Riders Ride Because...  

Ask anyone that rides a motorcycle why they ride.  The answers you get will be as different as the sunsets each night and the sunrises each morning.  Different and unique as the riders themselves.  You see, motorcyclist come in all shapes, sizes, creeds, races, sexes, and ages.  Yet, the motorcyclists all have one common thing that they love.  Riding their machines.  Feeling the wind in their faces.  Traveling down the open road that sweeps out in front of them from the East Coast to the West, from the Canadian border, to the Mexican border.  Every road leads the motorcyclist on his or her own personal adventure each and every time they hit the open road.  Now, I’ll be the first to admit that it takes a bit of skill to ride a motorcycle, as well as good old common sense.  When not to ride is the most seriously debated question that a motorcyclist could ask.  That question is best decided by the individual rider, and the skill levels that he or she possesses.  For me, personally, lightning and thunder, snow and ice are taboo for riding.  I know some “polar bears”, but even they know when not to ride.  The smart rider is the one that thinks ahead before jumping on his or her bike.  They take a look at the weather, and try to judge if they’ll miss a storm, or get caught in one.  Better to plan ahead a bit, than to get surprised by a storm.  However, if you do get caught in inclement weather, having a rain suit packed away for just such an event would be a good thing.  Most good motorcyclists do.  The unfortunate ones are the ones that are left under a bridge, waiting for the rain to stop.  Those are unprepared motorcyclists, which you will occasionally see alongside the highway.  I usually wave as I pass them, thinking how lucky I am to have my warm, cozy, waterproofed, hooded rain suit on. 

But I digress.  Motorcycling is about the individual.  It’s about the whole experience of being “outside” of the confines of an automobile.  It’s the experience of looking up and seeing a red tailed hawk flying overhead of you, soaring on a thermal.  It’s the ability to stop along the side of a lake to look at the reflection on a lake or pond and snap a photo.  It’s the time you get to spend with your own thoughts, while the wind blows back your hair.