Originally Posted by
CAT7RDR
All my cars over 40 years have been manual sticks.
I think OP's analogy is spot on. Once you learn how to drive or ride as a conditioned learned experience, you do not have to think about it.
You don't have to
consciously think about it, but you're definitely 'thinking' about it in some part of your brain- constantly monitoring inputs, conditions, etc, and making choices based on them. Though it may be mostly unconscious, I think that need to be more attentive to the operation of the machine brings with it a higher level of general awareness/less distraction. And then there's the simple pleasure of exercising a skill well.