Two Wheel Therapy

I don’t really want to write now. But I feel like I should.

I want to write about the night ride I just went on, on my motorcycle… About how riding late at night is pretty much meditation in itself.

They say the key to being happy is to live in the moment and well, if you’ve ever ridden a bike at night, weaving through the truck traffic and whatnot, you’ll know what that feels like.

It’s always a good time to ride, late at night. The air’s cooler, your engine heats up less and your mind is more than willing to race out, after being forced to ricochet within the confines of your daily commitments and worries.

Of course, that explains how it’d be a stress buster but some of you non riders might ask me how it lets you live in the moment. Well, if you don’t live in the moment when you ride, you die. As simple as that.

Imagine monsterous machines weighing several tons speeding inches from you at night time. Imagine jay walkers and stray dogs running into the middle of the road when you’re shooting out of the cluster of the previously mentioned giants. Imagine oil or water or sand spills when you’re entering a turn at considerable speed. Yep, either you focus on the moment or you kiss your ass goodbye.

All that scary stuff aside, well…..nope that scary stuff is what makes it really worthwhile. Perhaps I should say “adding to all that”, imagine finally having corners all to yourself. Be it a clover shaped flyover or just a long bend, being able to lean in all the way down, with your wrist playing traction control has got to be the time when a man truly feels excited about getting down on one knee.

All of this becomes even cooler when a random, fellow rider picks a friendly race with you for a while, (yeah, it’s only cool..ish to do this when you’ve got your gear on and when it’s an empty, open road) and then you flash him a thumbs up and get back to your ride. After all, riding is all about mutual respect and that always feels good at the end of the day.

Then you exit the high speed roads and get back into those smaller roads with tighter corners. Here, the same water and sand you dreaded out on the highway become blessings from the heavens because you get to drift. Oh sweet joy, you get to drift!

I know it feels amazing to drift in a car but drifting on a motorbike is another experience entirely.

Lean in a little. Check.

Countersteer. Check.

Extend your leg next to the fork if you have to. Check.

Wring that throttle. Check.

Get that rear out and drift through that corner. Hell yeah, check!

Oh yes, powersliding out of highspeed corners deserves a special mention here as well.

Finally when you’ve had you fill and have completely forgotten all that ailed you before, you return home like a satisfied beast after an all-you-can-eat feast. Now, every issue that overwhelmed you before becomes as easy as getting past a herd of trucks and you get to it with a renewed sense of willingness and serenity.

Why? ’cause now you truly live in the moment.