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!
- Knowing you are a true motorcyclist.
- Having fun.
- Unfolding a map on the table in the den, and following a road with your finger. To actually touch your next trip.
- Shifting into first gear and telling yourself: “I’m off!”
- Getting to where you want to go.
- 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!
- 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.
- Being in your own world when you’re inside your helmet.
- Going with the wind.. even if you don’t like the wind.
- Getting your head back on track.. riding a twisty road.
- Squeezing that extra pair of underpants into your already bursting travel case.
- Taking your boots off after a whole day on the bike. Your feet give thanks.
- Having to change maps while on the road, and, after folding it to size, seeing that it slips into the map-holder perfectly.
- Making a quick stop to ask directions from a local, then finding out the guy is so nice that you take time to chat.
- 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.
- Feeling great as you come out of 1, 2, 3 bends, perfectly executed.
- Staying young.
- 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.
- Early June in Italy: delving into the golden wheat fields in the Val d’Orcia, Tuscany.
- 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.
- Riding with the sun shining in your side-mirror.
- Riding with the sun in your eyes.
- Riding with the sun on your right.
- Riding with the sun on your left.
- In Italy, getting lost in the Chianti hills.
- 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!”
- Drinking a glass of good wine at dinner.
- Sitting in the garden of your hotel, having had a shower, a cool mug of beer in front of you.
- Filling up at the gas station. In the distance the sea glimmers, flat and bright blue. Why not? Let’s go for a swim!
- Listening to the rumble of your motorcycle as you ride along, harmonizing with all the other sounds around you.
- Stopping to look at a view that will stay in your eyes forever.
- Taking the wrong road and discovering it’s better than the one you were meant to be on.
- Slowing down and then accelerating.
- 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.
- 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!
- Wondering round markets and finding souvenirs that are small enough to put into your overflowing luggage.
- Waking up in the morning, still sleepy, but happy to get onto your bike.
- 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!?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!”
- 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!
- 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.”
- In Italy, on the Alps, riding through 5 passes in one day.
- 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.
- Stopping to buy fresh yogurt from a peasant selling it by the side of the road.
- Crossing the Death Valley with 120° Fahrenheit.
- Crossing the Mediterranean on a ferry as the sun sets into the sea.
- Knowing you are a true motorcyclist. Yes, I know I’ve already told this. But I like to be a motorcyclist!
To be continued…