Motorcycle #2

My first motorcycle was a 1982 550cc Suzuki which I loved very much. It was a nice little bike that was perfect for cruising around Chicago but wasn't much for going farther than that. It topped out around 50mph but could struggle to maintain 65mph the few times I braved the highway. After a couple ill conceived rides and a couple mindless dumps the Suzuki gave up the ghost last summer.

I recently got my second motorcycle: a 2004 Honda VTX 1300cc. It's a lot bigger of a bike, slightly more cumbersome, with a substantial amount of get up and go. This past year without a motorcycle I felt like a piece was missing. There is nothing like riding motorcycles. There's a connection you get with the machine, it's responsiveness to slight movements, your ability to ask it for things and it instantly responding. I imagine it's a lot like the connection people had with their horses a hundred years ago. More so then a car a motorcycle develops a personality, you learn it's ticks, it's sounds, it's capabilities. On the road there is no excess information, no static, just you and the bike.

Riding a motorcycle is exhilarating. There's a sense of danger and risk and speed and pure joy. You feel alive. Smells are stronger, colors are more vibrant. It's like flying, like magic.

I feel at home on a bike, it feels natural, right. It's good to be home.