So Little Time, So Many Miles To Ride
It would be great to be able to take off on long motorcycle adventures across the country whenever the mood struck, but reality throws up a cruel road block in the form of work, school, family, finances, and a thousand other reasons why finding riding time can be difficult. But, riders ride, and you don’t have to take a multi-day adventure for thousands of miles to rack up a fair amount of riding.
Some of my friends from where I used to work had motorcycles, but did they ride? I know they had motorcycles because they told me about them and talked about them all the time. Some of them even had the standard biker look going on, decked out in leather jackets, black t-shirts, tattoos, and many other biker clichés you could imagine. I seldom saw them on motorcycles though.
It’s OK not to ride, or care about, motorcycles. But, these guys tried to pass themselves off as belonging to the “ride to live, live to ride” crowd.
So what’s up with that?
The biggest reason given for not riding was, “I don’t have time.” It’s a fair point. It takes time to get out for a ride, and it’s time that can be hard to find.
My bike-riding coworkers were always curious how I managed to log so many miles on a motorcycle compared to them. They’d always check out my bike during lunch, and since this was back in the days of analog odometers, they’d take notice of my odometer reading.
They’d question how I could put so many miles on my bike during a typical New Jersey riding season. I worked the same hours they did, which was WAY too much, and I suffered the same lack of free time they dealt with. Did I have a secret? Hardly.
The answer was staring them in the face the whole time. While they were looking at my bike in our work parking lot, the most noticeable thing was mine was one of only two or three bikes there. One solution was obvious, I rode my bike to work. It doesn’t sound exciting, but it was a chance to get in some riding time. I rode nearly every chance I had. If I was visiting my parents on the weekend, or meeting up with some friends, I’d ride my bike.
Every little bit adds up, and put enough little bits together and it can add up to a lot. Not every ride is going to be an epic journey across the country. It doesn’t matter where you’re going, or how little time you have. If you enjoy riding, ride. Ride when you can, wherever you can, and let others wonder how you manage to ride so much with so little time!
Just remember, it’s not a competition.