Motorcycle Travel Series by @velimir 'Watching the Sunset' (Part #206)

Sometimes people ask me what is the thing about men and the big bikes. Yeah, I deliberately dropped put the word 'middleaged'. :D Well, it is about several things. First, as men age, their brains get ahead of their impulses and perspectives change. Sometime after thirty-five men are slowly starting to become wise. Riding stops being about speed and kicks of self-proving and becomes more about a laid-back feeling of enjoyment without a need for doing stupid things in order 'to add a little thrill' to the life. The road is dangerous as it is, no need to down the odds even further.

Second, one starts appreciating the comfort and doesn't feel like constantly sensing the unnecessary vibrations that little motorcycle produces. Speaking of which, the other day I sat on my buddy's HD Iron 900. My hands started to shake as soon as I grabbed the handles. But, not from fear. The vibrations were so strong that I decided to do only a few mins ride just to feel it. So, no thank you. Once you've ridden a big bike, no way that you'll get back on a small toy ride.

The third is the feeling of freedom. Although this can be felt on almost any bike when one sits on a 2,5m long cruiser, it gives a different perspective. One immediately starts feeling the possibilities, the autonomy, the long distances start calling. Then, when you spend your first night sleeping somewhere in the wild by your bike, the mind is set. After a few trips, you are hooked. It becomes a way of travelling no other can beat.

Some people fear motorcycles. This is no wonder. We all read about accidents and consequent deaths. This news, embedded with warnings and fear, do their share of work on people's minds. The thing about that is that you'll never read which type of motorcycle was in question. This is some weird worldwide newsroom consensus. Wherever you go, you will never read what brand and model was in question. And it does matter. There is an ocean of difference between a Ninja or Hayabusa, the well know suicide machines; and heavy travelling cruisers like Road King or Gold Wing, the known pleasure machines, a ton in-between, and then some on both sides of the scale.

There is no more present feeling than the one when you stop beside a road just to spend a few minutes watching the sunset and feeling the beauty as if it lives within you. In that moment you very well know that you've been weight, bought, wrapped and sold. There is no way out of that anymore. Traveling on a motorcycle becomes a part of you, an undeniable pleasure, something so precious that you'll never let go. Or, even more likely, it will never let you go.