why I ride a bike
I'm not one of these guys who does my speed and thrills on the queens public highway these days, ever since 'discovering' trackdays last year and recently purchasing a trackbike (more of that later) I have found the road rideouts less and less appealing. Dogs, cats, potholes, cars trucks vans etc etc.. The hazards associated with road riding can be quite high as soon as you start pushing yourself.
One of the worst culprits can be the actual road itself: white lines, grids and general crud left by trucks and buses make the road akin to an ice rink. Everybody knows that when it rains the oil and diesel rise to the surface and its 10 times more slippy than usual - nightmare ! But what happens when it rains constantly for 3/4 days and then the sun comes out with a vengeance ? I had the delight of finding this out one morning recently...
Leaving a late nights work in central Manchester I came out to my bike about 5.30am. The sun was shining glorious like it was 2pm, obviously at this time of morning the roads are deadly quiet so after getting out of town I noticed the bike felt really 'planted'. Now, I've heard this word bandied about in the biking world but never really understood its meaning until recently.
The bike just seemed to grip unbelievably - I decided to push it further and went round the next roundabout 3 times - yep,the road felt like it was attached to the tyres.
This filled me with excitement and I headed off to my favourite stretch of road for a 'detour' home.
After an additional 1 hour riding and finally succumbing to tiredness I came to the conclusion that you don’t have to be redlining your machine and flinging your ass from left to right at vast speeds to enjoy the road. I loved this little run because the time was right and the perfect moment.
Enjoy every moment your riding and savour every little thing that makes you grin..
Because that’s why we ride a bike, isn’t it? The grin when we get off it and when we're getting on it - I know that’s why I ride a bike, and when I stop grinning then it’s time to stop biking.
Until then....
Banksy
