Why do we ride motorcycles?!

Feb. 20, 2025

Motorcycling is dangerous. You get dirty, and wet, and cold. You get bugs in your teeth (all you shorty helmet wearers!), and you get sunburned only on the middle of your face, so that your forehead and chin remain ghostly pale (for those of you who are pale). It takes 10 minutes just to get dressed or undressed (for those of us who are ATGATT - more on that later.) So why do we ride motorcycles?

Stats Canada says that in 2022, about 4% of adults owned a motorcycle or moped. But that’s based on the number of two wheelers registered divided by the number of adults in the country. Most all my friends own more than one motorcycle, so I think that percentage is skewed!

So it means that only a few brave or crazy souls out there enjoy motorcycling.

For some, it’s simply the cheapest way to get from A to B, if A to B are further than a bicycle or push scooter will take you comfortably. This is certainly true in many countries around the world, where cars are prohibitively expensive, and you can ride almost all year long.

For most people, we ride motorcycles for the fun of it. Whether that’s to spend time with friends, or to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside, or to venture to far off places, or to practise cornering on deserted highway ramps at 4 in the morning.

We ride motorcycles to move through space in a way that is both beautiful and deadly.

I say I ride because it’s cheaper than therapy. And my bike never asks me: “And how do you feel about that?” I can’t help smiling when I ride.

I sing. In my helmet. A lot. Loudly.

There is a joy to being on two wheels that anyone who rides understands. Some people say riding is as close as you can get to flying. There’s just you, the bike, and then the world around you, roaring by at, ahem, legal speeds. You can see, smell, and taste the world as it goes by.

That euphoric feeling, of getting on your bike at dawn, before the rest of the world is up, to venture out into the morning with the only destination in mind being peace. That’s Motorcycle Life.