Have you ever noticed how there are always one or two people in the office who seem to be happier than everyone else? They rock up on a Monday morning, looking invigorated, like they spent Saturday swimming with dolphins and Sunday paragliding off of a mountain. How can it be that these people can be so happy and full of life, when everyone around them looks jaded and defeated? Are they on drugs? Are they defrauding the company of millions and about to assume a new identity and live the rest of their days out on a superyacht in the Azores? That could well be the case. If it is, you might want to have a quiet word in their ear to get a piece of the action.
If, however, that’s not what’s going on, there may be an even simpler explanation. Watch them as they leave work at the end of the day. Do they disappear to the cloakroom to get their coat and never reemerge? If they do, you’ve almost figured out their secret. Somewhere in the cloakroom, there is a portal to another dimension. No, just kidding, unless by some stretch of the imagination you could consider a biker’s ‘armor’ and helmet to constitute such a portal. You see, the chances are that they are bikers. They change in and out of their riding gear at the beginning and end of every day. When they emerge in their gear and helmet, you probably hide out of sight and avoid looking at them for fear of being robbed.
A biker is bound to be happier than your average person, and this is due to many reasons. The daily commute is just one such reason. Motorbikes can have a rough time when sharing fast but narrow highways with irresponsible drivers and very heavy vehicles. But there are usually better routes which are much more suitable for bikers. Taking these ways, bikers can avoid congestion and make it to work much faster than those who drive cars. They also enjoy the benefit of feeling closer to nature. They are more aware of the wind, the sun, the rain. They’re not locked up in a box-on-wheels, isolated from the universe, mind switched off, auto-pilot on. When they arrive at work, there’s no problem finding somewhere to park, either.
Motorcyclists are aware of the dangers associated with riding, and therefore are generally more aware, knowledgeable and skillful than car drivers. Overall, motorcyclists are 23% less likely to make a claim on their insurance policy. That, plus superior gas mileage means that bikers are spending much less than car drivers on getting around. All those savings can go towards other things they want – another reason to smile every day.
Being a biker automatically makes you a part of a large social group. Thing about this: when was the last time you saw two BMW owners find out that they drove the same type of vehicle, and go on to talk about it for ages, culminating in the start of a lifelong friendship? Not only has that never happened, it’s also never going to happen. Car drivers despise each other. They despise everyone. If they hit a deer while driving too fast on the open road, it’s the deer’s fault. They even hate Bambi. Bikers, on the other hand, feel a kind of pity for car drivers, and a genuine enthusiasm about other bikers. They look out for each other, both on the road and off it.
If you’ve decided you’d like to give it a shot, don’t go straight out and buy a Harley, though. If you really want to get the most out of biking as a hobby, go out and buy an old piece of junk. Get yourself a decent helmet and armor from Bikers Basics. Ride it up and down hills in the rain. Fall off it. Have it break down on you. Fix it up, learn everything you can about the bike and riding it. Once you’ve mastered your first bike, you’ll be able to truly appreciate what is beautiful about Harleys and other bikes. That way you’ll choose the right bike for your personality. Then you’ll never look back.
