OneTrack
Super Member
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- Jul 8, 2007
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- Richmond, BC, Canada
I was talking to a (non-motorcycling) friend the other day about motorcycles, and (invevitably) he said he would never ride a bike because they are dangerous, and anyone who does is "nuts".
Yeah...I know...we have all heard that statement many, many times before and will hear it many, many times in the future.
But when I had some time to really stop and think about it.....why on earth would we engage in what is (arguably) one of the more (if not most) "dangerous" pastimes....not just once in a while, but on a daily basis? I put "dangerous" in quotation marks, as "danger" is a relative concept.
While I regard my first years of motorcycling with fondness and arguably as the most exciting years of my life (next to the army), I have to also admit that they were without doubt my most painful years. Two severe crashes into cars and two "come-offs" did damage that I am now reminded of on a daily basis now that I'm in my "mature" years.
I returned to bikes last year after almost a quarter century of abstinence, and am enjoying it very much. I know that I don't even begin to take the chances that I took as a fearless, immortal 18 year old on my old Bonneville scorching through Surrey and Hampshire in England, lost in the illusion that I was emulating the GP hero's of the day, with little regard for my (or anyone else's) safety.
I now enjoy motorcycling for the sake of it....that is, for the beauty of the machine itself (the FZ6 responds to being tarted up with tasteful accessories like none other), the sound and the fury of the ride (albeit tempered with a modicum of decorum these days), the wind, the sheer thrill of "controlling the beast".....in short, it may have its element(s) of "danger", but it's FUN.
So.....despite the very obvious "dangers", is that why do we ride...for FUN? Is it as simple as that?
Yeah...I know...we have all heard that statement many, many times before and will hear it many, many times in the future.
But when I had some time to really stop and think about it.....why on earth would we engage in what is (arguably) one of the more (if not most) "dangerous" pastimes....not just once in a while, but on a daily basis? I put "dangerous" in quotation marks, as "danger" is a relative concept.
While I regard my first years of motorcycling with fondness and arguably as the most exciting years of my life (next to the army), I have to also admit that they were without doubt my most painful years. Two severe crashes into cars and two "come-offs" did damage that I am now reminded of on a daily basis now that I'm in my "mature" years.
I returned to bikes last year after almost a quarter century of abstinence, and am enjoying it very much. I know that I don't even begin to take the chances that I took as a fearless, immortal 18 year old on my old Bonneville scorching through Surrey and Hampshire in England, lost in the illusion that I was emulating the GP hero's of the day, with little regard for my (or anyone else's) safety.
I now enjoy motorcycling for the sake of it....that is, for the beauty of the machine itself (the FZ6 responds to being tarted up with tasteful accessories like none other), the sound and the fury of the ride (albeit tempered with a modicum of decorum these days), the wind, the sheer thrill of "controlling the beast".....in short, it may have its element(s) of "danger", but it's FUN.
So.....despite the very obvious "dangers", is that why do we ride...for FUN? Is it as simple as that?
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