I have been riding motorcycles for 50 years. It’s really hard to believe I’ve been doing anything that long; many other hobbies and dalliances have come and gone over those years. But riding, and the very culture of motorcycles has lodged itself into my being, in a way that few other things have. Why? I don’t really understand it. Chatting with my riding friends, we all have so many anecdotes, so much information we’ve gathered from all that seat time. There’s a clarity in the experience, a richness that accumulates. The best, most experienced riders don’t really think about it that much, they just get on with it, and their riding seems effortless. But we’re all striving for that. I guess the 50 year mark just got me thinking about it a bit.
So here’s a bit of what I have learned over 50 years of riding. I doubt everyone will agree with all of it; hopefully you’ll recognize some of it from your own experiences.
1) If you’re meant to be a biker, nothing will stop you: not lack of money, nor discouragement from friends and loved ones. Call it love, a malady, an obsession, some of us have riding in our bones.
2) Even after 50 years of riding, I learn something every time I get on the bike. But you need to be open to the lessons.
3) I was never a fast rider, but I eventually became a smooth rider. Between the two, the latter is better for the street.
4) Feet belong on the pegs or on the pavement, minimize their time spent anywhere in between. Only Fred Flintstone drags his feet when he slows down.
5) You need to be aware not only of what’s happening in front of you when riding, but behind and to the sides. It’s better to predict than react.
6) Sparkles like GPS, Satellite Radio, iPhones etc are a massive liability to your attention on the bike. Keep that crap in the saddlebags.
7) If you believe that everyone eventually crashes, then you should believe it most when you’re getting dressed for every single ride.
8) Spending at least $200 on a premium full face helmet is smart, as is replacing it every five years. 1/2 and 3/4 helmets may channel air better to your face, but they channel the tarmac better as well.
9) At 16, I had a big bicycle crash. While I sat in emergency having gravel scrubbed out of my palms with a wire brush, screaming, I decided to thereafter always wear gloves when riding. This is even more important on a motorcycle.
10) I've heard riding off-road makes you a better rider on road, because you learn how to handle situations where traction is dodgy, and deal with obstacles. It’s fun, but you do fall down a lot and compared to road riding, it’s hard work.
11) Big horsepower bikes are really only fun to ride when you let them off the leash. Really any bike is the most fun.
12) Those cafe racers and supermotos are so much fun because when you’re doing 60, it feels like you’re doing 100.
13) After chasing the latest and greatest for 20 years, I finally realised that less it more: less money, less weight, less horsepower, less technology, less “design”, less hype, less gadgets.
14) “Family Of Origin” issues: just like a child’s environment influences who he/she grows up to be, so too a beginning motorcyclist needs to be mindful of who they ride with when first starting. You can pick up a lot of bad habits from the wrong people. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a mentor who’s been riding for ages and is willing to share some of what he/she knows.
15) The earlier you get up to ride, the better your ride will be.
16) My goal is to go to another country and ride. Mark Twain put it rather eloquently: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
17) The hardest days you have on a bike will be the ones you remember. Hailstorms, hurricanes, and breakdowns test you, and often require you to seek the assistance of others. We’ve always found that people go out of their way to help, especially in remote areas. These experiences have always given us renewed belief in the inherent goodness of man.
18) “Present moment living” – there are books published about it, classes given, lectures. We don’t need any of it, because riding a bike is about as pure an exercise in “present moment living” as you can have. Our bodies and minds meld with the motorcycle, the controls an extension of our thoughts. When we ride well, there is little conscious thought involved, it’s just being and doing. People who don’t ride will never understand this.
19) Being biased for or against a particular brand of type of bike is a fool’s game. Harley, Ducati, Honda, BMW, Triumph, Kawasaki, Moto Guzzi, KTM – I have ridden or owned some of them. You eventually get old enough to understand that nearly every motorcycle has something worthy about it, and being prejudiced against any of them limits the quality of your life. A bit like other people and cultures.
20) Because of riding, I’ve traveled the USA, eaten wonderful food, seen incredible riding, and made lifelong friends. If you let them, motorcycles will enrich your life in ways you could not fathom when you first threw a leg over one.
21) Everyday spent above ground is good. Every day spent on two wheels is better.
Thanks for reading and as always, ride safe!
Nana
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