motorcycles?how long - nklr

[Backroad Bandit]

--- In DSN_klr650@egroups.com, racing43rd@a... wrote:

> I've been riding now for 35 years and I think in the beginning

(1965) it was

> the thrill of the ride plus the attention I and the bike tended to

draw. But

> as time and miles have gone by the thrill has remained but my

enjoyment of

> the time as I ride has increased a hundredfold.

Another thing I like about motorcycling (2nd post on this subject). You can never know it all. It is a constant learning experience. 35 years riding and still feel like I would like to really learn how to ride a motorcycle. I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way.

[motor_rider@email.msn.com]

--- In DSN_klr650@egroups.com, "stevens@v... " wrote:

> > Could tweak it a little to "Go Your Own Way" then we'd have a theme > song, using the Fleetwood Mac song. > > "Swede"

Let's not. That reminds me way too much of Clinton. I know they chose a different song, but I haven't been able to listen to Fleetwood Mac ever since. MR

[* Deks*]

> Everyone- So you've been into motorcycling for a day, or a month, >a year, or for years......you may lean toward dirt or street- >but I'm curios........ Why motorcycling? What is it about the sport that >'does it' for you......or keeps you >here? Is it in the pride of >ownership?....the ride?.....or perhaps the >maintenance? >I'm just curios what the answer is for others........ >Slide

Hey Slide, As a 5year-old kid I got my first bicycle and realised the world is easier to explore on two wheels. A 10 minutes walk becomes a one minute ride. My perspective became greater. All of a sudden I "could boldly go where noone has gone before". As I grew up the limits to the possibilities where I could go disappeared and after the first long trip I knew I am finally free to go wherever I want. One day I evolved. The twist of the grip brought me to another dimension and suddenly I could feel the laws of physics in every muscle, every atom of my body. At first the body becomes one with the motorcycle but then it goes furhter. Imagine the bike is not there and you'll have the feeling of levitating. Zen, nirvana, meditation, it all becomes clearer as you float above the road. The little kid's dream of absolute freedom to be able to fly became true. I could feel it even a few months ago when wind "combed" my long hair on a sunny summer day - like flapping wings. I believe the bikes in the future will really fly above ground. My childish imagination made me draw some scetches of such bikes. I'm 30yo so maybe I'll live to ride some of them one day. But am I alone? Mankind evolved through centuries but history says those riding in quest of the holy Graal were solitary knights, travelling(riding) around to explore and experience the Truth. Even today, the same knights have evolved and ride around the World on two wheels instead of horses seeking answers to the inspiration and mistery of life. That's why bikers are wild hearted yet open minded and generous souls, a sort of ancient crusaders of the future. And I believe we all share a similar feeling. Ask the girlfriend or partner riding with you (at the back seat) what she feels. Once I got the answer it's like flying with me. Boy did I feel like superman! It turned out she was a great girl (who's performing "Super girl", I forgot?). On the other hand, those complaining about vibrations, danger of riding, how big/tall the KLR is, have shown (in time) their hypocrisy and insincerity - they were not riding with me but with my bike... Good riding and fair wind, Deks, Croatia, A2 PS.Temperature 0 C this morning, 20 C at noon, beautiful sunny day, and I'm enjoying the last week of riding. Winter&frost coming soon... _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

[Ralph E. Hanson]

>Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 00:03:47 EST > From: racing43rd@... >Subject: Re: Why Motorcycles? > As I ride all the stupid >petty problems that plague me slide away and disolve in the wind. I am never >so at peace as when I ride. I am as completely relaxed as I ever become when >I ride. My sense of everything increases. Sights, sounds, smells, even the >"texture" of the air becomes real.

Ed, that just about sums it up perfectly. I look at all the people who turn to drugs (legal and illegal), alcohol (in excess), and therapy to get through the day. Some people do need therapy and medication, but for many of us, we simply need to clear the mind and put things into perspective. That's what I like about riding. For an hour or two I must concentrate only on the ride. Everything else becomes secondary. When I had a bike in college (in Iowa) I would go out riding at about dusk. When I would reach a dip in the road, all of a sudden the temperature would drop, then it would go back up once the road came out of the dip. That's the sort of thing you notice on a bike. Every curve, every pothole, every intersection. Maybe that's why I enjoy riding on days where the weather is marginal. There's just so much to experience. When I get back I feel relaxed. The headache that was threatening is gone. And I have a big grin on my face. As a side note, one thing that bugs me about the posers (of every bent) is that they always look so serious. Hey, they're out on a bike. They should be smiling! Ralph Ralph E. Hanson 99 KRL 650 http://www.wvu.edu/~journal2

[Rex Hefferan]

Great replies! Here's a small quote from a recent article about Flying and Motorcycling: "A common element between these two cultures is something known in pop psychology as the Type-A personality Pilots and motorcycle riders place priority on being in control, having their destinies in their own hands." While I can agree on that, I think there is much more to why people ride. As each respondent has had his or her own reasons, look also to the concept of being a passenger. My wife loves 2-up riding, but is too afraid of the steep learning curve with associated high risk of injury to learn to ride herself. There can be many reasons and that fact may be one of the greatest things about motorcycling. It can mean many things to many different people. Freedom - Control Speed - Pace Solitude - Comraderie Simplicity - Complexity Power - ?? (certainly not less power!) You name it and you can probably find opposing attractions for any reason. For me, each of the above and many other words can describe my attraction to motorcycling. Basically, it's got it all and you get to choose which parts appeal to you and make it your own. Rex

[Bogdan Swider]

> At 4:42 PM -0700 11/28/00, Bogdan Swider wrote: > >What hooked me and keeps me addicted is the way motorcycling at speed > >connects me with my surrounding. That's why I like technical riding only > in > >small doses... > > Ya, but there's a better chance of REALLY connecting with your > surroundings when you go technical! > Mark > B2 > A2 >

Great point Mark! Especially true when I go technical. It's not a matter of if but when. Bogdan

[Mariola Cichon]

Why motorcycles? Well, because it makes me happy! And keeps me smiling ...and feels so gooood!... and it is challenging.... and I meet great people! There is one more insignificant thing though... the moment when I take my helmet off and people recognize a woman! Kind of funny to watch the reaction. Sometimes they are disgusted, some times amused, and sometimes so surprised they literally forget what is it that they wanted to say. Of course, this is not a reason I am riding a motorcycle, just a digression... I ride, because.... I LOVE IT! Mariola

[zootpatutie]

When I motorcycle the world changes to me. The characteristics of flow and balance become expansive, and I am no longer moving through my surroundings but instead have them moving through me. The lean of the bike into a corner becomes a blending of gravity and inertia that gives depth to physical presences around me. Smells, colors, texture to all that is taken for granted. And risk that enhances the understanding that the neglect of detail is costly, whether during our ride, or in respect to our next breath. Then, when the joy of the moment and our lives becomes most clear, a twist of the throttle and the machine seems to leap with a happiness of it's own. Communion in a sense, but a heck of a lot of fun in a very cost effective package. Todd A9

----- Original Message ----- From: "Toby 'Slide' Lampson" To: "KLRville" DSN_klr650@egroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 6:38 AM Subject: [DSN_klr650] Why Motorcycles? > Everyone- > So you've been into motorcycling for a day, or a month, > a year, or for years......you may lean toward dirt or street- > but I'm curios........ > Why motorcycling? What is it about the sport that > 'does it' for you......or keeps you here? > Is it in the pride of ownership?....the ride?.....or > perhaps the maintenance? > I'm just curios what the answer is for others........ > > Slide > > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... > Let's keep this list SPAM free! > > Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com > > >

[Tumu Rock]

On Tue, 28 Nov 2000 06:38:56 -0800, Toby 'Slide' Lampson wrote: Everyone- So you've been into motorcycling for a day, or a month, a year, or for years......you may lean toward dirt or street- but I'm curios........ Why motorcycling? Slide Not too many mama's boys ride KLRs. CA Stu Stuart Mumford >>>>>>>>>>> cUZ mOMMY sAID i COULD dat brooklyn bum _______________________________________________________ Tired of slow Internet? Get @Home Broadband Internet http://www.home.com/xinbox/signup.html

[Gary Webb]

Funny you should ask. I just finished a book that answers that question in a myriad of ways, all of them very eloquently. It's called "The Perfect Machine: What it is about motorcycles." It was written about two years ago by a woman named Melissa Pierson, a NY freelancer with a real Moto Guzzi fixation. All in all, a wonderful read by someone with a genuine, clear-eyed love of motorcycles and motorcycling. Since I'm going to be laid up for at least a month with my ankle in a cast, I'm looking for more good books on our favorite subject. Anyone got any suggestions? Gary Webb Sacramento, CA '98 KLR 650 (RIP) '00 Aprilia Pegaso 650