March 17th, 2013
Its only been 7 days since I covered them up
carefully and left town. Hand on heart, I have never missed any particular
activity in my life more than "getting back on the saddle” right now.
What is it that makes it so painful? What makes
a motorcyclist long for the next ride so much? Its just a machine.. right? I
mean it is just a frame with a motor and 2 wheels. A mode of transport. Right?
Wrong!
Motorcycling is a way of life. Its an expression
of man and machine in symphony. Its a deep rooted love for the unadulterated
sensation of speed. It is a passion that is insatiable. Riding a motorcycle is
being a part of the journey. Completely. You are not disjoint from the
surroundings. Your sensory perception is not limited by C pillars and
recirculated air. You conjoin with the machine to draw a line across space and
time and its not a feeling corrupted by power steering and hydraulics. I have
been driving a car for the last few days and the sensation is like the being
trapped in a parka in the Atacama.
You see, motorcycling is glamourous because of
the “devil may care” attitude that you wear on your sleeve when you pull on
that leather jacket. Its the spontaneity that makes the journey on 2 wheels
exciting. That’s why “Restlessness” runs in their DNA of every
motorcyclist. All conventional wisdom on how to deal with it, probably does not
apply to them. In more than 99% of the cases the cure is impulsive and the rewards
are directly proportional to the spontaneity of the action.
A few months back, I picked a point on the map
on a Saturday morning and started riding. I will admit its very unnerving for
me to go on a trip without a plan. But then, it just might have been the best
vacation I have had so far. It wasn’t exotic by any standard, but for the price
of 3 tanks of gas, a night in a motel and a few pints of beer I felt I had
gotten the maximum smiles per $.
Similarly, although the worn clutch made getting
off the line exciting and dangerous in the CB1000, I was itching to have it
replaced. The choice was between a new carbon kevlar clutch? or grocery for 2
weeks? Its not surprising what I chose. But then, I dare you to tell me, the
picture below is not worth foregoing groceries for 2 weeks.
Motorcycling is a matter of the heart. It has
very little rationale except to bring a smile on your face and jealousy in the
eyes of the onlooker. When it comes to motorcycles all my actions are impulsive
and I don’t have an answer to anyone who asks me “why do you need 3
motorcycles?”. But then after everything that you have just read, do I need
one?
I am just a few hours away from reaching home
and there are no brownie points for guessing the first thing I am going to do,
when I get there. ;)
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