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3 March 2010
Why do we ride?

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I wonder how many times this question has been asked by some writer or other pundit who then tries to answer it because he is convinced he has found the answer. How much gall does one person have to try and attempt to answer that for all of us? Answering that question is impossible like finding the Holy Grail. No one knows what the grail is, so it's impossible to know where to look or when you've found it.

Defining why motorcyclists ride is the same thing, because there are as many reasons as there are riders. Your reasons may not be the same as someone else's. There can be more or less reasons depending on each individual. Even the folks you consider your riding partners may have different reasons for why they ride than you do. Although some of us the greater majority of riders will share at least one.

I was reading a letter sent in to a magazine. The letter writer tried to define the answer to why we ride as proof of his position to the editor. He said it's because we are individualists. Motorcyclists are individualists who are different from other folks. Ok I can believe that or else everyone in the world would be riding motorcycles and not riding in cars.

I think our letter writer didn't look far enough into the matter because there are a lot of individualists running around in cars and trucks, how do I know? It's easy because they don't care about anyone else but themselves. They're too busy texting and talking on cell phones, drinking alcoholic beverages and driving and doing as many things as possible to prove to the rest of us we're insignificant as far as they're concerned.

Besides I was born an individualist. I was taught to think for myself and be my own person. I try not to get too caught up in the hype that draws everyone else in, making them hard core followers. Those folks at Jonestown didn't see the error of their ways until it was a little late… and of course the world is full of folks who would rather fight than think, that's been proven over and over through history.

So if being individualists isn't the criteria we can use to define why we ride, what's left?

Are we overly frugal or are we conservationists; perhaps we are concerned about the planet and we're trying to lower emissions and conserve the precious fossil fuel…. Actually if that was the case we would all be riding bicycles. It may be part of the reason, I know I'm saving money commuting on a motorcycle but it's not the only reason. And if you're not commuting or trying to save money or the planet, what's left…

We must be adventurers; after all isn't every motorcycle ride an adventure. Meeting the challenge of the road, traveling to far off places, meeting new people and generally just proving how resourceful the human being is when separated from civilization and forced to find ingenious ways to survive life in the wild… Maybe not, most of us never travel anywhere civilization hasn't already arrived. Besides we're addicted to cell phones and GPS devices and even if we aren't techno geeks it's almost impossible to get lost in the United States, especially on the interstate system. And most riders today couldn't fix anything on their motorcycle without a credit card and a large dealership to drop it off at. The days of riding for days on dirt roads and spending the night camped alongside a road in some farmers pasture are long gone. Motorcycles today are less likely to leave you stranded alongside the road; so what's next.

With the numbers of motorcycles out there, on the road today it has nothing to do with being different. I'm sorry, all of you riders who have spent thousands of hard earned dollars to make your bike stand out; all you've done is join a new group of riders, those who have spent more money than the rest of us. With the number of motorcycles out there, no matter what brand or type or how much customization you've done to your motorcycle, chances are good you will park next to another one sooner than you think.

So what's left?

Competition; you and others may have come to the sport to compete; to feel the spirit of competition the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat on two wheels. Some of us actually get to do it for real. A real chance to dazzle the mere mortals with all of the motorcycle handling skills you have learned and perfected.

But, unfortunately for most of us, we just get to do stupid things on the street with our friends and pretend we are competing. Two or three visits to the track; whether its drag racing, moto cross, road racing doesn't make you a racer. You actually have to do a season or two. For most of us the closest we'll ever get to the track is the television set on Sunday's or a trip to our closest race track to watch.

I believe there is one reason that is universal to everyone who rides; it's my foremost reason for riding and it brings me back time after time; it's simple, it's fun. You can do it with friends and family; you can if you're inventive enough; take your dog out and ride. You can do it alone, you can do it over long distances or short ones, in the rain or on sunny days. You can paint it, chrome it, add parts to it and show it off. You can race it, or pretend to race it. You can sit in a garage and just look at it and remember the days of your youth when it was easier to do. You can read about it and look to the future of owning that very special one. You can buy an old one and restore it back to new condition. You can ride in the dirt, on the street or on a track. You can jump ramps, over buses or just ride through puddles. You can go fast or you can ride slow…

But most of all its fun, perhaps your fun may be in the sharing the adventure or enjoying the solitude it brings. Motorcycling is one of the few endeavors where we can do it in a group and still be alone locked in our own solitude. But it's still fun and believe it or not I don't care why you ride. I'm just too busy riding, no; I'm having too much fun to care.

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