Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Life rolls on two wheels
The world is a much different sensory experience from the saddle of a motorcycle. Auditory inputs overlap and intertwine to a much greater degree than they would in a car. Your eyes are interfered with by fewer impediments. Smells are more apparent and powerful. You can feel a shift in the wind, variations in temperature, the pinprick of rain drops at 50mph. In a way, you are literally more alive when riding a motorcycle, in that sensory stimulation can be a measure of life. But riding is more than just having your neurological system firing at a higher voltage. It clears your mind and focuses your sense of purpose.
Riding a motorcycle distills life down to its most basic ingredients. You have the labors of survival, the joys living, the conquering of fear, and for some, the thrill of taking unnatural risks. In many ways, it really is like nothing else you can do short of skydiving or climbing Everest. Everything you do on a motorcycle while riding traffic has a potential impact on the likelihood of surviving the ride. Clutch up into wheelies, weave in and out of lanes, or ride over your head, and the probability of making it home alive drops significantly. But ease up a bit, take a breath, find your groove, and things seem to flow around you. You can't necessarily relax the same way you would on an empty stretch of highway, but it is not the "on-edge" experience most people perceive it to be.
But most of us are fortunate enough to live on a higher level than the first rung of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, so survival does not have to be enough. In fact, motorcycling could be seen as a compromise of one's personal security in the name of a transcendental, or "peak" experience. Of course, riding traffic isn't the purpose of throwing your leg over a motorcycle, but it is unavoidable and not necessarily a nightmare. The risk is manageable, but not ever undeniable. At times, I imagine that there is no danger and that riding is as safe as flying, which only heightens the enjoyment. I want to tour mountain byways and ride the more beautiful pieces of both coasts some day. There's really no point in doing any of that at 150mph.
Admittedly, I have been riding for less than two months, so it could be that the newness of the experience gives it an additional weight within my perception. Will I feel the same way in a year? I definitely hope so! Nothing I have experienced short of sex (and perhaps drawing/creating) has had the sort of cleansing effect a ride on my motorcycle can. After only a few minutes, a mind clouded by trivial distractions, lingering annoyances, and malignant concerns clears as its singular purpose becomes enjoying "the ride". No cell phone, no email, no work, no school, only the sensory experiences that are unique to two-wheeled travel. It is a clarification of purpose and brings about an acute awareness of the temporary nature of existence which may be impossible to realize in the same way under any other circumstances.
It is not for everyone, but it certainly is for me. My only regrets are that it took so long for me to get up on two wheels and that there is not more time available for riding. I'm going to have nearly 2,000 miles on my bike after only 2 months of ownership. This would be a worry in the Subaru, but it is nothing short of therapy on my Harley-Davidson. I think that says it all, really.
Labels: life, motorcycles
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