Riding in Canada, eh?

I’m having trouble with this whole USA - Canada thing.

I cannot abide the heavy-handed approach the US is taking with our country. More than a matter of poor manners and injured Canadian pride, it is likely to be terrible for business on both sides of the border.

I have seen posts encouraging us to Buy Canadian. I am all for that. And I can see that traveling to the US right now could be seen as supporting the American economy, and, by extension, current US policy. So not traveling to the US would be seen as one way to Fight Back.

But is it really? Who are we actually punishing? If the B&B we stop at on our ride through Connecticut doesn’t support current US policy, are we simply failing to punish the right person by boycotting staying there?

I have ridden through 30 of the 50 states, and have encountered people on both sides of the political fence; and, believe me, in the US it is a fence…a tall one. It is not the sort of 1950’s fence you used to lean over to chat with your neighbour, it’s the type with razor wire on the top, designed both to keep the Others out, and also to hold people in, hemming them into a specific rhetoric, and narrow, isolationist philosophy. There is no discourse.

Are we, as Canadians, possibly falling into that same trap? Not just in our own political discourse, but also that discourse as it applies to our friends to the south? I am proud to be Canadian, born and raised. But I’m also a proud family member of and friend to lots of Americans, many of whom are as appalled by this tariff situation as we are.

So I’ll end by saying that I’ll do the most Canadian thing I can do…

I’m going to refuse to ride in the US for now, in a fit of nationalistic pride…

But, to those Americans who also disagree with the current US policy on tariffs, I’m going to say I’m Sorry!

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.

The very first blog

Feb. 19, 2025

Well…here goes nothing!!

I have no idea if this will be worth reading, but I’m writing it anyway.

I’ve been writing down my thoughts on motorcycling for a few decades, and specific instructions have been given to my son to burn all my journals upon my death! So suffice it to say that I have been afraid to share my writing with anyone!

I don’t know what this blog will be, but I hope it’ll be a place you’ll come to revel in Motorcycle Life, whatever that might mean to you.

I’m not in the motorcycle industry, I’m not a paid racer, I’m not riding my bike across the world and vlogging to my 1 000 000 strong fan base. I’m just a regular guy who loves to ride, and I try to fit as much riding into my normal life as I can. That means trips with my friends, 400km solo rides on weekend mornings, or just riding to and from work (that thing that keeps me from riding around the world and vlogging to my 1 000 000 strong fan base).

My favourite motorcycle writer is Peter Egan, whom some have hailed as the Walt Whitman of motojournalism. If I can write anything remotely as interesting or insightful as even the worst of Peter’s writing, I shall be truly thankful. And if you take the time to read any of what I’ve written, I shall be doubly thankful.