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Why we ride
- Thread starter redclfco
- Start date
The joy of riding is many things sights, sounds, the feel of the bike, the wind, etc, and the element of danger. Ride Safe BUT RIDE 
Why I ride:
Day 1 - as a student, it was the cheapest form of transportation and all I could afford. $40 for a Honda C50.
Day 2 - Fun. Even in the cold, wet November weather on the East coast of Scotland.
Month 6 - after putting 2000 miles on the C50 and selling it for $45, I graduated to a single cylinder Ducati 250 - I spent $200 on that one. I was totally into riding, feeling free, I rode as often and as far as I could. Other bikers started waving to me! There was a whole biking community waiting to welcome me.
36 years later, I still ride thousands of miles every year. I love to get out and see the wonderfully varied sights that are in the US. (In case you didn't know, you are spoiled with the choices that are here).
Stop at a cafe somewhere and speak to other motorcyclists.
Know that if I ever need help, some motorcyclist will stop (Jack in Mena, AR - thank you!), or I'll be able to call a friend and people will really put themselves out to get you back on the road. And I would do the same for them.
Go to rallies, and find great roads to get there - the destination is just the excuse. Meet and have fun with people from all over the country - and have even more fun the next time you meet them.
Get out and ride with the family - we nearly all ride. Show the kids Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, the White Sands in New Mexico, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Monument Valley, Mount Rushmore, Beartooth Pass, Meteor Crater, .....
Camp out and in the morning let my daughter write her name in the frost that's on the bike. Get really cold, or hot, or wet and laugh about it later.
Experience life as you go along, don't sit back and watch it like a movie from the front seat of a car.
Decide in the evening, that the next day you're going to ride a SaddleSore 1000. Get up and just do it - then try to explain it to your co-workers the following day. (I just needed to ride that weekend.
)
Look at a map to see how far away Ballwin, Mo is, can I make it for the open day on Saturday? who else will be there?, when would I need to leave? maybe I can come back through Arkansas and ride 123 - that would make it worthwhile!
Day 1 - as a student, it was the cheapest form of transportation and all I could afford. $40 for a Honda C50.
Day 2 - Fun. Even in the cold, wet November weather on the East coast of Scotland.
Month 6 - after putting 2000 miles on the C50 and selling it for $45, I graduated to a single cylinder Ducati 250 - I spent $200 on that one. I was totally into riding, feeling free, I rode as often and as far as I could. Other bikers started waving to me! There was a whole biking community waiting to welcome me.
36 years later, I still ride thousands of miles every year. I love to get out and see the wonderfully varied sights that are in the US. (In case you didn't know, you are spoiled with the choices that are here).
Stop at a cafe somewhere and speak to other motorcyclists.
Know that if I ever need help, some motorcyclist will stop (Jack in Mena, AR - thank you!), or I'll be able to call a friend and people will really put themselves out to get you back on the road. And I would do the same for them.
Go to rallies, and find great roads to get there - the destination is just the excuse. Meet and have fun with people from all over the country - and have even more fun the next time you meet them.
Get out and ride with the family - we nearly all ride. Show the kids Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, the White Sands in New Mexico, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Monument Valley, Mount Rushmore, Beartooth Pass, Meteor Crater, .....
Camp out and in the morning let my daughter write her name in the frost that's on the bike. Get really cold, or hot, or wet and laugh about it later.
Experience life as you go along, don't sit back and watch it like a movie from the front seat of a car.
Decide in the evening, that the next day you're going to ride a SaddleSore 1000. Get up and just do it - then try to explain it to your co-workers the following day. (I just needed to ride that weekend.
)Look at a map to see how far away Ballwin, Mo is, can I make it for the open day on Saturday? who else will be there?, when would I need to leave? maybe I can come back through Arkansas and ride 123 - that would make it worthwhile!
C
criminaldesign
Guest
why do we do anything we do?
B
BUDDINGGEEZER
Guest
Because I want to and I can.
Ralph Sims
Ralph Sims
statdawg
High & Dry
I ride because it puts me in a state of contentment. It’s a matter of being content with what you have — but realizing that as humans we will always try to improve no matter how happy we are. If we don’t, we have given up on life, given up on the ride.
Having a motorcycle taught me an important lesson on the road, it showed me that the rider and the stranger along the way share the gift of curiosity. This gift is the key that opens doors, tears down barriers, an opens dialogue into another world. The border guard, the child on horseback, the old man tending his flock and the lady carrying a burden of responsibility all share this gift within, its only a society that tells us not to be the world citizen we were meant to be.
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Rapid_Roy
New member
Hi Bud!Red,
You really are kinder and gentler.
I ride because it is fun. No deep philosophical reasons about the meaning of life etc..... Of course, not being the brightest bulb in the headlight, maybe that's the best I can do.
I think he is the same, as I have known him for a while.
It is my opinion that perhaps he is just choosing his words more carefully so that they are not misinterpreted, as that happens very often on a written forum such as this.
108625
New member
But you do, Red, you do.
Is there something the matter with those of us who are content with "just because"?
No "running from inner personnal demons", Zen, Karma, "Siddharta", poetry, or any other deep, profound, philosophical, personnal-catharsis-journey-into-self-discovery that belongs somewhere in the self-help section.
I suppose I'm closer to "squid" than any of the other generalizations you made; but in doing so it's your own mind you close when you're not satisfied with someone's answer.
Don't ask why the pizza tastes good.
Don't ask why she loves you.
Anything that gives life joy is better left appreciated than understood.
There are questions worth pondering, even losing sleep over, but nothing here worth actually being "left exhausted" about.
redclfco
New member
Thanks for your opinion, Bob.
Like two fish in an ocean, one must recognize a few things:
It's a very big ocean
Not everyone swims the same direction or in the same way.
I don't generalize about you Bob, because I don't know you; although you seem like a great guy.
It's impossible to sum up anyone from a few posts or threads on the internet. I'm not even going to try.
Best regards,
Red
Rapid_Roy
New member
I dunno, people seem to have a good handle on me.
I must have missed where you said there was something the matter with those of us who are content with "just because" in this thread , but them's fighting words!
It is unpossible that I misinterpreted your post, that never happens here.
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redclfco
New member
Halfway to Heaven
I read an article yesterday in the local snooze paper Northfield news that is about a local guy, Tom Rent who has been a member of a gliding club whose membership has been hang gliding for 50 years. His way of describing the feeling he gets when doing what he obviously loves doing the most in the world sort of hit home in terms of what it feels like to ride long distance for me.
"It's almost like you're halfway to heaven" "You can kind of block out the world"
Here's a guy who is sailing silently high in the sky who is so much held in the womb of the earth and sky, and for many, many years has been doing this sport! Dangerous, I am sure, but pure poetry in motion.....
Wait a minute! I think I'm on to something! Dangerous. like a motorcycle...In motion and fast, like riding a BMW; fine tuned, high performance machine; and like others have said, riding for some of us is a silent spot in our heads where we can let go of others more grounded preoccupations! Just like this guy who glides! I think there is a recipe for many who ride that have the same ingredients as hang gliding, and other like kind activities!
What he describes is a large part of my enjoyment in riding!
Now before anyone gets their undies in a bunch, you don’t have to feel this way, and that’s ok! Others can sum it up with one word! Both are ok! I am not advocating anyone expand their repertoire on why! That’s up to you, my friend!
But for me, man, Halfway to Heaven and kind of block out the world sort of fits. Hang gliding in its own strange way, reminds me of motorcycling!
Could it be?
Thought you all might enjoy.
http://www.northfieldnews.com/news.php?viewStory=49803
I read an article yesterday in the local snooze paper Northfield news that is about a local guy, Tom Rent who has been a member of a gliding club whose membership has been hang gliding for 50 years. His way of describing the feeling he gets when doing what he obviously loves doing the most in the world sort of hit home in terms of what it feels like to ride long distance for me.
"It's almost like you're halfway to heaven" "You can kind of block out the world"
Here's a guy who is sailing silently high in the sky who is so much held in the womb of the earth and sky, and for many, many years has been doing this sport! Dangerous, I am sure, but pure poetry in motion.....
Wait a minute! I think I'm on to something! Dangerous. like a motorcycle...In motion and fast, like riding a BMW; fine tuned, high performance machine; and like others have said, riding for some of us is a silent spot in our heads where we can let go of others more grounded preoccupations! Just like this guy who glides! I think there is a recipe for many who ride that have the same ingredients as hang gliding, and other like kind activities!
What he describes is a large part of my enjoyment in riding!
Now before anyone gets their undies in a bunch, you don’t have to feel this way, and that’s ok! Others can sum it up with one word! Both are ok! I am not advocating anyone expand their repertoire on why! That’s up to you, my friend!
But for me, man, Halfway to Heaven and kind of block out the world sort of fits. Hang gliding in its own strange way, reminds me of motorcycling!
Could it be?
Thought you all might enjoy.
http://www.northfieldnews.com/news.php?viewStory=49803
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S
SNOONE
Guest
"I ride to play the "Bo Derrick riding down the slab game"; this game involves rating women cage drivers, since youre so high up in a GS you can see right down in the car."
Excellent, I didn't know there was a name for this...and it's exclusive to GS's...
I ride because everything about motorcycles and the motorcycle experience is so frigging cool....and always has been...since I was a kid
Excellent, I didn't know there was a name for this...and it's exclusive to GS's...
I ride because everything about motorcycles and the motorcycle experience is so frigging cool....and always has been...since I was a kid
T
TANDEMGEEK
Guest
... it makes me feel alive and engaged, much like sailing, and transforms even the most mundane trip -- short or long -- into a short adventure that stimulates the mind.
Anybody can jump in a power boat and get from point A to point B or motor around, but sailing requires far more skill, attention and forethought and connects you to the act in a way that only sailors and perhaps pilots can appreciate: my hours in a pilot's seat can be counted on two hands but it's way up there on the mental stimulation scale at least in small sport planes. Racing cars on the track will also get you "there". Riding a motorcycle with competence and in a variety of conditions is, IMHO, right up there too. Not everyone can do it... or is willing to do it. I think the latter is perhaps why I find it even more satisfying riding year round regardless of the weather so long as the roads aren't slick with ice.
Not having an appreciation for the 'alive and engaged' aspect of riding is probably why folks who don't ride motorcycles or who've never learned to sail, fly, etc... just don't get it.
Driving a car (poorly or otherwise) just ain't that hard, which is why so many dunderheads find they need to fill their mental slack time with constant yammering on cell phones, texting, searching for crap on the floor, baby sitting or doing a heck of a lot of other things that take their minds off the act of driving.
Anybody can jump in a power boat and get from point A to point B or motor around, but sailing requires far more skill, attention and forethought and connects you to the act in a way that only sailors and perhaps pilots can appreciate: my hours in a pilot's seat can be counted on two hands but it's way up there on the mental stimulation scale at least in small sport planes. Racing cars on the track will also get you "there". Riding a motorcycle with competence and in a variety of conditions is, IMHO, right up there too. Not everyone can do it... or is willing to do it. I think the latter is perhaps why I find it even more satisfying riding year round regardless of the weather so long as the roads aren't slick with ice.
Not having an appreciation for the 'alive and engaged' aspect of riding is probably why folks who don't ride motorcycles or who've never learned to sail, fly, etc... just don't get it.
Driving a car (poorly or otherwise) just ain't that hard, which is why so many dunderheads find they need to fill their mental slack time with constant yammering on cell phones, texting, searching for crap on the floor, baby sitting or doing a heck of a lot of other things that take their minds off the act of driving.
braddog
Minnesota Nice!
I don't have to over think this one...
Plain and simple, I just like to ride motorcycles. I always have. I started when I was 13. I took a 19 year break between 21 and 40, and now I've been at it 10 years again.
I like BMW's, Hondas, Yamahas, you name it, I'll ride it. My favorite is my '77 RS, but I like all motorcycles.
Plain and simple, I just like to ride motorcycles. I always have. I started when I was 13. I took a 19 year break between 21 and 40, and now I've been at it 10 years again.
I like BMW's, Hondas, Yamahas, you name it, I'll ride it. My favorite is my '77 RS, but I like all motorcycles.
N
njnomad
Guest
I ride cuz I ride. 
N
njnomad
Guest
OK, ok. I ride cause I love it. Been riding for 37 years, have had numerous bikes, currently have 4 great steeds. I can say "ditto" to all the posts in this thread but bottom line....
....I ride cuz I ride.
....I ride cuz I ride.
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