Why do you ride?

[jagr]

What is your primary motivation for being a Rider?

[ReconRat]

I'm an old fart, I wasn't having any fun. Besides, it's a shame to let 40 years of motorcycle experience go to waste.

[Disclaimer]

It's the only way to outrun the voices in my head.

[ReconRat]

It's the only way to outrun the voices in my head.

That too... gotta go...

[Ron Burgundy]

[kawi kid]

when i first started riding it was a way to escape for me. right after i bought my bike i headed straight into a real shitty divorce and it was a way for me to blow off steam and reassure myself i was going to be ok alone (i rode alone primarily).

now i ride for enjoyment but its still a way to escape. just me, myself in my helmet, and the road infront of me. nothing else matters when i ride.

[cmoosego]

The freedom of it. Man and machine as one, the crack of the pipes, the rush of the wind. The wide open road. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLrrBs8JBQo

[Pedro]

So many choices.... This has got to be the thread with the best poll choices, LOL. I'm having a hard time choosing which option fits me best... What happened to the "all of the above" choice?

[jagr]

So many choices.... This has got to be the thread with the best poll choices, LOL. I'm having a hard time choosing which option fits me best... What happened to the "all of the above" choice?

I left it open so you can make multiple choices. Jrmiii checked them All. lol.

[Disclaimer]

That's what I did...checked them all and hit submit.

[purdy]

"now i ride for enjoyment but its still a way to escape. just me, myself in my helmet, and the road infront of me. nothing else matters when i ride."

well stated!!

[jermattak]

i dunno, its just what i do, its been inside of me since i was a little kid, alls i wanted to do is ride motorcycles. its one of the very few things i am passionate about. one of the only things i can do right

[Pedro]

I left it open so you can make multiple choices. Jrmiii checked them All. lol.

Gotcha, I voted for pretty much all of the choices, with the exception of the young skanks.

[Ron Burgundy]

as stated above

[jagr]

To crush my enemies!!

Honesty' date=' riding is very relaxing for me. It calms me down, I can talk to myself inside my helmet and work shit out. I also talk to my bike. I praise her when we take a turn just right, I apologize to her when I miss a shift or blow a line... I don't know. It quiets my head and helps me focus on what is important. What is important? Not the hustle and bustle of the rat race we call life and career. Discovering new places, new roads, new people and leaving your mark somewhere unknown to you before that trip. Remembering that the journey IS the destination. Motorcycles are very Zen for me. I am not religious, I don't go to church, I don't buy the whole Heaven and Hell bit. I do, however, believe that humans are spiritual beings and if they listen quietly enough they will hear something, or someone, trying to tell them something. When I am riding a motorcycle, whether it's on the street or track, every now and again I can hear it. I can feel it. It's a good thing, Motorcycling.

(sorry for being gay)[/quote']

Not gay at all. Thats a really good answer i think a lot of us can associate with.

This is a good essay on the subject. Read it if you have the time.

http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/whyride.html

i especially like the quote at the top.

When my mood gets too hot and I find myself wandering beyond control I pull out my motor-bike and hurl it top-speed through these unfit roads for hour after hour. My nerves are jaded and gone near dead, so that nothing less than hours of voluntary danger will prick them into life...

T.E. Lawrence, April, 1923

[exSRAaron]

when i first started riding it was a way to escape for me. right after i bought my bike i headed straight into a real shitty divorce and it was a way for me to blow off steam and reassure myself i was going to be ok alone (i rode alone primarily).

now i ride for enjoyment but its still a way to escape. just me, myself in my helmet, and the road infront of me. nothing else matters when i ride.

sorry to here that mate

[jagr]

when i first started riding it was a way to escape for me. right after i bought my bike i headed straight into a real shitty divorce and it was a way for me to blow off steam and reassure myself i was going to be ok alone (i rode alone primarily).

now i ride for enjoyment but its still a way to escape. just me, myself in my helmet, and the road infront of me. nothing else matters when i ride.

Welcome to the club KK.

When its just me riding i always start singing Stevie Nicks songs in my helmet. i dont know why???

[Gump]

Get a quad i'll meet you at Wellsville...

I ride to get away, feel the wind, relax. I did notice i also sing and talk to myself...and the bike. I actually like it when there is no one around and it's just me on some rural road.

[schmuckingham]

because my girlfriend hated me not having one

[ReconRat]

Not gay at all. Thats a really good answer i think a lot of us can associate with.

This is a good essay on the subject. Read it if you have the time.

http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/whyride.html

i especially like the quote at the top.

When my mood gets too hot and I find myself wandering beyond control I pull out my motor-bike and hurl it top-speed through these unfit roads for hour after hour. My nerves are jaded and gone near dead, so that nothing less than hours of voluntary danger will prick them into life...

T.E. Lawrence, April, 1923

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._Lawrence

At age 46, a few weeks after leaving the service, Lawrence was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident while piloting a Brough Superior SS100 in Dorset, close to his cottage, Clouds Hill, near Wareham. The accident occurred because of a dip in the road that obstructed his view of two boys on their bicycles; he swerved to avoid them, lost control and was thrown over the handlebars of his motorcycle. He died six days later. The spot is marked by a small memorial at the side of the road. The circumstances of Lawrence's death would have far reaching consequences, however. One of the doctors attending him was the neurosurgeon, Hugh Cairns. He was profoundly affected by the incident and consequently began a long study of what he saw as the unnecessary loss of life by motorcycle dispatch riders through head injuries and his research led to the use of crash helmets by both military and civilian motorcyclists. As a consequence of treating Lawrence, Sir Hugh Cairns would ultimately save the lives of many motorcyclists.[12]

[jagr]

Oh yeah "Lawrence of Arabia" Lawrence. I didnt even put this together.

[magifesq]

Originally I just wanted to ride just because...then I got bit by the power bug...now I'm on an alternative fuel quest just because I like the way multi-cylinder 2 strokes perform...did I mention I find riding fun?

[Tigerpaw]

I like the thrill,

it clears my head,

I love seeing new places/traveling in general.

[phop5]

i'm all for the skanks!! did somebody say Quaker Steak?!?!?

[RVTPilot]

To crush my enemies!!

Honesty' date=' riding is very relaxing for me. It calms me down, I can talk to myself inside my helmet and work shit out. I also talk to my bike. I praise her when we take a turn just right, I apologize to her when I miss a shift or blow a line... I don't know. It quiets my head and helps me focus on what is important. What is important? Not the hustle and bustle of the rat race we call life and career. Discovering new places, new roads, new people and leaving your mark somewhere unknown to you before that trip. Remembering that the journey IS the destination. Motorcycles are very Zen for me. I am not religious, I don't go to church, I don't buy the whole Heaven and Hell bit. I do, however, believe that humans are spiritual beings and if they listen quietly enough they will hear something, or someone, trying to tell them something. When I am riding a motorcycle, whether it's on the street or track, every now and again I can hear it. I can feel it. It's a good thing, Motorcycling.

(sorry for being gay)[/quote']

I have a $10k V-twin therapist in my garage that doesn't pass judgement, save for only the times when I twist too much throttle when I shouldn't. And she lets me know by trying to put the front and back tires side by side. Otherwise, I find myself over and over again on that thing. I have found a synergy with that machine that I could never find with a woman, or any other human being. And like any lifelong relationship, I have scars to show where the low points were, and pics and memories from the high times. And I wouldn't trade any from one one list to add to the other.