Written by Tucker Forlines
You should ride a motorcycle. Any motorcycle. Big, small, loud, or quiet; the motorcycle touches the spot that screams for freedom and adventure. The best part is you do not even have to leave town to feel it. It is an adventure every time you throw a leg over the seat and press the starter button. It commands your full attention, and it stirs the accomplished feel of survival. All outdoorspeople are looking for feelings of connection with the Earth, experiencing theenvironment, and walking away to tell the story. Yes, a motorcycle story involves a bit more treachery than your average hike in the woods, but it becomes addictive and you can do it every day.
While those in cars simply press the accelerator and brake and turn the wheel in a climate controlled, sound dampened, audio enhanced bliss, a motorcyclist carefully chooses his path as to not upset their delicate balance and to, as the British say “fall off.” (We Yanks call it “crash.”)Initially, the ride is crammed full of sensory overload. The rush of wind in your ears, the force injected smells of the land you are riding over, and the gripping feeling of the machine you sit upon. Riding visor up, you are exposed to a myriad of sounds. Mechanical motor vehicles drumming out their engines songs, squeaky brakes, and the choice of everybody’s music is commonplace in traffic. As you ride by, businesses have music pouring out of their doors and you get to hear each one. In the country, you hear the sounds of your environment; rushing water, wind whipping through the trees, birds chirping, a dog barks, and other organic noises chime in to give the rural experience another level. When you ride over an overpass that has a stream running under it, you smell the dampness of the stream banks; you can feel the humidity of the air near the water. On a hot summer day, it is most prevalent as you roll from hot dry air to cool moist air and then back into the hot air on the other side. It is always pleasantly shocking. When you ride near a car that’s occupants are smoking you notice how the air is filled with the acrid smell of burning tobacco approaching your nose in ebbing waves. Every thing of human consumption in a vehicle is noticeable while riding. You also notice that most smells dissipate quickly and are quickly replaced with another smell of nature or itsinhabitants. The businesses you pass smell of productsthey sell. You notice that the world is not ashamed of its smells, good or bad, and it does nothing to mask them as well.
At first, the bike almost seems to be your enemy. Oddly placed controls that seem to mock the body’s natural movement are initially intimidating. One of its learning curve involves a brilliant item called a clutch. Most tremble in fear of a vehicle that does not have an automatic gearbox, but with a little time anybody can learn how to manipulate this ingenious contraption called the clutch. One will find that the combination of throttle and clutch can be quite confounding at first with multiple failures resulting in a jerky quick stop and a full restart of the process. Once rolling, though, the adventure starts. Suddenly the world is whipping by, and sooner more often than later braking is needed. There begins another entirely foreign feeling as the hand brake at the right hand is also your throttle hand. Rear braking is covered with the right foot on most motos and takes a few tries to get it right. After you begin to become better at the mechanical side of motorcycle riding, the next challenge is accepting the physics of the bikes motion. Unlike in a car where you turn the wheel and it turns, on a motorcycle you have to employ a significant amount of body English. This means movement on the seat to keep your weight centered. This is explained in a spectacular book called “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert M. Pirsig. Read it. Learn it. Employ its wisdom on every ride. It is the fundamentals of riding motorcycles. It is a difficult process in a difficult environment with constantly changing variables. You simply cannot text and ride. Even casual conversation with a passenger with or without an intercom system is much more difficult than usual. Visor down communication is like yelling underwater, virtually impossible. While the intercom system eases this, you still have to wait your turn to speak as though you are on a CB radio.
Riding a motorcycle in traffic is a unique experience. It shows a solid disconnect of humanity with nature. Everyday I ride, I find at least one person so heavily involved in a smart device that they overlook my presence. This usually causes a bit of concern as I don’t have a cage to protect myself. I have also found a new special abhorrence for littering, especially lit cigarette butts. A blowing plastic bag suddenly becomes a serious issues, and I can’t even say what happens when an animal of any type decides to bisect your path.
I realize that there seems to be a lot of danger. But actually, it becomes quite manageable. Negotiating traffic to get to the grocery store becomes just part of the ride. If you have ever ridden a bicycle in traffic, you already understand. Most people forget that much of the civilized world transports itself by motorized two wheel vehicles. Yes, that includes scooters, but the associated experiences are the same. It is more than just an exhaust note. It’s not just how you feel your bike looks like a work of art that should be displayed in the Louvre. It is a combination of force injected nature, tenuous balance, pure freedom, and simple modes of transportation.
Just go ride. Remember it’s no different than your bike when you fall off it. So be prepared. Wear at least long sleeves and long pants. Preferably wear armored motorcycle gear. Wear a good fitting helmet. Wear eye protection. Just go for the first ride. You are going to love it, be terrified by it, and crave it. It becomes an obsession. Consider yourself warned.