Melissa Holbrook Pierson is a pioneer and role model for women - and men - riders.   Her book The Perfect Vehicle, published in 1997, brilliantly,pragmatically and beautifully articulated the allure of the motorcycle.  If you haven't yet read it, you owe it to yourself to do so.

Her blog Girls on Motorcycles provides an eloquent snapshot of her perspective.  

Thank you Melissa.

Here's an Excellent list from the Discovery Channel:

10 Reasons to Take a Motorcycle Safety Course.

If you have friends or family who are considering learning to ride, this is a must read!

American Motorcyclist Association has asked the question on their FB site. Here are my top 10 answers, in no particular order. To add yours, go to their FB Page and/or comment on this blog.

1. It's just so much fun. I frequently daydream of riding. Something about effortless forward motion and gyroscopic forces which create a euphoric sensuality.
2. Because riding a motorcycle is both a privilege, and my right, and I hope to exercise those privileges and rights for the rest of my days!
3. Life slows down at 242 feet per second... The volume drops to zero... The world falls away... and there you are... With a front row seat to life untethered. (NOTE: I haven’t done the math. Applies at any speed above about 80 kph)
4. Because I can't fly.
5. I live life as an adventure.
   I ride to see what is around the next corner, over the next horizon.
   "Go as far as you can see and when you get there, you will always be able to see further."
6. Because I can experience more out of life in 5 minutes on a bike than most people do in a life time.
7. It has restored my faith in God, people, and myself. The highway and many motorcycles have showed me a true happiness that is hard for most to come by.
8. Total freedom.
9. When I ride I become one with the machine. My bike is an extension of me as I lean into a corner or crack the throttle. It provides everything a Human Being needs to set the soul free! If everyone took the safety course and learned to ride before being afraid to ride, we would have an awful lot less cars on the road and definitely a lot more fellow riders!
10. Sanctuary!!

What are your reasons?

While we may not all be compelled to travel the world, this poem speaks to following the calling of our heart - wherever it may lead.     How fortunate we are to have discovered the joy that motorcycling brings.  

Saw this post from Grant Johnson of Horizons Unlimited and had to pass it on.

WoW.. You may have come accross this already but i stumbled upon James Richmond's blog. We wrote this poem while in India.

Why we do it & What do we live for?

"'Why do you do it?' friends often ask, perplexed,
Brows raised, minds sorely vexed.
'The world out there is dangerous!
Aren't you scared? Why do this?
You need steady work, a house, two cars!
You have only a motorbike, and sleep under stars!'
Dear friend, if you must ask, you cannot know
This curiosity that drives me so...
To you it is hidden; in me rises unbidden!
But one day the world I'll have ridden
By iron steed, then perhaps this need
Will have vanished, finally vanquished!
That day will find me on deathbed,
With no regrets for the life I led.
Will you be able to say the same?
Or will you despair a life worn plain?
I will stake my Himalayan memories
Against your estate of a thousand trees.
Pit my Thai sunset
Against your private jet.
Weigh my horse rides at sunrise
To your Italian suits and ties.
I'll rejoice in friends before I go,
Not the figures of my stock portfolio.
And, amazingly, there are more like me;
They reject slavery, and are truly free.
They took the chance we all had,
And honestly it makes me sad
That you didn't.
You thought you couldn't...
What?
|Live without the luxuries
Of all our modern amenities?
You choose the bonds of mortgage, but claim to be free,
Wasting a lifetime absorbed by TV.
Why watch it? but live it!
One life's all you get!
Don't put off 'til morrow and continue to borrow
The lives of strangers; 'tis the greatest of dangers
To the soul
Which grows old
Before its time.
Hercules, Columbus,
Guevara, Odysseus,
Champlain, Agamemnon,
The list goes on...
What have they in common?
Regardless man or god,
The soil of continents they trod,
Not in search of gold but adventure!
Not growing old 'cause they ventured
Far from safety; but far be it from me
To Judge...
The pitiless pity us
With souls black pitted
Pray! save it for those less spirited.
For us... our horizons are unlimited."

by James Richmond, Canada

This post is not about riding or written by a rider yet we can all relate to the content.

Dan Blank was my instructor for a course I took recently. Although his words of wisdom are geared towards growing a business, they ring true for any stretch goal we set our sights on.

Read them here. And BTW, if you’re ever considering a course that has Dan listed as the instructor, take it.

Thank you Dan.