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Everything Dirt Bike
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Motorcycle Essay
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<blockquote data-quote="Travace" data-source="post: 59568" data-attributes="member: 111"><p>Because enlightened motorcyclists are more aware of their surroundings, they ride through their communities with more respect for the others who share the road. They also watch for others because of the threat collisions pose to both parties. A healthy sense of paranoia never hurt a motorcycle rider. It’s far safer to slow down, far safer to stop than run the risk of an accident. A good rider knows this.</p><p> </p><p> You see riders wave and nod at one another, greeting strangers simply because they also share the passion. You don’t see drivers wave at one another because that violates the personal space idiom. In essence all other drivers are competitors, where most motorcyclists treat one another like companions. The rare time you will see a motorcyclist gesture rudely is usually at a driver who has performed a stupid, inconsiderate or dangerous (sometimes all three) act and threatened the safety of the rider.</p><p> </p><p> Any gathering of riders is generally sociable and more friendly, a place where strangers talk animatedly about their interests and their bikes. Drawn together because of one common interest, motorcyclists have a basic underlying respect for anyone else who rides. Sure there are brand and style loyalties among riders, but the fact that you ride makes you welcome at almost any motorcycle event. And you never have to defend your passion among riders. They already know.</p><p> </p><p> Riding is fun</p><p> </p><p> Driving is mostly a chore, a function, or a requirement. If they wanted fun, all drivers would have small sports cars with manual transmissions. SUVs, mini-vans, station wagons, sedans, pick-up trucks... they are all dull, Boring. Anything with an automatic transmission is designed for somnambulance, not excitement. It’s a grocery-hauling machine, not an adventure.</p><p> </p><p> Riding is simply a lot of fun. It is a joy to shift gears onto an open road, lean into twisty corners. It is a sensory delight to ride to the top of a hill and then scoot down it again. It is pleasurable to flick gears, tap the throttle, twitch a knee and have the bike obey like a trained quarter horse. It’s variously exciting, relaxing, enlightening and ennobling to ride.</p><p> </p><p> Riding is also about looks and style, about fashion and individuality. Riders dress the part, dress their bikes, polish, clean and accessorize according to personal whims, tastes and perceived social standing. In a car no one cares what you wear. No one sees you. Accessories on cars are like ornaments on a Christmas tree - pretty but usually for decoration only. A family sedan with a spoiler on the trunk is still a dumpy, unromantic and unexciting, automatic transmission sedan no matter what you bolt to it. A spoiler won’t change that. You might as well wear plaid stretch pants and a backwards baseball cap while you drive because no one will think any less of you. Or any better.</p><p> </p><p> Riding is passionate</p><p> </p><p> Riding is about passion, about making the adrenaline flow, about pleasure, about awakened and heightened sensation. Driving is about - well, driving. It’s about getting from here to there in the least time with the least inconvenience. It’s about idling in bumper-to-bumper commuter jams, engine overheating, tempers flaring, kids screaming. Driving has all the passion of watching paint dry.</p><p> </p><p> Riding is that moment of sphincter-clenching fear and excitement when you scream through a tight corner, leaned over further than you thought you could, then pop out into the straight with a whoop and a grin. Riding is that feeling in the morning when you open the garage and there it is in all its chrome and plastic glory, and you just have to smile even though you’ve seen it a thousand mornings before. Riding is about the heads that turn to look as you pass by. Riding is about the envious glances from coworkers as they exit their dull cars and watch as you pop your bike onto its centrestand.</p><p> </p><p> Riding is about taking that side road out of the traffic stream just to see where it goes. Riding is about filling up with $5 worth of gas instead of $50. Riding is about meeting strangers at a gas station and striking up a friendly conversation about motorcycles. Riding is about parking two or three bikes to a single space. Riding is about spending an hour or two washing and polishing and then looking at your work with deep pride.</p><p> </p><p> Riding is about beauty. Every motorcycle is a work of art, some breath-taking in their sheer elegance. The only cars that can even come close to a bike in grace and form are European sports cars. Even the ugliest bike is a thousandfold more beautiful than any family sedan - and every bike is a millionfold more elegant and graceful than any SUV.</p><p> </p><p> Riding is about fashion - the way men and women look in leather, the lean look of a sports bike rider in a full body suit, the rebellious look of a cruiser owner all dressed in black. It's about a crafted stylishness that's at once casual and formal. Riders form their own tribes, identified by their dress code as much as their vehicles. How you look is part of why we ride.</p><p> </p><p> If you don’t understand, I can’t explain it in any more words. Sit in your mini-van and try to tell me that your heart beats a little faster when you turn the engine on. Pull into a mall parking lot full of so many mini-vans and urban-warrior-SUVS that you worry about recognizing your own vehicle - and try to tell me you felt a thrill about coming together with them all. Drive through the countryside with your windows rolled up, air conditioning on and music cranked up and try to express the experience of motion through the fresh air that smelled of new hay and cows.</p><p> </p><p> If you've never ridden, you can't comprehend. But once you try it, you're hooked for life.</p><p> </p><p> (PS. Riding is probably healthier, too. Since it's almost impossible to smoke while riding, motorcyclists are less likely to suffer the ills of tobacco-related diseases while riding. And since smoking reduces the flow of oxygen to the brain, which makes smokers less alert, non-smoking motorcyclists are probably smarter than smoking drivers.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Travace, post: 59568, member: 111"] Because enlightened motorcyclists are more aware of their surroundings, they ride through their communities with more respect for the others who share the road. They also watch for others because of the threat collisions pose to both parties. A healthy sense of paranoia never hurt a motorcycle rider. It’s far safer to slow down, far safer to stop than run the risk of an accident. A good rider knows this. You see riders wave and nod at one another, greeting strangers simply because they also share the passion. You don’t see drivers wave at one another because that violates the personal space idiom. In essence all other drivers are competitors, where most motorcyclists treat one another like companions. The rare time you will see a motorcyclist gesture rudely is usually at a driver who has performed a stupid, inconsiderate or dangerous (sometimes all three) act and threatened the safety of the rider. Any gathering of riders is generally sociable and more friendly, a place where strangers talk animatedly about their interests and their bikes. Drawn together because of one common interest, motorcyclists have a basic underlying respect for anyone else who rides. Sure there are brand and style loyalties among riders, but the fact that you ride makes you welcome at almost any motorcycle event. And you never have to defend your passion among riders. They already know. Riding is fun Driving is mostly a chore, a function, or a requirement. If they wanted fun, all drivers would have small sports cars with manual transmissions. SUVs, mini-vans, station wagons, sedans, pick-up trucks... they are all dull, Boring. Anything with an automatic transmission is designed for somnambulance, not excitement. It’s a grocery-hauling machine, not an adventure. Riding is simply a lot of fun. It is a joy to shift gears onto an open road, lean into twisty corners. It is a sensory delight to ride to the top of a hill and then scoot down it again. It is pleasurable to flick gears, tap the throttle, twitch a knee and have the bike obey like a trained quarter horse. It’s variously exciting, relaxing, enlightening and ennobling to ride. Riding is also about looks and style, about fashion and individuality. Riders dress the part, dress their bikes, polish, clean and accessorize according to personal whims, tastes and perceived social standing. In a car no one cares what you wear. No one sees you. Accessories on cars are like ornaments on a Christmas tree - pretty but usually for decoration only. A family sedan with a spoiler on the trunk is still a dumpy, unromantic and unexciting, automatic transmission sedan no matter what you bolt to it. A spoiler won’t change that. You might as well wear plaid stretch pants and a backwards baseball cap while you drive because no one will think any less of you. Or any better. Riding is passionate Riding is about passion, about making the adrenaline flow, about pleasure, about awakened and heightened sensation. Driving is about - well, driving. It’s about getting from here to there in the least time with the least inconvenience. It’s about idling in bumper-to-bumper commuter jams, engine overheating, tempers flaring, kids screaming. Driving has all the passion of watching paint dry. Riding is that moment of sphincter-clenching fear and excitement when you scream through a tight corner, leaned over further than you thought you could, then pop out into the straight with a whoop and a grin. Riding is that feeling in the morning when you open the garage and there it is in all its chrome and plastic glory, and you just have to smile even though you’ve seen it a thousand mornings before. Riding is about the heads that turn to look as you pass by. Riding is about the envious glances from coworkers as they exit their dull cars and watch as you pop your bike onto its centrestand. Riding is about taking that side road out of the traffic stream just to see where it goes. Riding is about filling up with $5 worth of gas instead of $50. Riding is about meeting strangers at a gas station and striking up a friendly conversation about motorcycles. Riding is about parking two or three bikes to a single space. Riding is about spending an hour or two washing and polishing and then looking at your work with deep pride. Riding is about beauty. Every motorcycle is a work of art, some breath-taking in their sheer elegance. The only cars that can even come close to a bike in grace and form are European sports cars. Even the ugliest bike is a thousandfold more beautiful than any family sedan - and every bike is a millionfold more elegant and graceful than any SUV. Riding is about fashion - the way men and women look in leather, the lean look of a sports bike rider in a full body suit, the rebellious look of a cruiser owner all dressed in black. It's about a crafted stylishness that's at once casual and formal. Riders form their own tribes, identified by their dress code as much as their vehicles. How you look is part of why we ride. If you don’t understand, I can’t explain it in any more words. Sit in your mini-van and try to tell me that your heart beats a little faster when you turn the engine on. Pull into a mall parking lot full of so many mini-vans and urban-warrior-SUVS that you worry about recognizing your own vehicle - and try to tell me you felt a thrill about coming together with them all. Drive through the countryside with your windows rolled up, air conditioning on and music cranked up and try to express the experience of motion through the fresh air that smelled of new hay and cows. If you've never ridden, you can't comprehend. But once you try it, you're hooked for life. (PS. Riding is probably healthier, too. Since it's almost impossible to smoke while riding, motorcyclists are less likely to suffer the ills of tobacco-related diseases while riding. And since smoking reduces the flow of oxygen to the brain, which makes smokers less alert, non-smoking motorcyclists are probably smarter than smoking drivers.) [/QUOTE]
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