REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL - ON YOUR BIKE

The jury’s out on why we ride motorcycles – probably because there are as many different reasons as there are people riding and types of two wheeled transport out there! Here are a few reasons why we think people ride, one size definitely does not fit all – do you recognise yourself amongst these?

PRACTICALITY
The motivator for some is really the sheer practical convenience of riding a bike, it is a cheap nippy mode of transport which takes you swinging past the queues of traffic as you squiggle down the middle. You can get from A to B with the minimum amount of fuss and it doesn’t dent your pocket to nearly the same degree as a car or even buses and trains do – it’s very economical.

UPSKILLING
Riding a bike is the opposite of dumbing your brain and body down. The modern world offers increasing ease of driving in a warm comfy car with cruise control etc and switching your lamps and music on at home via Alexa, all of which may appear to make your life better, but do these things do your body or your mind any good, who can say? Well, motorcycles are not like that, it’s pretty much all down to you. Although there are increasing gadgets and upgrades on modern motorcycles, there is still really no way not to feel the elements and use all your skills out there on two wheels. You can’t get lazy on a bike you have to stay on point and read the road and the idiosyncracies of the traffic all the time, or reap the whirlwind. Put like this it may sound like hard work but actually it is always good to focus and use our brains and we feel better for it afterwards. Plus, despite the dire warnings about riding motorcycles from those who don’t, the longer you ride and the more miles you do, the better you get at it i.e. the more experience you have the safer it is. Riding a motorcycle offers the perfect mental and physical balance between freedom and being responsible. You are out there running free, but if you drop your responsible side off anywhere and take your eye off the ball, even for a minute, you can be heading for trouble.

FUN AND ADVENTURE
Riding a motorcycle is also, perhaps first and foremost, undeniably just really good fun. It’s fantastic to be outside testing yourself, feeling free, choosing the twisty roads, honing your skills and sometimes, just appreciating the sheer joy of riding. It’s an opportunity to play as an adult, one old despatch rider I knew said the only time he knew how to dance was on his bike. Motorcycles give you the opportunity to travel and have adventures if that's what you choose, the sheer joy of the unrestricted open road. Riding is a reminder that life is here in the moment and is not a dress rehearsal or a video game, but a real visceral experience.

MENTAL PEACE
On a bike you can switch the world of stress and mental circles off, and just use all your brain power to concentrate on the task at hand – riding your motorcycle safely and enjoyably. This ultra concentration gives you a mental rest from the everyday worries of life, as you are fully absorbed, with no headspace for ruminating. Sometimes the clarity that goes with riding a bike can actually be an aid to thinking and, like ‘sleeping on it’, ‘riding on it’ can mean you come up at the end of your ride with a clearer head which is better able to fix any thorny issues you have been grappling with.
Constant vigilance and alertness are the order of the day on a motorcycle, however much you may have right of way, it doesn’t work like that for motorcyclists. As a rider you can’t rely on drivers to follow the rules of the road, you need to be 100% aware of what is happening and read the cars' body language at all times. The drivers in their warm cosy cabs, might be texting, talking on the phone, adjusting their sat navs, putting on their playlists – you know the drill – and only a second’s inattention could be enough to cause a serious problem for a motorcyclist, so you owe it to yourself to pay attention at all times. This need for total concentration is perhaps what gives you the mental peace you can feel after a ride, and is one of the huge plus points of motorcycling for some.

STYLE
Motorcycles are traditionally associated with rebels and an alternative lifestyle, they are ineffably cool and non conformist, which makes them particularly attractive to the discerning few. They can swerve the traffic effortlessly and don’t have to sit in a traffic jam with the trapped masses. Sometimes it’s nice to be a head turner and there’s no denying that some bikes are simply that – you can’t help but turn your head to watch them pass, and which motorcyclist, if they’re being completely honest, doesn’t like that?

AND FINALLY
Riding simply gives us clarity, makes us feel alive, adventurous, aware and really here. Plus it gets us around fast and with no bother, a sublime mode of transport to the initiated.
Do any of the above chime with you? What is your reason for, and your favourite thing about, riding a motorcycle? We’d love to know...[email protected]  or drop us a message on Facebook