Do people really not understand us?

[KamuiShirou]

So the other day my friend asks me why I ride... apparently he thinks it's a total waste of money, and totally dangerous, and even tho I tried to explain to him that it's something I like to do and that even tho it's dangerous it's still reasonable to ride safe and within my limits. He still said "I guess all that money isn't the same to you as it is to me". I tried not to let it get to me, but I got pissed off thinking about it!! Even after I tried sooo hard to explain it to him, how it's all perspective and this means alot to me and it's not a waste of money to me. It's just like how we don't understand why people would spend all that money on Magic: The Gathering Cards and play it all day... I mean, are we that hard of a group to understand?? People always get these misconceptions about us riders and it bugs!! Anyone else annoyed by this?

 

[hotdog]

simple answer

i always give em "the" non-verbal response,
and that is... :finger

-hotdog

 

[donoman]

Who cares? You ride because you love it. If someone would guarantee 100% that I would die because I ride, I would stop. I love riding, and it's a calculated risk that I take to improve my way of life.

For example, my friend doesn't understand why I ride either. Yet at the same time, he is involved in RC cars, and big ass saltwater reef aquariums. Now, over the course of the year, I'd say he spends at least 3K on the RC stuff and 5K on the aquarium. For me, I'd rather spend 250$ to get an old FZR motor running tip-top than to go out and buy a 3 horsepower RC car engine for 300$. YES, RC car engines cost that much (and probably more for better ones!)

Everytime I book a trackday/school, I cringe... but then I remember that I went snowboarding about 15 times this year, and each trip cost me at least 100$. Now, if I could sacrifice 3 trips, per track day, would I do it? OF COURSE!!

 

[MackeyStingray]

i'd liken it to any hobby people enjoy. anime is a good example in fact. people who don't like anime say it's a waste of time and why spend $ on it when you don't even understand japanese (most fans here don't).

riding is the same way only it's a tad more expensive and IMHO, more enjoyable though there are risks of injury involved. something about the open air, hitting corners or even riding on 1 wheel is very appealing. driving while maybe faster (don't have to worry so much about stability and can push past the limit w/o getting killed or injured) is just too removed.

 

[Instance]

Who cares? You ride because you love it.

EXACTLY!!!! Be like me, only care about yourself and fuck everyone elses opinion.

 

[insyder]

Besides, is he really your friend is he sits there and talks sh!t
about something you love?

That's like him talking about your wife or something..


If he's a true friend, which I doubt, he wont mind if you tell him
to get fucked.

 

[Hooli]

For me, I'd rather spend 250$ to get an old FZR motor running tip-top than to go out and buy a 3 horsepower RC car engine for 300$. YES, RC car engines cost that much (and probably more for better ones!)

Hee hee, you don't know the half of it! An RB C5 .21 nitro engine retails at well over $400, and a Team engine will push you over 650 bones! :eek

Don't ask me how I know this...

 

[hitjohn]

So the other day my friend asks me why I ride... apparently he thinks it's a total waste of money, and totally dangerous, and even tho I tried to explain to him that it's something I like to do and that even tho it's dangerous it's still reasonable to ride safe and within my limits. He still said "I guess all that money isn't the same to you as it is to me". I tried not to let it get to me, but I got pissed off thinking about it!! Even after I tried sooo hard to explain it to him, how it's all perspective and this means alot to me and it's not a waste of money to me. It's just like how we don't understand why people would spend all that money on Magic: The Gathering Cards and play it all day... I mean, are we that hard of a group to understand?? People always get these misconceptions about us riders and it bugs!! Anyone else annoyed by this?

aaah the one good thing in life to spend money on, porn, nothing but porn, my bike might be a waste of money but damn, you ought to see my porn collection!

just kidding.....

my bike saves me gas, sanity and on insurance....

beat that!; )

besides, its fun waving at co workers as you drive up the carpool lane and they are sitting in traffic.

hehe...
j

 

[morthrane]

So the other day my friend asks me why I ride...

If it were about money, we'd be riding scooters, not driving cars or riding 170mph stupidsport bikes (or $26,000 Harleys, for some people).

The best response? "Riding a motorcycle is the closest I'll ever come to flying a jet fighter."

 

[MrCrash]

Why I ride?

I could attempt to describe the physical sensations involved in riding a motorcycle that make it so attractive, sensations similar to those involved in surfing, snowboarding, or skiing. The sensory pleasures involved in the fluidity of motion one experiences, when one's tire / edge cuts and bites into the road surface / snow / water, maintaining momentum while guiding and redirecting the flow of the movement.

But for me, it transcends that. Some excerpts from "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" describe it well...

"... you spend your time being aware of things and meditating on them. On sights and sounds, of the mood of the weather and things remembered, on the machine and the countryside you're in, thinking about things at great leisure and length wihout being hurried and without feeling you're losing time..."

"You see things vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car, you're always in a compartment, and because you are used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.

On a cycle, the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That concrete whizzing five inches below your foot is the real thing, the same stuff you walk on, it's right there, so blurred you can't focus on it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness."

Which pretty much sums up my feelings towards it. There is no need for speed. There is no thirst for adrenaline. The sensory aspects of motorcycling make me feel as though I've elevated my level of consciousness. Riding up the coast, sheer rock face on one side, cliffs dropping hundreds of feet to the ocean surface on the other, carrying the momentum in a fluid motion through a tumultuous ribbon of tarmac as I feel the road, feel the environment, experience the sights, sounds, and sensations, THAT is what makes me feel alive.

And that is why I ride.

 

[c3]

EXACTLY!!!! Be like me, only care about yourself and fuck everyone elses opinion.

yah...what Instance said...my answer is..."because i like it...end of story"

tell him to stop driving the expensive car he drives or collecting something or whatnot...blah...

 

[magyarbetyar]

Don't feel bad, I have been feeling that way ever since Brady started up this anti-gun bullshit. :finger

 

[ride365]

we've all been there. but i must say that of all the arguments against motorcycling i've ever heard, wasting money was never one of them.

 

[JackTheTripper]

I guy I talked to once before I had my bike said when he was younger he wanted to fly in the airforce but his eyesight wasn't good enough. He said riding was the next best thing. Banking and turning you kind of get the same feeling. Never been in a small plane so I wouldn't know though.

 

[kneeSparX]

about 8 years ago i got locked up at sacramentos county jail they called the ranch (5 days for missing a court freakin date) anyways, me and a couple guys were taking it in the ass (just kidding) me and a couple guys were kicking it in the baracks right before sundown, when i said "ey let go watch the sunset" couple guys said "lets go" when another guy said "what the fuck for, what do you get out of it" Ill never forget that day. some people just dont get it man.

 

[YellowDuc]

Don't feel bad, I have been feeling that way ever since Brady started up this anti-gun bullshit. :finger

Hey about a BARF ride and shot day. We could head up to the Los Altos Rob and Gun club after a nice little ride on Skyline. No long arms, but we should be able to carry the hand guns easy enough.

 

[steveac]

if you dont understand what it is to enjoy your life and to have a passion.. then you probably will never understand a devout motorcyclist.

if your friend owns a home ask then why they spend money beautifying it.. why they mow the lawn.. if there is one..

 

[steveac]

On a motorcycle you feel a sense of pride and power over the elements.

It is a work of art and art in motion.

There is a primal human need to flow with nature. To shed the accoutraments of a safety conscious society and have more fluid control over your environment.

To experience beauty without a distorted view.

To feel the elements of physics and not be sheltered from it in a bubble.

There are many ways to describe it..
I think MrCrash put it best..

 

[AUGIDAWG]

Hey about a BARF ride and shot day. We could head up to the Los Altos Rob and Gun club after a nice little ride on Skyline. No long arms, but we should be able to carry the hand guns easy enough.

Could be fun.

Is it legal to carry a unloaded gun and amunition in the trunk of your bike?

Somehow, I think not.
I think you have to seperate them.

I guess we could have one guy carry the guns, and the other the ammo.

 

[steveac]

Could be fun.

Is it legal to carry a unloaded gun and amunition in the trunk of your bike?

Somehow, I think not.
I think you have to seperate them.

I guess we could have one guy carry the guns, and the other the ammo.

I have carried my unloaded pistol and boxes of ammunition in my tank bag on my way to the range. I think as long as the gun is unloaded and locked in a box.. you are ok.

again.. im not clear on the actual law here..
mighty morthin is my secret gun adviser.. he should know.
heh