Why do you ride?

[Pepperell]

I only really enjoy riding when my wife is along for the ride. She has no interest in driving, just likes to sight see on the back. Since we got the Sena units it's even better. We don't talk that much except for the usual "Hey, check that out!" type stuff.

 

[marcusorelius]

See thread: Rueben Run Part 2 The movies

 

[Bugnatr]

I enjoy killing bugs with the bike.

Killing the deer was not so fun

 

[Lauren_TK]

I ride because it is the closest thing to meditation I've ever encountered that isn't boring at the same time.

It sounds like cheesey, hippy non-sense, but I do feel like I become one with the road.

 

[mocheeks77]

I remember watching my dad on an old Goldwing and thinking he was the coolest guy in the world.

So I always wanted to start riding little dirtbikes so I could ride with my dad when I became old enough.

The only problem was that we were not allowed to ride dirt bikes when we were little because mom said they were death traps.

So I always had it set in the back of my head, ride to piss off mom and be cool like my dad.

Thanks mom and dad!

 

[A41Billy]

"Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out the window."
Rather than simply pass by the world, I'm immersed and connected to the world, the feel, the smells, the colors, the total involvement. When it's dusty you wear it, when it rains you get wet, when it's hot - you are hot, and when it's pretty all around you - you absorb it. Which is a long winded way to say I like it, I'm enriched by it and I'm rejuvenated by it. It's one of the best ways to turn gasoline into smiles.

Plus, I like riding a class of vehicle that is one of the most competent and highest performance vehicles on the road. I mean this as motorcycles of any type vs cars of most types.

That remark resembles my signature!

Riding to me is a complete disconnect from the day to day monotonous lives we live. It a chance to get out and immerse yourself in the beautiful rolling landscape using ALL your senses. It is also a self controlled roller coaster ride that goes as long, fast and thrilling as you want it to. There is nothing like time on the bike.

 

[Fred W]

Lots of good answers, but I think they all flirt with, or explain the mechanics of the actual reason. I think most of us ride because of the way it makes us feel, and it makes us feel good.

I like riding a motorcycle. I like it more than pretty much any other activity or sport or hobby that I've ever been involved in (and there have been a slew of others). I enjoy it so much now that I am totally addicted and I really don't know if I could ever be happy again if I weren't able to ride any more. And for all of us as we age, that is a real possibility at some point. Sometimes I know that I should be doing something more constructive, but I just can't help myself and I go out for a ride.

In the slightly modified words of Christopher Walken: "I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more riding"

I do like riding with my wife on the back when she can join me, and like some others, we have full intercoms. Even though we seldom actually talk it does make it more enjoyable for us both.

I like riding with riding friends on their bikes and sharing new, cool places that I have known, or learned about, or finding new ones together.

I like riding with my son on his bike and sharing my joy of riding with him, even though it scares the total shit out of me that something could/might happen to him. Let's face it, riding a motorcycle is dangerous. Maybe that is part of why we all like it?

I like riding alone, by myself, a lot. And I do that a lot. Some of my most momentous rides have been just me by myself. Sometimes, something happens and everything just feels perfect and you don't know why, and you don't care why, and you don't want it to stop. You just want to keep riding.

Sometimes I pull into the garage at dusk after a ~450 mile, back roads only, full ride day and I look back down the driveway and think maybe I came back home too soon?

A great way to summarize why one rides is: "If you have to ask, you'll just never understand."

 

[PhilJet09]

Well Fred said almost everything that I would have to describe why I ride. The only thing that I would expand on a bit would be the danger.

Most people haven't/won't say it, but I like it because it's more dangerous than other forms of transportation. That is probably what first attracted me to motorcycles. It's a thrill, plain and simple and the fact that some won't try it because it's a bit more dangerous adds to that thrill.

It requires me to focus, to concentrate and use my skills and senses. In that way, it calms me. I can, or have to, let go of all the other thoughts in my head and just ride. Focus on the external, scan for trouble, the rest is irrelevant. It's how I escape the pressures of the day-to-day reality.

 

[NightShine]

It requires me to focus, to concentrate and use my skills and senses. In that way, it calms me. I can, or have to, let go of all the other thoughts in my head and just ride. Focus on the external, scan for trouble, the rest is irrelevant. It's how I escape the pressures of the day-to-day reality.

Huh. I'd forgotten that connection, as that describes me some years back when I was flying little airplanes upside down. Or of most any flight operation.

But on the bike, though, the feeling seems a bit more than that. Yes, there is the focus required to ride safely and well, but there is also a greater sense of immediacy and involvement with the current situation unfolding all around me. And the contrast is striking when I've stepped out of that mode, and find myself at odds with the bike and the road myself...

 

[gcoug]

Because I want to; no passengers, no electronics, no internet, no employer, no law makesr or pundits, no Hollywood morons, and I can listen to me.

 

[not2shabby]

Because it's fookin' fun!

It's better to shot out of a cannon than squeezed out of a tube...

 

[supertankerm60a3]

I commute on the FJR, I ride between 600 and 840 miles a week.

I ride because I like getting 45 MPG.

I ride because I get around cars easier.

I ride because if it were the old west, I would prefer the horse to the buckboard (or wagon).

I ride because I have ridden so much I am uncomfortable driving a thing as big as a car or pickup.

I ride with friends because I want to show hem new and fun roads.

 

[James]

I ride because I have to. I just can't not. And the wife doesn't truely belive it, but I would be very, very hard to live with if I didn't. There's more, of course, but that's the boiled down answer.

 

[turbodave_98]

You are never to old to ride but not riding makes you old! I am a Very Senior FJR Vintage Rider.

 

[radiummadman]

because at about 80 mph & above the "voices" can't keep up.

 

[wheatonFJR]

because at about 80 mph & above the "voices" can't keep up.

Funny, that's usually when the voices get louder!

 

[wheatonFJR]

...On days that I feel like life is winding down, taking the FJR to redline in third reminds me I'm very much alive.

Amen.

 

[Bungie]

I don't ride for one or two reasons. I ride for all the reasons stated. But at different times and situations. Sometimes its the solitude, sometimes it's the adrenalin, sometimes it's the camaraderie and, finally, sometimes it's all those things to varying degrees.

It may seem to be a sitting on the fence opinion, but it is the truth for me.

It's also true that no other form of hobby or sport provides those benefits. Even when I don't know I need them. The bike provides.

 

[BkerChuck]

My reasons have changed as I've gotten older. As a younger man, I started riding because I could go faster on a streetbike than the car I was drag racing at that time. I grew tired of spending cubic dollars to go faster while breaking parts and getting horrible fuel mileage. An average streetbike gave me comparable performance with a warranty and great fuel mileage. In a very short time I realized these things also handled better and were just plain fun. As I got older and work became a bigger part of my life, I rode to save my hard earned money on fuel costs. 40 + mpg on a bike or high teens in a truck. Everyday I rode to work was like making an extra buck an hour. Now since the FJR come into my life, I ride to work daily and every chance I get ust because I can. My dad died over 20 years ago and he commented towards the end of his time, he wished he'd taken a little more time to enjoy life. I vowed I wouldn't leave this earth feeling those same regrets. My wife rides her own bike and I think her reasons are probably pretty similar to mine. We did 2 long distance rallies this year and saw parts of the country we'd never known existed. We travel more on bikes than we ever have and plan on increasing to even more. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't ride. Life for me at least would just be less complete.