(Please click on the title for a reading aloud by the author.)
The motorrad pictured above is my BMW R1200R. I love this bike.
For the past six months I’ve been working on a memoir, for the moment titled “The Making Of A Motorcyclist,” drawing upon my experiences with motorcycles starting at age five to present. There’s been no shortage of stories to tell, but I’ve been wondering just why is being a motorcyclist so important? A couple days ago I stopped by Santa Fe BMW to visit the crew and while I wasn’t looking for the answer, I found it. The motorcycle is a conduit out of the mundane.
Riding a motorcycle focuses the mind and fills the senses. Any trip on a motorcycle, whether into town for a coffee or across the country, becomes an adventure no other form of transportation can replicate. You’re out there. A bond between rider and machine gets into the blood. And the machines are fascinating in their design and engineering. When we talk about motorcycles, we become animated – one of my favorite words from the Latin anima. We have enthusiasm – another of my favorite words, this time from the ancient Greek en theos.
My friend Andy tells me he is thinking about buying a bike which out of the crate makes 175 rear wheel horsepower. Given it weighs only a touch over 450 pounds fueled and ready to go, the acceleration would be blinding. However in his next breath, with a grin from ear to ear he talks about adding a performance kit to it so it will make 200 rwhp and drop a few pounds to boot. I grin… I know… oh yeah, I’m with ya, brother.
Everything about it is beyond us. We need this. Not to mention it’s just plain old fun.
Gordon Bunker
I just finished your book, "The Making of a Motorcyclist", Gordon and enjoyed it very much. To be honest, I came across it randomly and purchased it based on the title and the R1200R on the cover (one of which I acquired about a year ago -brilliant motorcycle). But then each short story drew me in with imagery, wit, and fun. I will no doubt read it again but for now it will sit next to Melissa H. Pierson's "The Perfect Machine" on my bookshelf. Also, it turns out I am a New England/NY ex-pat who moved to NM and had a 900SS/SP before the R12R. Small abstract world.
ReplyDelete