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Is that even a question?

Not to me.  Although it once was.

By now, I’ve heard all the arguments about why it so totally dangerous to ride a motorcycle.  My soon-to-be mother-in-law (whom I love very much) texts me every so often that she is worried that her (almost-born) granddaughter won’t have a daddy because I’ll die in a horrific accident.  I can’t say I never worry about it; any responsible rider does.  And that’s why I’m less likely to actually get in a horrific accident: I pay very close attention to my surroundings, refrain from risky behaviors, and maintain proper riding procedures, such as always wearing a leather jacket, even when it’s eighty-five degrees outside.

The fact is that if we really stop to consider all the ways we could die every single day, we will all become agoraphobics.  It’s no way to live life.  So many people die in car accidents every single day, but many of us still get in a car every single day.  There is always the risk and the reward, and we must weigh them and act accordingly.

So you know the risks involved in riding a motorcycle.  The rewards?  There is no feeling like it on this planet.  Perhaps flying, but since humans can’t do that, a motorcycle it is.  There is no way to describe how wonderful it is to be in the open air, smelling the smells, hearing the noises, feeling that air hit you full on in the face and feeling that engine rumbling beneath you as you fly, fly, fly.  And have I mentioned how damn cool one looks straddling a bike?  Thank you, Brando and McQueen and Fonda and many others for injecting the aura of cool into riding a bike.  I’m all for function over fashion in certain situations, but how wonderful is it when we can combine function and fashion?  My bike gets fifty-seven miles to the gallon, and its emissions are much lower than a car; thus, I pay very little to go a long way, and I can travel in the carpool lane.

I could go on and on, but let me just say this: before you sneer at that guy splitting lanes to get to the front of a light line, before you scoff at the idiocy of that guy roaring past you on the freeway, remember this post.

And also remember that they’re cooler than you.