Thoughts on two wheels

Becoming a motorcycle rider is one of the best decisions I ever made.

I'm often asked how I got into riding. I feel like it was always in me. I remember some adults in my life with motorcycles when I was a kid and thinking how cool they were (both the person and the bike). And then I played countless video games where riding a motorcycle was involved. Not to mention I've always had a taste for adrenaline. One of the first jobs I ever wanted was to be a rollercoaster test-rider.

When I look back, it seems inevitable. It also seems like a few chance encounters made all the difference. I wonder if that applies to everything and everyone. If we had one different experience along the way maybe everything about our lives as we know them could be different.

As I was riding under the moonlit sky tonight, several thoughts struck me. Riding is one of the few places where I can't reach for a notebook or a phone to capture anything. I don't mind that though. One of the best parts about riding is the complete immersion of it. If you stop being in the moment, you die. I'm barely exaggerating here. If you stop paying attention, you risk fatal injury.

Getting a regular dose of near-death experience is not everyone's cup of tea. And I don't want to say I like it, but I can honestly say I don't dislike it. Am I out here looking for an accident? Absolutely not. But I do love the rush. I love the freedom. I love the dynamics of and relationship with my bike.

And it is a relationship. Her name is Black Widow,  (yes, as in that Black Widow) and she's just the greatest. I walk into my garage with a smile and a loving sigh whenever I see my bike because I know that riding is always better than not riding.

I've been riding for just over two years and I've already had some of the best experiences of my life astride my bike. Every view is better from the bike. I don't know why. I can't explain it with any sort of coherency, but any rider will tell you the same. There's a magic to these machines that a car cannot compete with.

Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.

​And who doesn't want to have their soul moved?