Why I ride

[buellbabe]

Is it a particular type of person who has a lifelong attachment to bikes? Do bikes help to
shape a persons’ character? Perhaps it’s a combination of both.

Hmmmm.... alot of food for thought there.
I ran into an old mate the other day, she had to sell her iron steed but replaced it with a flesh&blood one..... a pure-bred Arabian....
Anyways she asked me if I still enjoyed riding? Well after I picked my jaw up off the floor and replied OF COURSE, i got to thinking about the WHY. I have to agree with all the points raised by BlackBird and yet my total addiction is so OTT that i can't help but wonder if there is a particular Gene or combination of gene's that we bikers share!

[skelstar]

I read an article in Bike Magazine recently where they tried to explain why some people like to travel fast.

I thought that issue of Bike was a fantastic one.
I think that the previous issue they had given tips on how to pass in dodgy places etc ('tips that instructors dont tell you'). They had a letter in the 'letter to the editor' that berated them for it, and then they had another article along similar lines: 'how to not get caught by the cops'...or something like that.
Sorry: hijacking.

[Blackbird]

Regarding the "Zen state"
I read an article in Bike Magazine recently where they tried to explain why some people like to travel fast.............
.

Excellent bit of info thanks Paul - that's absolutely fascinating and I must do some reading on it.

Cheers

Geoff

[justsomeguy]

Hi there,

It was great meeting you at the Scenic Lookout the other weekend while a few of us were doing the loop. Now after reading your article I'm even more proud to have shook your hand.

[digsaw]

Yes have been asked many times in fifty years of motorcycling "JUST WAAT IS IT ABOUT MOTORCYCLES THAT KEEPS YOU RIDING THEN" well its hard to explain but i all ways reply , REMEMBER THE FIRST GIRL THAT CAUGHT YOUR EYE, yep that was my first bike. REMEMBER THE FIRST KISS, yep that was the first ride, REMEMBER THE ANTICAPATION OF THE NEXT DATE, yep thats the next time you get to ride again, THEN ITS YOUR FIRST RELATIONSHIP,YOUR FIRST TRUE LOVE, yep its all about waat you see as a perfect bike and one you wish to keep forever.
THEN THERE IS SEX AND LOVE, Well i cant realy give an answer,but i gess its all about anticapation of the next time,cause its all ways different and it gets better with age,just like a good wine. :spudbooge

[ZTHOU]

Great Writing and thought processes Geoff.so true.Other consideration is that your other half supports you in your journey.You are soo lucky.

[Blackbird]

Hi there,

It was great meeting you at the Scenic Lookout the other weekend while a few of us were doing the loop.

Thanks for the kind words JSG – nice meeting you at the Lookout too, even if the meeting was a bit too brief. Here’s a photo taken at the same spot a few weeks back with Hammer and Dave Easey from KB. The other shots were in Tairua and Kopu. Three bikes the same colour look pretty good together.

Cheers

Geoff

[rfc85]

very good write up Geoff, i spend as much time up coromandel as i can,bro has a batch just over the hill north of the town itself,you around there somewhere ?

[Zed]

Three bikes the same colour look pretty good together.

Watch out, the Bluebirds are taking over the world!!! [smilie=8,4,15]


Nice shots BB.

[Blackbird]

..... I can't help but wonder if there is a particular Gene or combination of gene's that we bikers share!

I've just revisited this old thread and was pondering Buelbabe's comment. If there is a gene or predisposition that makes a person addicted to motorcycling, it's probably the same thing that makes people passionate about flying or sailing. I know there are quite a few people on KB who fly and/or sail. I've only flown a glider once but sailed competitively and all 3 seem to require pretty much the same mental and physical skill set to get the best out of them. They also give the same pleasure levels when done properly. Food for thought

[Motu]

I read Richard Bach's books,and thought his descriptions of flying were exactly the same as riding a motorcycle.I come from a sailing family,I grew up around boats,but was never interested in them.Bikes just clicked.

[Blackbird]

I read Richard Bach's books,and thought his descriptions of flying were exactly the same as riding a motorcycle.I come from a sailing family,I grew up around boats,but was never interested in them.Bikes just clicked.

You've nailed it exactly I read Jonathan Livingston Seagull and that struck a familiar chord but it was his Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah which really drove it home - fantastic. Interestingly, I've never much been excited by cruising sailing; it was racing that required the same skill set and satisfaction as riding. Well, maybe not quite the same satisfaction as riding as I still ride but don't sail anymore. (Possibly due to fitness levels as much as anything )

[Motu]

The Reluctant Messiah struck a chord with me being a mechanic - to read a book written from that perspective had never been done before....authors and their heros are not quite so hands on.I got my Bantam from a cousin who got me interested in bikes....he later got to sail around the world a few times on famous boats,go to San Diego,stuff like that.

[Bender]

Motorcycles were my life when I was younger but I gave it away after a crash in a Woodhill enduro left me with a dusted left knee. Why I didn't stay involved I don't know but have recently bought another bike and I am loving it.

The sentiments expressed in that PDF had me nodding in agreement and the number of positive comments on here underline that motorcycling is a brotherhood a collective of commonly held sentiments..

[Blackbird]

The Reluctant Messiah struck a chord with me being a mechanic - to read a book written from that perspective had never been done before....authors and their heros are not quite so hands on.I got my Bantam from a cousin who got me interested in bikes....he later got to sail around the world a few times on famous boats,go to San Diego,stuff like that.

That book crosses into the metaphysical and as riding a bike well, particularly on a long haul, or flying or sailing can give a person a similar feeling; it's hardly surprising that we both rate it so highly. Wonder if the current generation knows what the hell we're talking about .

I found that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance did the reverse. Well-written but I found it profoundly depressing. A person's journey through mental hell and almost nothing to do with motorcycling.