Maybe it was Jeremy Clarkson’s bike hating diatribes or perhaps it's the idea that teems of would-be riders are reconsidering conventional transportation due to lower gas prices, but I’ve recently spent time pondering the many reasons to ride a motorcycle.
My Top Ten Reasons to Ride a Motorcycle explains some of the rationale-- or lack thereof-- behind putting your life onto two contact patches the size of credit cards. I welcome your feedback on what motivates you to ride—or, if you’re not yet in the two-wheeled ranks, what makes you wish you rode.
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Photo © Kevin WingClick for article
Check that part about lane splitting in Texas. I do not believe it is actually referenced in any laws (like it is in California), but you basically NEVER see it (in Houston anyway). It’s too likely that somebody would open a door in your face or you may even get a ticket for reckless driving.
Sloath, lane spliting ain’t referenced in california noway neither…
Simon & Sloan,
According to the California Highway Patrol website, “Lane splitting by motorcycles is permissible but must be done in a safe and prudent manner.”
Let me dig around for the scoop on Texas.
Basem
Hi Simon. Yeah, I realized my mistake AFTER I had submitted it and it was too late to change it! I think I was remembering what Basem referenced and I read something similar somewhere once before too. Maybe in the driver handbook or whatever it’s called. Something like “while lane sharing/splitting is no illegal in CA, it is considered unsafe and is not encouraged.” Don’t roast me everybody if I butchered that!
I could’ve sworn the article was called “Why I ride” rather than “Lane spliting is one 2 or 3 dumbest things you can do on a bike”….Oh well.
1,4,8,9 & 10…are my reasons….
I was born in the UK, Clarkson’s homeland. Motorcycles was a way of life there for decades. Families would go on outings in motorcycle and sidecar rigs. Petrol is expensive and it was always a logical means of transportation, along with funky little three wheeled cars, etc. My father went through 14 motorcycles in his early years. (BTW, he dropped them all in his zeal, and never had a helmet.)
Clarkson is ignoring the rich two-wheeled heritage that is England and the many makes and models that came out of that.
Why do I ride? It used to be enjoyable . However with all the drunks, drugies & cell phone users we must contend with today…it no longer is as much fun. I used to find flying was fun but that has also changed. Maybe we really do need change in this country.
Great write up with pics. Very well thought out.
I think freedom is another reason; riding is quite liberating (when you are away from the drunks and cell phone chatters anyway Bonnie!).
Andrea
Greetings. Riding a motorcycle is unlike any other means of locomotion/transportation. There is a feeling of power, acceleration, manuverability… that must be experienced to be believed. Riding motorcycles is Not for everyone and there are those who should not ride for a variety of reasons. That said, riding is something that will Always be near and dear to my heart. Be Safe! Ride sober! Enjoy the experience to the maximum! The Journey is half the fun! Be courteous and considerate.
GODSPEED!
Meditation…
The concentration that’s required to safely ride a motorcycle tends to focus the mind in a way that eliminates other mental distractions that might interfere with the mission. This creates a single-mindedness that, in effect, displaces the continuous stream of thoughts that normally flow through our consciousness.