When I took the PA Riders Safety Course one of the first things they told us was that we would learn about the freedom and joy of motorcycling. When I heard that I kind of chuckled, the joy of motorcycling. But now when I try to explain it to friends the word joy doesn�t even come close to expressing the feeling I have. I have a shirt that puts it well, �If I have to explain why, you wouldn�t understand.� It�s one of those things in life that you just have to experience to appreciate the black hole type draw it has. Once it sucks you in there is no getting out.
Telling my friends I was getting a Harley resulted in identical reactions, �What!?� Here I was, this square, nice-guy engineer. Being a Harley rider just didn�t fit. One even told me I�d have to grow a beard, get tattoos, and quit taking showers regularly. After trying a couple times I realized I�m follically challenged. Since a tattoo is rather permanent, I haven�t quite figured out what I�m sure I want yet. And I once saw an ad in a motorcycle magazine that said, �It�s time to take a shower when you can�t stand the smell at 60 mph.�
I�ll admit that when I first started riding I was a fair weather rider. But that changed with improving skills and lack of sane judgement at times. I�ve been through 100+� ovens and have found that after about 93� there is no cooling effect from the wind, just hot wind. I�ve experienced the joy and peacefulness of a 25� snowing Christmas morning on the rural backroads telling myself to ask Santa for electric clothes next year. You can�t help but to realize that �Rain Happens� so just put on the rainsuit and go.
Friends think I�m crazy when I ride in the winter. The first couple years the winters were mild so it wasn�t too bad and each year I got braver, or stupider, and my winter riding gear improved allowing me to ride in colder and colder temperatures. Then I moved a little further north. I rode back to Philly for New Years Eve in 1999. A 180 mile ride with a starting temp of 30?F. When my friends in-laws saw me pull in on two wheels they asked what was wrong with my truck. Nothing. Then why on earth did I ride? Well, it was above 25? and the roads weren�t icy, wet, or salty. Wasn�t it cold? Well, yeah, of course it was, temps in the thirties with a 70 mph wind. I just couldn�t hide my smile as with their looks of disbelief they must have thought my brain had frozen.
That winter was also the first I couldn�t ride through. From early January to early March we had snow cover and the roads seemed perpetually salt covered. I could tell I was going through withdrawal. I started surfing the net and made the mistake of reading bike reviews. Hey, those sport touring bikes look pretty cool. Something different than the cruiser. If I were to buy one the candidates were the Triumph Sprint ST, Ducati ST4, and the Buell S3T. For various reasons the Triumph was in the lead. I visited Hermy�s and Herm Jr. tried to convince me to take a test ride. Oh it was tempting, but I didn�t have any gear and I had friends waiting to meet me. Then I made the mistake. I couldn�t fight the withdrawal symptoms any longer. I went to another dealer and took a test ride. Oh yes, it felt so, so good. I had to have one. Do I buy bushes and a deck for the new house or another bike? I knew it was my response to the withdrawal, but that �hit� felt great. The acceleration, the power, the ride. So I got my �fix� and bought one. It was the end of April by the time it arrived and I had ridden away the withdrawal by then. But it was still nice to have the new ride. Friends saw it as another toy but I had a very practical reason for buying another bike. I pointed out that with gas prices going up the way they were the Triumph would be my commuter. The Triumph got better than twice the gas mileage as the truck and a little better than the Harley. And my neighbors couldn�t truly appreciate the �purr� of the Harley at 7 in the morning.
It was only after having ridden the Triumph for five months that I realized I had an addiction. What had I done since getting the Brit bike? Ride. Even more than I use to. It took less than five months to go 12,000 miles, as many miles as I�d normally ridden in a year. It was also the first year I put more miles on two wheels than four. I did the Saddlesore 1000 to earn membership in the Iron Butt Association and started planning next years National Parks Tour through 25 states. I went on a 2600 mile vacation on the bike. To do what? Meet other Triumph Sprint riders to ride together for two days. What hasn�t gotten done? Everything else. All the projects around the house are still waiting. My master�s thesis advisor thinks I�ve disappeared from the face of the earth. I even quit dating a woman when she told me she didn�t like motorcycles.
I also have a new favorite song. Arlo Guthrie�s �Motorcycle Song.� Sure it�s a little odd, but it strikes a chord with me, �I don�t want a pickle, just want to ride on my motorsickle. And I don�t want a tickle, I�d rather ride on my motorsickle. And I don�t want to die, just want to ride on my motorcy-cle.�
I had a house built in �99 too. Well, I didn�t intend to build the house, it just sort of happened. I wanted to build a garage for my motorcycle but they forced me to attach a house to it.
Not being able to afford another new motorcycle this winter I�ll need to find a way to deal with any withdrawal. I don�t have any furniture in my living room yet and last winter I got tired of sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. Since I now have two bikes I�ll leave one in the garage in case I get a day to ride during the winter and put the other in the living room so I�ll have something to sit on while I enjoy the fireplace during the snow storms. Or perhaps I could get an old rice bike to be my winter bike and I wouldn�t feel as much need to care about the salt then. The trick would be to find studded motorcycle tires like the ice racers have.
So if this winter you drive by my house and think you see me sitting on the bike in front of the heat of the fireplace, know I�m really not home, I�ll be reliving some of the many miles from last summer. Or if you see me out in weather fit only for penguins or polar bears watch out for the metal studded tires on an old Kawahondamazuki.
Hello. My name is Doug. And I am, a, uh, I am a motorcycle ride-aholic.