What do you tell them

[FuzzyRider]

"Why do you ride?"

Because four wheels are against my religion.

 

[Duff]

So what do you say when they find out you ride a motorcycle?Most no-riders can't seem to understand how we can put ourselves at such "elevated" risk.

I haven't got a quick response other than "you wouldn't understand".

Why?: "It's the closest thing to flying without having wings!"

Response to "risk/danger": "You can get killed walking across the street. I mitigate the danger as best I can by wearing the proper gear, riding within my means and with a defensive outlook. To me, the REWARD far outweighs the RISK!”

 

[Kevin Daly]

"We don’t run with the pack. We are not counted in the lemming-like hordes of look-alike mini-vans and SUVs. We are outsiders, non-conformists, free thinkers, independent and proud of it" ... "If you don’t understand, I can’t explain it in any more words. Sit in your mini-van and try to tell me that your heart beats a little faster when you turn the engine on. Pull into a mall parking lot full of so many mini-vans and urban-warrior-SUVS that you worry about recognizing your own vehicle - and try to tell me you felt a thrill about coming together with them all. Drive through the countryside with your windows rolled up, air conditioning on and music cranked up and try to express the experience of motion through the fresh air that smelled of new hay and cows".
"If you've never ridden, you can't comprehend. But once you try it, you're hooked for life". -Ian Chadwick

I could not say it better than the above quotes from Ian Chadwick's essay on motorcycle riding. And ... yes ... often I also just say you won't understand.

-Greg

Funny, I know people that will NEVER understand.

You know...motorcycling is inherently dangerous, so why do you ride?

You know that you are more likely to end up in a hospitol riding a horse than a bike. My dad support my sisters professional horse and rider training buisness (and she is an olympic contender). he wont let me park my bike on his driveway. go figure.

 

[Windjammer]

It usually goes about like this:

Q. "Why do you ride those things?" (A tired question, to be sure)

A. Because I like to.

Q. "But aren't those things dangerous?" (NOTE: anyone who asks this is a nosy asshat who's just looking to bait you into a NEP discussion)

A. Go **** yourself. It'll keep you busy so you stop asking stupid questions. (If they're related, first sentence is replaced with "Mind your own business.")

This usually ends the discussion without the need for pointless discourse. I stopped waxing poetic with non-bikers years ago. It does no good - they don't get it anyway.

 

[Toecutter]

"I'm too good a driver to be stuck in a cage."

 

[jesse]

Some great responses here. I especially appreciated Knifemakers comments. I've had a passion for motorized machines that you can ride from the earliest of days. Started with my friends go cart and then on to my friends mini bikes that my parents would never let me have. I would dream of having my own. I have a picture of me sitting on my bed just staring at the bike pictures and brochures I had pinned to my wall at the age of 13. My first bike was a Suzuki SP 370 enduro purchased new in 1979 for 1200 bucks. It was after I moved out of the house and got married. I do believe that we are pre wired to ride. Some have the hunting and fishing gene. I don't. Even in the in between years when my wife did not want the father of her children riding a bike I would often stop in bike shops and just drool. Spring time was the worst, when bike fever would set in.

I also agree, that it is pretty futile to try and explain our passion to those who just don't know. But I also get frustrated with those who ride recklessly and ride as if they don't really care about their own safety. That puts the rest of us at a greater risk because the cagers who see that type of riding must think, " Well, they don't care about their own safety, so why should I give them any special consideration. "

So, what do I tell people when they ask why I take the risk of riding a bike? I tell them that I take every precaution I can and do my best to avoid any danger. After that, I leave my destiny in God's hands. When it's my time to go, I'm gonna go. In the mean time, I want to grab every moment of zest that this life has to offer. Riding is a calculated risk that I choose to take.

 

[Black Beauty]

So what do you say when they find out you ride a motorcycle?Most no-riders can't seem to understand how we can put ourselves at such "elevated" risk.

I haven't got a quick response other than "you wouldn't understand".

Just tell them, it's fun. No other explanation needed.

 

[C&C]

Everyone picks their own poison(s) in life. I generally say, "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand".

 

[FJRSTAR]

If they try the "dangerous" or "dead friend" reasoning I usually tell them "I've lost several friends to car accidents, yet you don't hear me telling you not to drive do you?" in polite words STFU! Usually works like a charm B)

Hey...sometimes you do make sense.

 

[FJRSTAR]

"We don’t run with the pack. We are not counted in the lemming-like hordes of look-alike mini-vans and SUVs. We are outsiders, non-conformists, free thinkers, independent and proud of it" ... "If you don’t understand, I can’t explain it in any more words. Sit in your mini-van and try to tell me that your heart beats a little faster when you turn the engine on. Pull into a mall parking lot full of so many mini-vans and urban-warrior-SUVS that you worry about recognizing your own vehicle - and try to tell me you felt a thrill about coming together with them all. Drive through the countryside with your windows rolled up, air conditioning on and music cranked up and try to express the experience of motion through the fresh air that smelled of new hay and cows".
"If you've never ridden, you can't comprehend. But once you try it, you're hooked for life". -Ian Chadwick

I could not say it better than the above quotes from Ian Chadwick's essay on motorcycle riding. And ... yes ... often I also just say you won't understand.

-Greg

Funny, I know people that will NEVER understand.

You know...motorcycling is inherently dangerous, so why do you ride?

You know that you are more likely to end up in a hospitol riding a horse than a bike. My dad support my sisters professional horse and rider training buisness (and she is an olympic contender). he wont let me park my bike on his driveway. go figure.

Hypocrite?

 

[FJRSTAR]

Riding is a calculated risk that I choose to take.

Amen...if that is an okay response.

 

[dhalen32]

If the person is truly sincere in their question I do my best to explain why I prefer to travel on two wheels. My explanation frequently includes words such as: "I prefer to be exposed to the world around me", "I can better see, hear, feel, smell what's going on around me", "I like to ride", "I prefer a motorcycle to my minivan", " It's the closest sensation to flying I have experienced while remining on the ground", etc. This type of person often asks because they are considering motorcycling themselves. Since I'm in the motorcycle safety training business the conversation frequently leads to signing them up for a class.

To the person just trying to bait me or push their agenda, my first answer is always a succinct "because I prefer it over a car". If they persist and we get to the inevitable risk/danger/death discussion I usually find myself asking them: "and what kind of car do you drive?". No matter what vehicle they respond with I reply about the close friend I had who died a horrible death in that type/brand of vehicle and they usually react by changing the subject.

Dave

 

[FJRSTAR]

To the person just trying to bait me or push their agenda, my first answer is always a succinct "because I prefer it over a car". If they persist and we get to the inevitable risk/danger/death discussion I usually find myself asking them: "and what kind of car do you drive?". No matter what vehicle they respond with I reply about the close friend I had who died a horrible death in that type/brand of vehicle and they usually react by changing the subject.Dave

Now that is clever.

 

[feejer222]

Why do I do it?....Because I don't have a choice, I am addicted.

 

[MojaveFJR]

Yes people have asked me that question and when they mention the elevated risk I mention that over 90% of motorcycle accidents are not the motorcyclist fault it is you people in cages that cause the accidents. Pay attention.

Once that lecture is over I explain the ability to smell the smells you do while riding through the cedar lined road of the mountains or like last week's run up and through the wild flowers. Being "outside" and hearing the rush of the river. Don't think it is the words I speak but more the way my face lights up talking about it. It is more a passion than anything else.

How can you ever beat this. I have taken the same roads in a cage and you just don't get the experience you get while on a motorcycle, just don't. Sometimes I wish more people rode. But most times, glad they don't. Wouldn't make the experience so special.

 

[Fred W]

"More people die in the US every day from eating too many hamburgers and sitting on their couch watching TV than die in an entire year on a motorcycle."

I read that on the intarwebs so it must be true...

 

[Capt. Bob]

Duff hit it right on the head as far as I'm concerned.

There's just something about going fast and turning effortlessly that I can't define.

Closer to nature, I don't know. I feel much more "in tune" with nature when I ski but the fast/effortless feeling is the same.

 

[rushes]

I usually explain it by asking them to think back when they were young. Did they ever ride their bicycle down a hill where they went faster than had ever gone, and not have to pedal. Like they were flying.

It's like that.

 

[sl_1300]

I don't think I have been asked that question more than once or twice. Most people ask is that "thing" really comfortable or as my neighbor said when he stepped into my garage, " I didn't know you had three of those 'things'."

 

[FJRDriver]

Here's an interesting fact of mathematical science:

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO QUESTION RIDING MOTORCYCLES IS EXACTLY THE SAMES AS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER RIDDEN A MOTORCYCLE.