(Contributed article for our northern hemisphere readers)
They travel in a pack. They are loud. They are sometimes scary looking. They are bikers. Many people stare in awe when they see a group of booming bikers clad in black zooming down the street. But if you get a chance to get closer to these somewhat intimidating groups, you will discover that they are an awesome bunch.
Here are some reasons why we think bikers are just the coolest people around.
They Know about Life and Its Complexities
It does not matter what you ride, but this Harley-Davidson Softail FXDR would be coolBikers may travel in groups or collectives but at heart they are individuals. They have to know their machine – all the simple stuff and the complex stuff – and be able to take care of it wherever they are. For a biker, life is a journey in every sense of the term, and they learn from it every single day. They know that they will face situations when they are on the go, and by experience know how to resolve those situations. They can handle life, that is the single biggest lesson biking teaches a person: to face life and handle it as it plays out.
They are Free
A biker enjoys a degree of freedom others generally never will. Imagine having the power to just wrap up for a few days, disconnect, and ride away! It doesn’t matter whether they do it individually or in a group: the fact that they are able to do it places them at a level others don’t get to be at. It seems like they are always looking for fun, and seem to find it.
They are Adventurers
Bikers can seek out places that most of us normally wouldn’t ever get to. That is just sheer magic; to be able to visualize a place, conceptualize the journey to it, actually embark on the journey, and get there. The sight itself is awe-inspiring: someone all packed and geared up and on the road, on his way to wherever he has decided to go to. And you know that he will do it on his own, enjoying the landscape by being part of it as against watching it through a window
They have a Balanced State of Mind
Riding a bike requires coordination between mind and body of the highest order. There are so many factors that come into play: reaction time, the ability to stay calm in the face of adversity – in the case of a bike breakdown, for instance, the patience to be able to ride long distances without getting bored or frustrated, and much more.
All of these are the perfect recipes for a balanced state of mind. That is why most bikers you come across seem level-headed and with a great sense of anticipation. A biker will know the right course of action to take and actually be able to take it in something as simple as a heavy traffic scenario. He doesn’t have to wait around twiddling his thumbs waiting for everyone to get a move on – he can choose to do so if he wants to – and get edgy, he can actually revise his course and find another way.
Bikers are a Fraternity
People do not realise that bikers are everywhere. India has more biker clubs than the USABikers are one of a kind and that automatically creates a brotherhood of sorts, a fraternity. It is natural for a biker on the road to acknowledge another one passing him even if he doesn’t know the other biker personally. That kind of a collective can work wonders and give one a sense of family. And look at it the other way around, it gives a biker to bring other fellow bikers and human beings into his fold and treat them like family.
The ability to create community is a big deal: not everyone has the wherewithal to do something like that. For a biker, being an individual is a given, and awareness of that sense of being is what gives them the ability to welcome them into their world. Even more important, the ability to be part of a community that is not family by the proper definition of the term and interact with other members in it and treat them with respect and as one of their own makes bikers amazing people.