Thursday, April 16, 2009

Ritual or Routine?

Ritual: any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner.
Routine: regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.

I have come to notice that I have a 'routine' of sorts before going on a ride, and was wondering if I was just crazy, or do all bikers have a ritual or routine before getting on the bike?


  • My biker clothes are kept separate; so they can be accessed at a moments notice

  • Shirts are layered on (depending on weather); 2 tanks-a short sleeved-and a long sleeved

  • A particular pair of pants only!

  • Two pairs of socks; always

  • Biker boots; of course

  • Take important items; ID, money, etc. from large purse to smaller biker purse

  • A light hoodie

  • Jacket
  • Put hair in pony-tail
  • Last but not least; helmet, glasses, and gloves

This is all done in orderly fashion. I know it may seem normal to some, and weird to others. A rider may have a different ritual or routine, which leaves me to ask this question; Do you have a Ritual or Routine before getting on the bike?



4 comments:

  1. Well I have my own routine...I guess we all do...for me...I wear whatever is on my body that is long sleeved and denim...if that is not worthy of the bike I am forced to change into something that is. My boots...are the only pair I own...I wear them when ever not in the house, or doing garden work. My socks? I have them on hopefully...if not, I have found the padding and liner of the boots want to come out. (I've stopped often in the past to soak feet in a cool spring...and took socks off...)the helmet and sunglasses are kept in the same place, but I also keep two hajab scarves that I wear to protect my skin on my face...I don't care what anybody thinks...and the other scarf gets wrapped around my neck...keeps the bugs from going down my shirt...been boobie stung by a couple a wasps...owwweeee! These days, I must also spray myself with a heavy duty sun block to keep sun poisoning at bay...I never got it before last summer, now every time I go out in sun I get it if not protected...gulp...wow...this is taking me forever...I can't wait to get all my stuff on and get out to ride...yeah...it's a ritual all right!

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  2. Hi. I found you in Blogs of Note and want to give you the One Lovely Blog Award. Such interesting history! Love your Blog.
    You can pick up the Award at:
    http://dutchgramma.blogspot.com/2009/05/lovely-blog-award.html

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  3. I found your blog by accident, actually, but definitely agree with the sentiment. I've been on the back of many a bike since I was a kid; the most recently being my husband's bike. We own a Suzuki M50 (which we've customized to make both our rides more comfortable). Anyway, I too, have a ritual, so found this post funny. We live in Oregon, so have to check the radar before we head out. Full rain gear if that's needed, liners out if it's not. The last thing I do are hair in a ponytail or braids, helmet on, then gloves... before climbing on the back to ride. Happy riding!

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  4. I too stumbled onto your blog and admit to chuckling about the routine. I used to be a ridee on a BMW and I totally understand the One pair of jeans for the bike, it takes ages to break in a good pair of fitting jeans lol. I also kept my riding gear seperate from all my other clothes and they could also be grabbed and put on in haste at any time the mood took. Those were the days....there really was nothing more exciting than seeing the world from the back of an awesome machine!!! sighs..... happy riding.

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