Picture yourself sat in a box, in front of you is a TV screen showing a view, to the left and right, further screens expanding that view, and for good measure, throw in a small screen showing what is now behind you. In the background Mozart plays softly complimenting the rolling landscape you find yourself passing through. Is this real, or have you stepped inside a simulator. That is how I feel about travelling in a car; detached.
Through no fault of car owners everywhere we have driven this detached experience through our purchases which has driven the areas of development for these manufactures. Over the years they have done more and more to remove the outside world from the car, and make the experience as sterile as possible. Carpeted wheel wells to cut down on road noise, ever better filtering to improve the inside air quality, the list could go on and on, but out of sheer laziness on behalf of the writer it won’t.
It is for all these reason that given a choice I would rather experience a new landscape for the first time on two wheels, and not four.
As with every motorcyclist the world over I am well aware that my passion for two wheels puts me at a greater risk, but as with anything in this world it is about risk migration and making the smart choices for me that still make this a risk worth taking. I know some will think it crazy that you would to go travelling with nothing more than a bit of fabric to keep you safe, and not a big metal box surrounding you, but stick with me and I shall endeavour to explain why at least for me it is worth it.
Despite not being the biggest fan our Euro 4 and Euro 5 regulations for motorbikes, one of the biggest benefits from these when travelling is the reduced noise levels that are permitted. Sadly the days of hearing a bike before you see it are dying out — but that is a whole other subject maybe for another day. These reduced noise levels are helping to bring the outside world in to sensed and expanding the experience. Imagine riding down the highway along a coastal road and hearing the waves crashing on to the rocks. Many people buy mediation app’s with this exact sound, that as a car driver you would be removed from, but as a motorcyclist is all part of the experience.
Though it may not always be as enjoyable as a fresh sea spray, as a two wheeled traveller, you are always exposed to the smell, and to some degree taste of the landscape. I say not always enjoyable as there is nothing refreshing about riding past a farm during muck spreading seasons, as a matter of fact it’s something I activity try to avoid. In there sterilised world of the car, you may be lucky to get a hint of the pine forest that you are driving through but on two wheels its like you can smell each of the millions of individual pines needles.
Sticking with our same coastal highway, those same waves breaking on the rocks, and producing that glorious noise also help link a few of our other senses in to the fray. That salt water pounding away on the rocks will inevitably produce spray which you will feel on your face. I know people will question this, but trust me, if a motorcyclist can feel your washer jets from the car because the nozzle is poorly aimed, we can definitely feel and enjoy the fresh sea air as well.
There is something to be said about the feel of riding through an area, whether that is the vibrations and feedback you get from the imperfections in the rode surface, travelling through the tyres, in to the suspension and up through the controls to your hands, back along your arms, or those that you feel through the seat under you moving up through your body, combined with the steady vibrations given off by the machine itself under you.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I am not anti car, not by a long shot. Its like the old phrase about having the right tool for the right job. If I need to be able to transport large amounts of goods, ranging from the weeks shopping to helping a buddy move, then yes a car is always going to win out in these scenarios. It is what they are built for, transporting man and merchandise from point A to point B, in comfort with shelter from the weather outside.
Some would present the idea of a convertible as a suitable substitution for the bike, after all, a lot of the same experiences and sensual delights can still be experience from the comfort of the car this way, and I would agree. For those unable to ride a bike this is a perfect way to get close to the same experience, and I will stand by my words, it is close to, but not the same. You are aware of the journey you are on and the land you are passing though, but with a bike you become part of the environment as it becomes a part of you.
For me it is the marriage of all these senses all firing back specific parts of the picture that add to up to something so much more than the whole, that makes any journey on two wheels in to the unknown such a welcome adventure.
