I have thought a great deal about this subject. What is it that drives us to forsake conventional wisdom and put ourselves in harms way, expose ourselves to bad weather, be the subject of negative perceptions from the non biking majority and refuse to conform?
I think it is because, I CAN!
In a world where conformity and group think is becoming the norm and where the idea of avoiding risk and listening to "experts" who tell us how we should live, what we should eat, what we should drink, how fast we should travel and, most worryingly, how we should think is an accepted aspect of modern life, we, bikers, kick back against this philosophy.
Every time I get on my bike, I and I mean every time, I am rebelling against the accepted norms. I am putting myself at risk, I am refusing to listen to others. I am exercising personal choice.
I am testing my skills in an environment where the penalties for making a mistake can be injury or even death. I am taking responsibility for my actions ( becoming rarer these days).
When I am riding, my senses are operating at a level that people who do not engage in any risky activity can never conceive of. Nothing enters my head, no job issues, relationship issues, money issues, Nothing! It again is something that non participants will never understand as they sit in their cars, listening to music, talking on their phone, chatting to the passengers. For them the journey is purely a means to arrive at a place where they will achieve satisfaction.The end being the objective. For us the journey is the objective, it is where we feel fulfillment ,
The destination is just where we wait to set out on the journey again. Once I get to a destination, no matter where it is, or how long I have been riding, I become impatient to set out again.
Riding is my church, it is where I feel alive, it is where I communicate with life. It is where I time stands still and I am directly connected with every ride I have ever had.
There is a saying " It is not the number of breaths you take but the the number of moments that take your breath away" that defines your life. I believe this.
Riding makes me breathless.
So if, at some future time, you see an old rider passing you at twice the speed "limit" give me a wave. It will be me communicating with my God. And if, he chooses to take me at that time, I will have lived a life by my rules, not others.