Why…

Anyone who hasn’t ridden a motorbike even once in their life probably won’t understand what I’m talking about. In fact, most of the millions for whom a motorbike is just an everyday tool for getting from point A to point B may not get it either. There was a time when I thought the world of cars & casually brushed off bikes as uncomfortable little crotch-rockets. Now, though my love for cars hasn’t died down, my respect & passion for bikes has shot way ahead.


I sometime sit & wonder why is it that I love bikes so. Of course, the sense of freedom a bike affords is just not comparable to anything else. Going around sweeping corners, over crests & undulations, as you shift your weight around, you realize that you & your machine are indeed one single entity. The feeling is probably akin to what a flowing river feels like. All your worries disappear & everything seems just right. On a bike, you actually feel like a part of the landscape. To quote Pirsig; “You see things vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.”


But it’s not just this aspect of motorcycling that’s so appealing. The kind of bond one feels when riding with fellow bikers is really indescribable. All differences of age, sex, religion, education just disappear when you really ride with someone. It doesn’t matter if one is straddling an insipid little 150cc Indian “Sports Bike” or a 1000cc full-fat double-espresso Superbike, all one feels is a strong sense of camaraderie, love & profound respect. Borrowing a few lines from Shakespeare (with slight alterations, of course J);


“From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of bikers;
For he to-day that rides with me
Shall be my brother…”


That, I guess, put in a few words, is why I ride…

Contributed by PriyuB