

A ‘Mar sin leat’ to Scotland

The last day in Scotland was bittersweet. The trip had been phenomenal leading up to the last few hours in the Lowland regions.

After a stay in Falkirk to see the Wheel and the Kelpies, I passed up the direct route from Falkirk to Carlisle to take a stop in Glasgow for a coffee and wander, and then explore the nearby town of Ayr — the birthplace of Scotland’s Bard and national hero, Robert Burns.

This visit was without a single regret… The people were very personable, the poetry and heritage sights were simply breathtaking, and I rekindled a profound, deep respect for literature and poetry whilst reading and listening to the songs of his treasured writings. Rather than parking near his cottage, I walked the Poet’s Path from the Museum to see even more history behind his legacy, the Monument, and majestic Brig ‘o Doon bridge.

Striking a Balance between Adventure and Downtime

Throughout the trip, it became essential to not do everything in one go. The body fatigues, the throttle hand begins to go numb, and you can intermittently ‘white stage’ your concentration, causing a dangerous misstep or worse.

Riding all the way from Lochcarron to John ‘o Groats was a feat only accomplished by regular stops for caffeine, quick bites, and sheer determination on some of the most hellish backroads I’ve ever ridden.

To avoid this, down time proved essential to recharge, retreat, and relax. The journey was spotted with stopovers to break up the lengthy time on the road. I took a stopover in Perth an an actual hostel, rather than a campsite, for a day to recharge and explore the beautiful city unrestrained.

After the long and winding trip to the northernmost region of the Highlands, Inverness and Ullapool became major hubs for respite during the arduous journey to and from the Lowlands.

Sometimes, respecting limitations and taking a pause proved instrumental in reaching the next destination. We have to set boundaries, whether with another person or ourselves, to succeed in our pathway to our goals.

Applying the Lessons to XR

Why post this on an XR website? Everything I learned during the trip could easily apply to the journey of XR.

The industry is shooting into the dark with its plans to build the Metaverse, but it is not a fool’s errand. It is the Fool’s Journey as outlined in the Tarot. Every step The Fool takes brings it closer to the World, the penultimate card through the Major Arcana, providing a deep transformation along the process. Whilst we can plan, profit, and lament through the ups and downs of the process, it’s the dreamers that are intuitively navigating the market.

One recent example: What I love about Meta’s recent Q2 stock and profit surge is that, with all the poo-pooing from the media, the company’s come out on top. I’ve extensively documented this progression in previous articles, and have been vindicated by their most recent earnings report.

In its report, Meta noted that Quest headset sales were up 28 percent at $353m, despite continously high research and development (R&D) expenses at $4.8bn, a 21 percent year-over-year increase.

Meta’s transformation, and that of the entire XR industry, is a struggle to build a fully-functionaly spatial computing market, which is much, much more diffilcult than the rise of the Internet. However, time is on our side and we have some of the brightest, most capable minds that can develop next-generational technologies with sheer will, determination, scientific methodology, and most importantly, a stoic, pragmatic approach.

This is not solely a destination, but a journey through the unknown into success. I’ve learnt that through this motorcycle trip, and will carry these lessons into Deus x Machina. Never run from a challenge. Embrace spontenaity. Appreciate each milestone you reach. Adapt to adversity. Recharge and reflect. Respect limitations and boundaries. Avoid midges at all cost, human or otherwise.

For the stoic, motorcycle tours are both educational and therapeutic. For XR, who knows? Maybe the two will meet. That’s for another day.

Thanks for sticking around for the ramblings.

Per aspera ad astra,

Demond Cureton, DxM