THE ESSENCE OF RIDING
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears", or should I just say “Greetings bikers!” My name is Kush. No my name has nothing to do with weed, as has been said to me on a few occasions. I’m a bike enthusiast, a proud member of the Biker squad and I want to give you the warmest welcome to this awesome space, where twice monthly I’ll be blogging about all things motorbikes, sometimes solo, sometimes with guests, but always with and for you.
As I sat in my kitchen watching social media videos on COVID-19, I wondered to myself what on earth should I write about in my maiden blog? The epiphany came to me later that day. Essence, I should write about the essence of biking, was the idea that came to mind. Talk about the stuff that’s left once you peel away all the dressing, the glamour and technical chatter, the real thing, the gusto. That’s what this space is about the magnetism of riding.
Change: make (someone or something) different; alter or modify.
Brian Tracey, motivational speaker said anything and everything can be improved (paraphrase), or at least used differently than imagined at the point of creation. The phone for example, since its inception has morphed to become much more than a device for making calls alone. It’s now a hand held computer where we do our online banking, follow social media interests and even take photographs and edit videos. Similarly, Edouard-Leon Scott’s original phonograph invented in 1857 which solely recorded sound waves on a glass plate, and was unable to play back sounds, nevertheless went onto be used to play back music aka records, which too continued to evolve or devolve depending on your point of view, until we now have digital music and music streaming, all from that original 1857 creation, that wasn’t even meant for music. Without that transformation, we’d possibly have never heard of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley or Biggie Smalls, or music headphones, recording studios and the whole plethora of industries connected to music, may never have happened.
The first means of two wheeled vehicles was the German draisine dating back to 1817. The term bicycle was coined in France in the 1860s. This honest and straightforward two wheeled invention became mechanised in 1885. Made by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Germany, they’re credited with introducing to the world the first internal combustion - petroleum-fuelled motorcycle. In 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle. Since then motorcycles have gone onto be very much part of our culture. The early motorised bikes bore a strong resemblance to their non-motorised cousins. But apart from sharing two wheels and needing a rider, modern bikes are far far different to the original idea. Manufacturers now make motorcycles for a wide range of uses – out stripping the uses of a push bike.
However, the infinite wonders created by the mechanisation of the cycle worked mainly because it kept the integrity of what biking is all about, freedom. Feeling the rush of wind in your face and decoupling from the straight jacket of civilian living is what is at the heart of getting on two wheels is all about and it’s remained the same since the 1800’s.
This is what the two wheeled revving experience comes down to. Whilst there is more and more interest in torque, horse power and an increasing amount of chatter about gadgets, motorcycling is quintessentially an amplification of those initial emotional experiences of throwing your leg across a sa
ddle and thrusting yourself into the vista before you and loving it. This is what is so appealing about bike life - simplicity dovetailed with democracy. Whether you ride a rare gem like a BSA or a modern work of art like the Aston Martin or the Tamburini T12 Massimo costing an eye watering 1000,000 USD, were all seeking that same infectious sense of pleasure and escapism by sitting on a mechanical lump.
That is what this space, I mean awesome space is about, sharing the joy and enthusiasm of riding. We want more of you overcome your downloaded societal fears and crank back that throttle with fearless abandonment and then tell everyone you can about it and how much fun it was doing so.
And before I go, I want to return briefly to the topic of COVID -19. There’s no doubt there’s increased anxiety associated with simply getting around nowadays and interacting with people and traffic. Take a trip up the M1 and you’ll come across average speed cameras, lengthy tailbacks and drivers hunting for an extra couple of yards. Cars capable of easily reaching a hundred miles plus, unable to do a constant 40miles per hour. For us on two wheels, the travel anxiety is significantly reduced because we know we’ll be able to continue our journey almost unaffected.
The seductive draw of biking is something that seems ever increasingly in short supply, freedom.
So, "Friends, countrymen and bikers" I look forward to connecting with you, learning from you and of course riding with you here, on Roll Through The Twisties (R triple T).
Until the next time ride safe