Riding after the death of a friend.

After the loss of a good friend, there has been a great deal of pressure, both personally and professionally, to give up motorcycling.
I'm asked how I could ever ride again after what I witnessed. I don't really have a good answer other than it brings me great joy
and peace. I understand the dangers of motorcycling more than most, I also know there is no way to mitigate all the risks. I just
hope for my families sake that I don't die doing what I love. So why do I ride?

I don't ride to rebel or stand out.
I don't ride to make those who love me worry.
I don't ride to make a fashion statement or to save the environment.
I don't ride because I have a death wish.
I don't ride from bar to bar and those that do are foolish.

I ride to relax and clear my mind of life's worries.
I ride to find the peace that so often eludes me.
I ride to explore and have new experiences.
I ride to improve my skills to seek perfection that will never come.
I ride for the curves!

Why do you ride?

dkjkwood said:

Why do you ride?

Click to expand...

I like your reasons.

I will add:

I ride to see my friends and family.

It's the only act where I can exist without thought. I've tried meditation but I still can't shoo away all of the thoughts that enter the mind. Riding through curves requires complete concentration and doesn't allow the mind to wonder. Also, I think the actual act of moving is very therapeutic in nature. That's why I ride for myself. Like Kevin said, it's a great way to see my extended family of ST-Owners.
Mike

I ride because you meet the nicest people on a Honda.
I ride because you can't help friends move if your on a bike .
I ride just because.

Great post dkjk. I was the first responder to a good friend's horrific motorcycle accident, and too went through that emotion and evaluation of why I ride.

What you posted is a great summary, and I especially like how you separated it out into two categories. The only point I'd state differently (for me) is the first point. For me its not relaxing per se, but is more that while riding, I'm of necessity completely focused on only here and now, on staying alive this very moment. It makes me feel more alive, but moreso is a complete distraction from everything else. When I get back from a ride, I am often spent/tired and can attest I've not thought anything of life or work challenges.

:yes:

I ride because I can't tolerate sitting in a car that long for the places I want to go.
I ride because I Love the outdoors.
I ride because I can see more of what God made.
I ride because some of the best people I ever met ride also.
If I should die, I hope its doing something I love to do..



Oh, also.
I ride because its safer for me.. I rubberneck too much in a car.
LETS RIDE!

I ride to go to places I haven't been to before.
And to familiar places.
I ride to meet new people.
And to get away from people.
I ride for new experiences.
And to be comfortable with what I already know.

I ride to find enjoyment.
Be that fast or slow, near or far, paved or dirt.

Folks don't usually stop driving after seeing a deadly car accident. They don't stop swimming after a drowning.
For some reason, even if it wasn't someone you knew or saw have an accident someone's story about someone they knew or knew of, is supposed to stop us from wanting to ride.
I ride because I like to ride. simple as that. feels good, saves gas (a whopping 1359 total miles in my truck last year), and is fun, even in a boring commute to work. All things considered, I prefer to be on the bike. If it snows or there is ice, I have bikes for that as well, though mostly that is all play, but when the truck was not operable I commuted to work in ice and snow on the XL.
Let me change that. I ride because I LOVE to ride.

I ride because all my senses come alive and it brings my inner self peace.

I ride to experience the natural world around me. I ride to keep my body and my mind young. I ride to keep my mind sharp and focused. I ride because it gives me the natural high that life offers with out having to resort to artificial means. I ride because I was meant to ride.

My thought is the same as what someone said above - people get killed crossing the street, but that doesn't stop me from walking. People die driving a car or while flying, but that doesn't stop me from doing those things, either. Ultimately life is about weighing the risks and taking chances, otherwise we'd never get out of bed in the morning. I started riding in the '70s and I'm still here, in fact I've never got a scratch while riding other than minor road rash from a low speed, low side wash out in the early '80s. In the meantime, a lot of people have died doing supposedly "safer" things.

In the end we're all going to die of something so we might as well live while we can, not in fear of what "might" happen. I'm going to continue to take reasonable precautions, use good judgement, wear my gear, and go riding.

I ride because I love it.

A few years ago on my annual family motorcycle trip my cousin crashed behind me. I saw some of it in my mirror. I remember seeing him lying face down in the ditch and fully believing he was dead. Thankfully after 6 days in ICU and nearly a year of recovery, he is back on a bike.

My Dad and I did some serious soul searching after that incident and ultimately we kept riding. Why? Well I don't exactly know why. I ride because... It is who I am. The motorcycle is as much a part of my identity as my eye color and my lack of hair. The motorcycle does not fill a void, but it makes me complete. Could I stop riding? Sure I could. But then I would not be me anymore. I would be someone else. And I might not like that person as much.

I ride because it reminds me of my youth, keeps me young in that sense and there is no physically debilitating condition making me stop . . . as yet.

I think people get hooked on riding when their young, because its so much fun. And the need to go places when a car is too expensive.

I ride to get from point A to point B for half the cost of flying and a fraction of the cost of driving - when you include the maintenance and repair of a motorcycle vs car.

I ride for solitude and focus and at times comradery, I'm a different man after a ride. Ride safe, ride far!

I ride because I love to ride and I believe it keeps my mind and soul young and focused. As motorcyclists we share a common bond with riders from I all over the world, love hearing and sharing riding experiences and adventures from across the globe. We just don't do that when we ride around in a car. I would have never guessed that owning an ST would have extended my circle of friends to this fantastic group of people that make up this forum! Hope to see you this summer!

I learned to ride a motorbike before I even got on a bicycle,plenty of crashes on small bikes when I was very young,never anything more than cuts and scrapes,I lost a good friend who was killed on his motorbike about 20 years ago,he was good on a bike and careful too, just a freak accident.
I agree with most of the points above,I just love being on the bike,no phone calls,no mass media BS and advertising crap every 5 minutes,
just me and the road.

Cause I like to.
Easier than unplugging the battery tender on the pickup and rolling up the extension cord.
It feels more like doing something than sitting in the cage.
It leans the right way in a turn.

Nobody gets out of here alive, go play. Do what you can to move the risk reward curve.
For instance tell the folks that insist you stop riding to put the texting device down and pay attention if they're concerned about your safety. Maybe use a turn signal before they turn, turn your head and look if it's not too much bother.
Try to stay within your own limits and be aware of the limits of those around you.

Sorry about your friend.