I've been wanting to write about this for awhile now, but couldn't quite put my finger on a title.
Now you all know I am on the back, and the urge to ride is almost never-ending. I've been trying to figure out if it's a want, a need, an addiction,or what!?
When I first started riding, I was nervous and tense. I had to learn how to relax, lean, and go with the flow. Now, I feel like a pro, and the want never escapes me!
When asked if I wanna a ride, I feel like a 10yr old who's been told that they're going to Disneyland the night before; excited, waiting, wanting! Like Macaulay Culkin (Home Alone), running down the hall with arms flailing! (This is where my routine comes into play, as my clothes are ready at all times!) Yes, yes, can I, canI?! You never have to ask me twice, I'm ready!
So here lies my question: How do you feel about riding?
Is it a want?
Is it a need?
Is it an addiction?
Or is it just Hooked on a Feeling?
I believe it is "hooked on a feeling" - I ride a Suzuki SV650 and I love that feeling of knowing when I take off my helmet, there will be double-takes that I am a woman.
ReplyDeletePS My helmet has discreet silver on grey butterflies and it is gorgeous. :) M
I think it's all of the above!! All of those emotions rolled into one! My husband has a Heritage Softtail Classic and I can't describe the feeling I get when I'm sitting on the back of the bike, looking at great scenery, smelling the smells, hearing the sounds....ahhh. It's just.....good.
ReplyDeleteIf you ask me to ride a chopper.. Of course..
ReplyDeleteIt's on...
If i have a chopper or a superbike.. yes I will be addicted..
If not.. Like the bike that i have right now..
I only ride it when I need it..
All of the above and so much more!!
ReplyDeleteIn my case it may also be genetics and some chemical imbalance in the brain...LOL
I ride because I want to participate in something that my husband enjoys doing. I enjoy riding; however, I prefer shorter rides as opposed to riding long distances. My husband and I are riding to Kentucky later this week to attend the Here to Kingdom Come rally. The rally will be in Richmond, which is about 500 miles from our house. My husband is riding the motorcycle; I am following in the car. Once we reach Richmond, though, I will ride with him on daily jaunts.
ReplyDeleteFor me... It's "all of the above."
ReplyDelete1. WANT: I want to feel the wind drag across my body, hear the varied and well memorized sounds of my engine, I want....
2. NEED: I need to feel the engine under me, hear the road buzzing under my tires, see the places that invite me to learn local history...
I NEED to be alone on the road with my thoughts or with a mind that has blended the rush of the road with the surreal serenity of being a lone rider.
3. Addiction: The calming effects motorcycling has on me is addicting...the heart rushing feeling of fear when bad juju comes terribly close...but didn't actually touch me...I long for the "feel good" effects of the songs from the wind, from the songs of my tires on the road surface, the song of my engine...I am addicted....
4. HOOKED ON A FEELING: This describes all of the above options... Every time we swing our legs over the back bone of our bikes...or over the fender and seat of our shared rides...we engage in a feeling that gets us "high"...hooked....HOOKED ON A FEELING
You knew this all along didn't you?
You just wrote this to give us the feeling we figured it out for ourselves...good job...
Most of us have tried to separate and understand the "feeling" aspect of motorcycling... but it is so wrapped up inside of the intellect...it is impossible in my opinion, to dissect it...
My husband has a Harley. (It's a heavy bike, too heavy for me to ride alone.)
ReplyDeleteI'd enjoy riding more if I had my OWN. I think because I'm too controlling and independent.
Many many moons ago, I had a boyfriend with a small bike. LUUUUUUUVED IT! Loved being able to just jump on it and go - without needing help from "the male".
Like I said - controlling and independent.
Describing your desire and elation when riding is like trying to pinpoint exactly what it is that causes the emotional reaction of love in humans...it doesn't have to have a rhyme or reason. As long are your feeling, I'm of the firm belief that your "doing it right". *=-)
ReplyDeleteI am a surfer, from the Oregon Coast, and a motorcycle rider. Recently I was trying to describe to one of my surfing buddies why I ride. I didn't have to think about it long. "It's the pavement equivalent of surfing," I said. He surfs too, and got it in that moment. Surfers describe it as "being bit by the bug". The surf bug. And once you got it, you ain't never going back. I don't know if I'd say it is a need, a want, an addiction, or just, "what is". It just becomes you, guides you, coaches you and nudges you along. It's a best friend and an expensive girl, and at times a disciplinary figure...if you've ever laid a bike down you know what I'm talking about.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, it is it's own.