yeah, alot of it depends on how integrated riding is into ones life.

around here, lots of us use the bikes for our primary transportation. it tends to result in more "durable" attachement to riding.

traffic and parking here are terrible. the bike isnt some sort of statement, or fashion, or hobby. its all of those things and most importantly, its the best way to get around. in the sf bay area when people talk about the freedom of riding, they are not thinking of the abstract "freedom" of marketing slogans, or purchased patriotism, fake corporate "family", bolt on machismo, or any of that hooey. it is a very concrete freedom of not waiting in traffic for two hours to cover 8 miles of bridge, as the motorcycle bypasses the toll booth lanes and splits between the cars, turining the morning commute from an angry slow drudge to a ride.

yeah its dangerous, sometimes wet, and occasionally cold, but when i walk in the door of my office, im wide awake and happy.

heck, parking around here is a choice between paying $15-$20 per day (no in and out privs either!) or hunting for a spot that never seems to appear, to a choice of right at the front door (if one is early or lucky) or _one whole block away_ for less than a cup of coffee and often free. funny, theres that word "free" again. freedom from congestion. freedom from having to figure out where to stash the car. most importantly....

FREE TIME. that right. that two to four hours that is saved by not sitting in traffic and hunting for parking is time i get to use as i like, which often means more riding.

the social aspect is pretty rewarding here too. i have lots of friends that dont ride, and theyre ok. i have been to some amazing and fantastic events in the motorcycling community around here though, that most people have no idea of.

i dont think i could extracate myself from riding if i wanted to. cars suck. i laugh at the 'tards sitting in traffic, burning all that fuel, and getting nowhere. i feel sorry for those who have to drive a car or truck due to needing to haul things or people, but most cars on the road are just used to haul one person at a time. the SUV and giant pickup craze especially amuses that hell out of me. around here, hardley anyone actually uses an SUV or pickup for anything that they couldnt use a faster and better handling vehicle for. they are just fashion lemming, and at the pump, they pay $90, and i pay $8. freesdom from being bent over by the oil cartels of texas and the middle east. and freedom from paying those theiving bastards any more than i have to.

the difference is that i ride every day. its not a weekend toy. its not a "lifestyle" or a "family". its riding. to me its like breathing. ill stop one when i stop the other.

 

The over 50 crowd is driving the bulk of sales today, they had the bike young, then family,kids, money, priorities changed, now kids grown up, have a little money and gues what, getting back on the bike again!

 

It is strange - I also sort of got caught up in a similar situation (also 30's). I have had my old FLH for a very long time - the bike is kind of rough, is terrible for any cruising that involves highway (3 speed trans) and it does not have an electric start. I used it (and still do) for local riding and back road cruising (there is a lot of that here). After many years of persuasion, several freinds caved and got bikes. I decided to add a 2000 Heritage so I could cruise with them - as my FLH is kind of rough I decided it was not worth selling and I would restore it for fun.

I though finally we are set! The first summer was great - we cruised all the time, same with fall. That winter was particularly brutal and snowy so not much winter action. The next spring - all was well, lots of cruising even with some large groups. On one of those cruises, someone we did not know on the cruise was hauling butt in the fog on the Blue Ridge Parkway and lost control going into a twistie and got hit by a oncoming car. He was done for.

What got me was even though everyone realized he was going way too fast for conditions, they got paranoid and would not ride. They sold their bikes and have not been back since. A year later I sold my Heritage (*huge mistake*) and went back to riding my FLH locally - this was not for fear of a wreck, I just felt like I would never find anyone to ride with. I would have to guess that this is not uncommon. People who did not grow up riding get a bike, ride and lose their nerve and decide it is not worth it then sell their scoots.
I think it may be easy to talk yourself out of riding.

Now it is six years later, my FLH is really ailing something fierce, it has 163,000 miles on it and needs a re-do. I am just about ready to order up a new Road King and go join a HOG chapter. TIme for me to stop being a reckloose

 

Ditto

46 here.....(but, still racing MX also)

 

If they "lost" it.. they probably never really had it in the first place.... it was just a fad.. like a Pet Rock.

 

My parents wouldn't let me get a bike. Turned 18, left for the Air Force and have been riding ever since. I would say 98% of the riding I do is alone. I have had friends get them, sell them, total them, etc. Its not that I wouldn't ride with anyone else, it just never seems to happen. I ride to work everyday unless I have a suitcase or it's snowing. I get wet, cold, hot, sweaty, all of it. No cell phone, radio, eating, just ride. To me its therapeutic, I gotta get my fix. I had Japanese bikes for twenty years. I finally got my Softail last year. I have never ridden a bike that gives me as much enjoyment as this one. Is it more dangerous than a car? Yeah, it is. But there is risk in everything we do. None of us are going to make it out of here alive anyway, so you might as well enjoy life now. Ride safe.

 

i think everybody goes thru this .i myself use to ride with alot of friends but i we all got older some dont even ride any more . and some always talk about but never did . i have rode alot alone and with friends it's fun both ways . but i enjoy rideing to much to worry about some body else and i have learned thru the years if you wait on others you end up rideing less . so you got to do your own thing.

 

For me it's kind of the reverse. None of my old friends ride, so I made a bunch of new friends that I ride with. Still, I mostly ride alone. As was mentioned earlier, it's therapeutic. I can feel the crap and stress from the day just melt away.

For me it's all about being in the saddle, with or without others.

Cheers!
[sm=icon_rock.gif][sm=icon_rock.gif][sm=icon_rock.gif]

 

I'm with Clammy. Even though I belong to the local HOG chapter I prefer riding alone. I prefer the solitude.

 

2 kinds of people ... Those who ride .... And those who need therapy ..

I try to ride at least a little every day, If its just to the store for a cold drink.