The question is posed a lot - why do you ride a motorcycle? I'm tempted to respond with "Why do you not ride one?"

Exactly why a human does something is very difficult to answer with precision. A human scientist might point to one's toilet training or whether the rider had been locked in a small dark closet as a child. They might explore the rider's social background and whether or not the parents were Republicans. I don't really care about these things, in this case. I do confess, however, that my first bicycle had matchbook covers attached with clothes pins so they would strike the spokes of the wheel, making a noise that would emulate a motorcycle. It was fun then to pretend, and a large part of my motivation for riding today is simply because it is fun

I like to see and smell stuff as I travel. Being in a car restricts my vision. Motorcyclists often refer to a car as a "cage" and it is an apt description. A car is a cage with widows. There is no protective cage on a bike so I can see without restriction, even through the window of my helmet. The vastness of a Nevada morning or the complete view over Beartooth Pass are just so much better on a bike. A modern car is a fairly safe place to be. It is designed to crumple and absorb impact forces when it hits some object and thus protect its occupants. It has safety glass, and it has air filters designed to keep out pesky germs, smells, and dust. A motorcycle has none of this so I can encounter the true stink of my world as I ride through it. The Alders in spring, freshly mown grass, and cow shit.

Motorcycle riding is psychologically safe activity. My shrink pretty much summed it up that I don't play well with others - I don't do group fun very well, and I find relationships difficult. I have been trained professionally and can summon up the charm when business requires it but, honestly, I find riding a motorcycle to be my happy place. It is just me, and I like my own company. I only have to be socially adept when I encounter humans while on foot, like at a gas station. That works for the Vulture.

I rode for many years on my own, and only in the past few have allowed other riders to accompany me on some rides - I know it sounds arrogant and I don't mean it that way. Its simply that I've recently encountered some people whose company I appreciate and I like to have some time with them on the road. These are people I'm comfortable with; people I don't feel vulnerable around. Even so, I prefer solo riding because a long ride away from the demands of a social structure is therapeutic. My wife of 40+ years understands this and allows me the freedom to heal.

On a tangent of thought, I think riding machines (motorcycles preferred) is much better than riding animals. I would not want somebody climbing on my back and making me carry them to some place I did not want to go to at that moment. Does the horse feel any different? I don't think so but, as they have no thumbs, they are powerless to effectively object. That is my position on riding green.

That about sums up why I ride a motorcycle.

Marty