Why we ride?

[Micdalen]

Was having a long discussion with son about riding, well he wrote a paper about riding for school. The short of it, his teacher was very critical about bike riding. Told him there was no valid reason to get on two wheels and take your life into your own hands nearly everyday.

Son was visibly upset about this. His teacher told him to research it more for his next paper. He has been doing quite a bit research on boards, medical journals, even found afew psychiatirc journal articles addressing the so called "biker mentality", alot of this stuff is negative.

Just my curiosity , how about some input as to why we ride from fellow riders.

Long -short doesnt matter, help a young teenager out with some encouragement about our so called "biker mentality".

I told him, I ride because of the freedom it gives me. Not alot of that anymore. I have control of my life and where I am going when I ride. I see more than when I am in a car. Then on the other hand, it is the exhiliration, in a day and age of sedentary lifestyles. A challenge everytime I start the bike and pull out of the garage. And there is always the adrenaline part, that makes your body feel alive.

Anyone else got input for a teenager?

Does anyone have any objections if he references qoutes he might use in his paper?

[Range]

when you come storming into a corner...blip-blip-blip..LEAN and then you hit that apex just right...then...bwaaaaaaaaaa and you feel the front end get light as you power out....ready to do it again...but the other direction, and over and over.

anyone who has never rode would never understand...you must have the desire...if not, then it can't be forced.

I don't like rollar-coasters...feeling is similar I would imagine, but you are NOT in control.

[Bob]

I ride because I enjoy it. The ride, the speed, the curves. It is like a hobby. Most people I talk to think its dangerous. when I ask why they think its dangerous they say it's because of the cars on the road. It's true, any one who thinks it dangerouse is because of car drivers and not the motocycles riders themselves. There are squid riders just like dumb drivers so no matter what transportation you take you must be on the defense, always.

Bob

[JoeCool]

Hiya Micdalen...

I just thought I would put in my 2 centavos...
First, it's very unfortunate of these journals to stereo type motorcyclists as a sort of reckless band of people who are just wanting to die quickly...

I can't tell you how wrong this is for the majority of riders I have found over my years of riding. Yes there are a few squids out there, but that's life...no matter where you go or what you do, there are a few bad apples.

I ride my bike to work almost daily (unless it's raining or just too darn cold), and I get:

1) Make new friends
2) Peace
3) Relaxation
4) Exiliration
5) Freedom
6) 2hr daily commute cut down to 35-40min
7) 44mpg as compared to 23-25mpg
8) $15 in toll road cost cut down to $3.50
9) Esprit D'cor of being in a sort of motorcyclist brother/sister hood 8)

It's sad that people write journals and form opinions on things they often know nothing of...the people who wrote those journals I would be willing to bet weren't motorcyclist's...and they are not doing us justice by stereo typing us.

I found KatRiders about 4 months ago, 2 months before I bought my Katana...and I can't tell you how many nice people on here have helped me, praised me, and cared about my opinion. KatRiders is a perfect example on how cyclists can be nice, smart, and helpful.

There are so many times I have had a bad day at work, then get on my bike to ride home...everything is forgotten and behind me minutes later. I don't even know how to put into words that feeling of relief and happiness.

There are so many dailys accidents here in So Calif between all types of vehicles, and many times I get home thinking "My gosh, it would of taken me 3hrs to get home in a car"...but because I was on my bike, I did it in 35min.

Sorry about your son getting upset over what his teacher said, but I"m sure he's a good kid and will keep an open mind...not to mention listening to your good advice. Maybe his teacher was just having a bad day, or has a bad personal experience with motorcycles.

My father rode a motorcycle for 30yrs with only one minor accident with scratchs, and bruises as the only outcome. So not everyone riding a motorcycle has a death wish.

I have been riding a motorcycle for only 3 years, and I can't imagine ever giving it up...

As for "take your life into your own hands nearly everyday", well I hate to tell your son's teacher but there isn't any place, time, or activity that you can be doing that is safe...when it comes time for your ticket to be punched, no matter what your doing, or where your at, there won't be a darn thing you can do about it.

Wishing you and everyone on KR the very best... 8)

[md86]

I started riding because I thought it was "cool" . And it was . But I started to realize that it makes you think differently . I can't explain that part , it's just something you have to find out for yourself . A good ride puts me in such a good mood , and sometimes a crappy one will , too . I've showed up at peoples' houses before after a long cold ride with a big dopey grin on my face .

[Mojoe]

now if i was a rider/dad, i would be marching right into the school and confronting the teacher. the first thing i would ask is if he/she smokes. if he/she says yes, i would call him/her a hypocrite right on the spot....cuz that risks your life each and every day.
if he/she doesn't smoke, then i would tell him/her that they have no right to discourage a student from riding. it is not his/her place to do so.
i just feel that some lines a teacher has no right to cross. riding is totally legal and should be discussed between the parent/child.....not a teacher.
anyway....this is just another example of "you ride or you don't". i have personally tried to justify my reasons for riding for the last 23-24 years to those who disapprove. i have come to a conclusion concerning this....and that is that it might be easier to convince a dog that it's a cat than it is to convince a close minded moron that riding can be a positive thing.....so good luck with that.

[GSX1100FL]

I have said this to many people who ask me what it is about riding a motorcycle that makes me want to put my life at risk,

I get a spiritual feeling, pure enjoyment to the very heart of my soul. This feeling can last up to a week.

There are some who still do not understand & that is when I ask them about religon, do they go to church? If they do I ask them if they feel spiritually fullfilled. All that I have asked have said yes, I tell them that riding a motorcycle gives me that feeling.

Those that do not go to church I have to ask various questions until I find something that does give them that spiritual feeling & then tell them that the feeling they feel is how I feel when riding.

There have been some that by using my explanation whom still have trouble understanding.

Those who say that nothing in their life gives them that type of feeling I can only say "Then there is no way you will understand".

When riding to work I get a little enjoyment but not as much as when I'm riding through the country side.

I hope this helps, any questions I will do my best to explain further.

[sexwax]

Because it is better than walking.

[Anonymous]

I don't ride.......The Tiller makes a great lampstand...

[BobKat2002]

Teachers

now if i was a rider/dad, i would be marching right into the school and ......

Sorry Moe,
I completely respect you feeling the need to defend your/our position but, honest to God who really gives a sweet F@&K about what "those people think".
As a Customer Service Manager in the retail furniture industry, I am confronted by ignorant, arrogant people like "The Teacher" several times a day. I ride to escape from having to have contact with people like that. In fact the majority of riders that I associate with will admit that, yes the adrenaline rush. The feeling of freedom. The mechanical intrique, are all reasons for which we ride. But the common bond betwwen most of us is the opportunity to escape. Whether its for 20 minutes, or a few days. It's my preferred theropy.
We know why we ride. Thats what matters.

Eh?

[The CyberPoet]

To save the planet. Do I need to transit in a 3 ton behemouth to get myself to where I'm going and get what I need back home? Hell, if any of the Jap big-four offered a 200cc street bike in the USA, I'd probably ride that instead half the time...

The smell of reality. I don't live to drive in a sealed box, breathing regurgitated conditioned air while listening to a man or a woman in another box far away feed me what they think I should hear (radio). I gear up for my own protection, and feel the world about me -- the scent of the baker on 42nd street, the smell of the golf course on 50th. I smell the good, the bad, the sunshine on the tarmac and the smell of the rain before it arrives. Most car-dwellers can't even tell me what it's-about-to-rain smells like -- they are so out of touch with our own realities.

The space beyond the boundary. Exploration of this space is what pushes man to scuba dive, to parachute, to fly aircraft and space craft, to race, to challange the elements, the globe, the hardships that get in the way... It's what prompted Columbus to cross the ocean blue, Perry to wander to the pole, Edmund Hillary to climb Mount Everest. Not all of us go that far beyond the boundary -- some are content simply to balance on two wheels at speed. But if you do not have the personality make-up that is required to visit the space beyond the boundary, the tiny bit of (or huge streak of) type A personality, then you may never understand why people do any of these things -- including riding a motorcycle.

Speed, Time and the Ethereal Now. If I need to be somewhere, inevitably it is faster to go by bike, even at the same speeds, simply because of the maneuverability providing advantageous lane positioning repeatedly and the rate of acceleration between stop and go. It also causes me to be more aware of my surroundings, my driving -- I'm 100% focused on my riding (and not on the person on the other end of the cel-phone, the radio the back-seat, etc).

Or as one of the numerous TShirts I offer says (my own quote & feelings):

The road stretches onward,
like an endless steel ribbon
slicing through a vacant dreamscape,
driving me onward towards my destiny.
--
The miles flow beneath my wheels,
connecting the past and
the future through a single point
of reference that is myself.
--
Right now there is nothing but
me and the open road.
--
I hunger for this like
an opiate addict with withdrawl
pangs whenever I’m not riding.
You may never understand...


The reality is there are those who yearn for something that a motorcycle (or other pursuits) symbolizes, embodies and/or delivers, and there are those who don't. There are also those who will never try, or never have the opportunity or courage to find out that they are actually in the first group -- I suspect your teacher is one of those.

For me, a motorcycle symbolizes the fact that I can, at any moment, escape the reality I live in. I can gear-up/pack-up, get on and roll away, be it for a few minutes, for a few days, for weeks, months, years or even the rest of my life. It's like an "escape" button on life. For my own particular personality make-up, this escape button is critical to my ongoing happiness, and nothing I have found before or since is as effective in that sense of providing me that button as a motorcycle capable of easily laying back great distances. Part of the reason I am so big on preventative maintenance for my bike is that need for absolute knowledge in the back of my head that my escape button will always work, even if I never have to use it...

Good Luck with your project!

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Anonymous]

cause it's fun?

[Range]

I know...............


tell the teacher "it gets the babes", and that he might want to look into it because whatever he is using is obviously NOT working.









then punch him in the throat

[WildKat]

then i would tell him/her that they have no right to discourage a student from riding. it is not his/her place to do so.
i just feel that some lines a teacher has no right to cross. riding is totally legal and should be discussed between the parent/child.....not a teacher.

I hear this alot from coworkers, mostly female oddly enough but from guys too. "you have a family why put yourself at risk if u dont have too" , "its just too dangerous these days" ..

The choices we make dictate our future in every facet. Everybody lives their life their own way and NOBODY has the right to criticize or judge except the big man upstairs.

Riding is way of life, its something we all enjoy and there is nothing like it in the world. Sure there are risks, there are in anything. My wife and I ride 2 up alot knowing full well the risks involved but we are as responsible as we need to be to ensure our safety. You can't control anything and there are far more car accidents every year than motorcycle accidents. Of course thats a relative statement becuz there are more cars on the road but its still a valid point. This teacher should be reprimanded by her superior for speaking and influencing a child in a way that is not her place.

[Paladin76]

I ride because it let's be alone. I'm a quiet guy. When left to my own devices I chose solitude over company. On my bike it's just me. Even when I have a passenger, it's still just me. Kinda hard to have a conversation at 80 mph. When I'm alone I get the chance to collect my thoughts and clarify my feelings. My concentration becomes more focused because of riding and that translates into over all focus. Call it spiritual or whatever, but it's my reason. Not to mention gas mileage, cheaper insurance (not required in FL), and acciden avoidance. With just a quick lean one way or the other, I can completely avoid the jackass that just pulled out in front of me instead of eating my airbag. Hopefully your son takes this opportunity to not only defend his posistion, but also to educate his teacher. Best of luck to him.