Motorcycles

Just heard a guy on TeeVee say "Motorcycling is the most fun you'll ever have" - and he didn't even add "with your clothes on."

And I agree with him.  I rode to work today - and grinned all the way in!  I can see so much more, have what feels like so much more space to maneuver, and it seems like I'm less rushed.  I don't mind moving over to let a nose-to-tail string of cagers (people who travel inside steel cages) pass me at illegal velocities - I just chug along and enjoy the view. It's far less stressful than being in the car, although it might well have been cooler in the car.

The bike I ride is a good commute vehicle - stable, a little heavy but not bad, smooth and has power and torque enough to pass just about anything I want to pass.  It isn't a crotch rocket - it's more a cruiser - slow-turning V-twin, single carb, shaft drive - as close to maintenance-free as it gets.  It always starts, and doesn't stall easily.

My daily ride to work is 50 miles the round trip.  I have route choices, but none has any advantage in terms of time - it takes as long as it takes, and in the morning I stop a few minutes shy of the office for a giant cup of 7-11 coffee with amaretto creamer, a sandwich and a yogurt - which is what gets me through a work day.  If I do everything right, the coffee stays upright until I get parked at work - if I don't do everything right, instead of a big cup of coffee I have a plastic bag of coffee - not my favorite thing!

At the end of the day, I go back outside, start the bike, and reverse the process, with a little less pressure as regards time since nobody at home looks at what time I get back in.  In the evening I am likely to take short detours and try different heretofore untried routes - mornings are pretty much set on one of three routes, because of the need to be on time.

But the days I ride are typically easier days for me - I arrive more relaxed than on other days, and generally concentrate better.  I seem to have more time to think about things before I arrive when I ride in - in the car, more of me is occupied with traffic, planning when I want to make a lane change, looking ahead for traffic chokepoints and such.

Of course, I'm not fond of riding in the rain.  Cold is not as bad as rain, and I ride pretty late into the year.  Snow is a nono - that should go without saying, although if I were to add a side car, I'd probably ride year-round.  I am healthier when I ride when it is cold, and generally don't mind a cold run if it doesn't get to be more than 50 miles or so.

I have been riding now more than 50 years, and don't think I'm likely to give it up any time soon.  It's a cheap pleasure, a good mood freshener, and even cheaper than driving the car!

Anyone who wants to sample it should find a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course to take.  The courses have motorcycles so you don't have to spend a bunch of money that you might later regret, the instructors are pros who don't have the bad habits that folks like me may have who learned to ride by doing - and you can start on a bike that is a good size for learning, well maintained and not at all finicky.

Motorcycling is fun, it is only dangerous if you let it be, and will make you cheerful.

Try it - you'll like it!