Travelling on a motorcycle, all the reasons for a unique experience

Travelling on a motorcycle is a unique way to explore and discover the world. You can do it alone, in a couple, or even in a group: in any case, it’s a unforgettable experience. Holidays on a motorcycle are the best, said by someone who has thousands of kilometers under his saddle. To convince you I have prepared a list of 49 reasons to travel on a motorbike. It’s up to you to add the 50th!

  1. Knowing you are a true motorcyclist.
  2. Having fun.
  3. Unfolding a map on the table in the den, and following a road with your finger. To actually touch your next trip.
  4. Shifting into first gear and telling yourself: “I’m off!”
  5. Getting to where you want to go.
  6. Collecting small insects on your old leather jacket. At the end of the trip you think it’s time to buy a new one, you do, but the next time round off you go again with that same old jacket!
  7. Tying your faithful bandana round your neck, the one you’ve taken with you on countless trips. The older it gets, the less chance of replacing it.
  8. Being in your own world when you’re inside your helmet.
  9. Going with the wind.. even if you don’t like the wind.
  10. Getting your head back on track.. riding a twisty road.
  11. Squeezing that extra pair of underpants into your already bursting travel case.
  12. Taking your boots off after a whole day on the bike. Your feet give thanks.
  13. Having to change maps while on the road, and, after folding it to size, seeing that it slips into the map-holder perfectly.
  14. Making a quick stop to ask directions from a local, then finding out the guy is so nice that you take time to chat.
  15. In Italy, looking for a Trattoria at lunch time, walking in and knowing you’ve come to the right place: the scent of roasting lamb and wild boar simmering in tomato sauce says it all.
  16. Feeling great as you come out of 1, 2, 3 bends, perfectly executed.
  17. Staying young.
  18. In Central Italy, from Norcia to Castelluccio, there are 28 kms of bends, most of them up-hill, except for the last kilometre that slopes down towards the plain. Cruising down that last straight stretch of road: shifting from sixth to third gear, curving right, opening the gas, and cutting across the plain where the colourful lentil flowers are in full bloom.
  19. Early June in Italy: delving into the golden wheat fields in the Val d’Orcia, Tuscany.
  20. Collecting stickers, nations and cities, labels of Dolomite passes and French hills. Sticking them on your cases as you go along, a reminder of where you’ve been. And back home, in the winter, feeling proud as you stop at a light and notice the guys in the car next to you checking them out.
  21. Riding with the sun shining in your side-mirror.
  22. Riding with the sun in your eyes.
  23. Riding with the sun on your right.
  24. Riding with the sun on your left.
  25. In Italy, getting lost in the Chianti hills.
  26. Meeting other bikers, riding with them for a while and feeling you’ve known them all your life. And, coming up to a junction, it’s time to part: you turn left and they turn right, and everyone shouts: ”Ride Safe!”
  27. Drinking a glass of good wine at dinner.
  28. Sitting in the garden of your hotel, having had a shower, a cool mug of beer in front of you.
  29. Filling up at the gas station. In the distance the sea glimmers, flat and bright blue. Why not? Let’s go for a swim!
  30. Listening to the rumble of your motorcycle as you ride along, harmonizing with all the other sounds around you.
  31. Stopping to look at a view that will stay in your eyes forever.
  32. Taking the wrong road and discovering it’s better than the one you were meant to be on.
  33. Slowing down and then accelerating.
  34. Stopping under a fly-over to get out of a summer storm, waiting for the rain to subside and being rewarded with a spectacular rainbow.
  35. Reading the sports page while sipping a cup of coffee in a local bar. Sure, it might be written in Turkish, you don’t understand a word, but: hey, it’s still the sports page!
  36. Wondering round markets and finding souvenirs that are small enough to put into your overflowing luggage.
  37. Waking up in the morning, still sleepy, but happy to get onto your bike.
  38. Shipping your motorcycle from Italy to the US, and crossing America coast to coast. Sure, it might have been easier to rent a bike in the States, but what would you say to your own motorbike once home!?
  39. At breakfast, looking at the photos taken the day before. You know that today you’ll be on a better road and take nicer pictures.
  40. In France, the scent of freshly baked baguettes, wafting from the local Boulanger early in the morning as you set off on your bike from your hotel in Paris, heading for a long, complex day. You’ve already had breakfast, but you can’t resist: in you go just for the pleasure of buying one.
  41. Smelling the stink of cow dung as you travel along the long, boring stretch of road that cuts across Kansas. Later in the day a local tells you: “ Hey man, this is the smell of money!”
  42. Finding yourself on a rough dirt road, full of muddy holes and hidden stones. Your bike is overloaded, your wife worried. What to do? Go, man, go!
  43. When you’re starving hungry and there’s only that one place to stop for miles and miles. The food is horrible, but you eat it anyhow, thinking: “Tonight I’ll find something better.”
  44. In Italy, on the Alps, riding through 5 passes in one day.
  45. In the mountains, slowly winding your way up a steep slope in thick fog, visibility: 6 feet. Suddenly the fog lifts and you find yourself looking out on a breath-taking view.
  46. Stopping to buy fresh yogurt from a peasant selling it by the side of the road.
  47. Crossing the Death Valley with 120° Fahrenheit.
  48. Crossing the Mediterranean on a ferry as the sun sets into the sea.
  49. Knowing you are a true motorcyclist. Yes, I know I’ve already told this. But I like to be a motorcyclist!

To be continued…

I would like to have more info







    YesNo