10 WAYS RIDING HAS BENEFITTED ME

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By Wahid Ooi Abdullah

This may sound like a cliché, like saying chocolate ice-cream is tasty, but read on because it’s far from a glossy catalog’s literature at a motorcycle dealership. Rather, it’s a personal reflection of an undying bike nut. I’m confident you may be able to relate to some of them.

1. You Rebel Scum!

Being of Chinese descent, I’ve grown up being harangued by relatives for exposing myself to the dangers of the motorcycle. In their eyes, a motorcycle is like an exotic woman who bedevils an unsuspecting rider into a death-trap, which sacrifices limbs live to the god of asphalt. If it’s so, I might as draw a parallel to how a pretty girl would lead a man into marriage, kids and expensive household items, before he has time to come to his senses.

Additionally, most of the Chinese have this uncanny disposition of expensive bikes as a frivolous way to waste money: “It costs how much?! I might as well get a Camry!”

And just like other Chinese families, my Mum made me learn the organ. Nooooo, not even the piano or guitar or drums.

So I rebelled and found refuge in motorcycles and rock music (listen to Breakin’ The Law).

Now, I’d take satisfaction from rolling into my relatives’ weddings on a loud motorcycle wearing a blazer with like a lost participant from the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride or a racesuit like a Power Ranger, depending on my mood. Everyone stares, guys turn green, girls smile.

I grin.

2. Patience is a Virtue

No, it’s not if you’re stuck in traffic averaging 11 km/h.

I just couldn’t waste my short life stuck in a vessel, powerless to do anything except to letting my mind have a mind of its own and listening to a woman on the radio wailing about her experience in dealing with an ineffectual helpline by calling a thousand times.

Why should I burn 90 minutes in traffic when I could spend only 20 minutes by bike and utilize the extra 70 minutes for some quality time with my wife and baby that’s coming along?

That leads to:

3. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

Since it takes a much shorter time to ride to work, I could spend an extra hour or two at night ridding the world of terrorists in the name of freedom. Or laugh at bozos falling off their skateboards on YouTube. Or whatever tickles my fancy.

In fact, I could still have time for an awesome breakfast of fluffy blueberry pancakes drowning in butter and maple syrup, washed down with thick macchiato while thumbing through my newsfeed, despite getting up later than I would when I drive.

4. Dirt Cheap Thrills

Being able to open up and feel the adrenaline is any vehicle owners small pleasure. When that happens, last night’s bad date, the mortgage, and your dumb boss disappear, even if it’s just for a few minutes. That applies to everyone, including for a mum of five. But there’s no doubt that the motorcycle that proves the most exhilarating.

Here are some performance specs for comparison. Ferrari 488GTB, 0-100 km/h 3.0 secs. BMW S 1000 RR, 0-100 km/h 3.06 secs.

You know where I’m getting to.

In order to achieve the high-performance thrills, I’ve to shell out more than a million Ringgit for the car (dream on!), when I could have the same performance (give or take), at a mere 10% of the price of the Ferrari.

Fine, the S 1000 RR is not exactly cheap for most people (myself included) but its price is way more accessible than to just a lucky few who could afford four-wheeled hedonism. Or, let’s just go lower down the scale to a midrange 600/650cc bike like the Kawasaki ER-6f. Costing RM 39,000 when new, it could pull 3.6-second 0-100 km/h and 12.06-second quarter mile times.

Point is, I get to feel the rush of hitting 100 km/h in 3.0 seconds without having to buy a supercar.

On another scale, there’s motocross and offroad riding. One doesn’t even have to go fast to enjoy these activities. In fact, I giggle like a schoolgirl every time I ride offroad.

5. Seeing the World One Place at a Time

While it’s not impossible to do it via other modes of transportation, it’s the motorcycle that’s most practical for inaccessible places, like the berms between the paddy fields in my kampong. Look at the pictures those guys riding tough trails such as the Himalayas – it’s either by mules or motorcycles, take your pick.

I’ve personally toured in South Africa on a motorcycle and while those offroad trails were accessible to automobiles, doing it right on a motorcycle was way more gratifying. Besides that, I’m not merely taking in the scenery, I’m in the scenery itself. I actually tasted the citrusy air when we rode past the orange orchards. I can still remember the smell of fresh pine trees in the cold mountain air, and it was quite different from a car air freshener’s, I assure you.

6. It’s Cool Being a Geek

I’ve always been known to spend too much time looking at the details of even the simplest contraptions, then unloading what I’ve learned on people. People would find me boring, if not odd.

But in the company of bikers, talking tech when you’re out riding is unavoidable. Conversations will invariably turn to subjects about tyres, oil, fuel, riding skill, rider gear, etc. That’s because bikes are very personal and everyone wants to know about what’s better, if not the best.

And knowing a lot in a group would have your friends consulting you before they make their choices to purchase certain products.

It’s empowering (but please don’t Whatsapp me at 3 am to ask about tyre pressures).

This ties into the next point.

7. You Ride, You Learn

As I said earlier, I like to learn and I discovered that motorcycling is an unremitting process of learning and applying the lessons to make riding even more enjoyable. Any biker should continue to learn, regardless of his or her level of commitment.

It turns out I’ve just paraphrased what Confucious said about learning in writing this.

There’s so much to pick up. As motorcycle technology evolve, so do need one’s riding skills and knowledge in order to exploit them to their fullest potentials.

Besides, motorcycles have their parts pretty much exposed and in easily within reach, so I’ve consequently learned to perform the small adjustments and oil changes myself. But any biker could do these too, for there are plenty of YouTube videos and workshop manuals out there.

8. Exercising is Fun

Riding a motorcycle is exercise.

A motorcycle requires lots of physical inputs from the rider in order to for it to work properly. Body positioning, steering, braking, leaning into a turn, a rider’s job is non-stop. We are still using certain muscles to hold the bike up and its bearing when we’re riding straight up and down a long highway.

A rider’s body will work harder when he’s riding in the canyon and the track. Motocross turns up the fat burn quotient even higher as the rider has to utilize almost every single muscle in his body – that’s why Malaysian GP legend, Oh Kah Beng calls his MX school Most Fun Gym.

9. Ride to Eat, Eat to Ride

Malaysia is famous for its endless varieties of cooking, with distinctive dishes in different places. It’s no wonder eating is a favourite pastime for Malaysians and motorcycling has brought us to the discovery of some of the best. Malaysian motorcycle riders will figure in something good to eat into their rides, in some remote location even Google may not map. (That’s an exaggeration, but you know what I mean.)

Many times have I gone for a “quick lunch” with my riding buddies and ending up being home past dinner time.

10. The Community

It’s the human psyche that we interact when there’s a common train of thought, view, or activity.

Away from social media, ice-breaking with another biker for a conversation is the easiest:

“Where are you headed?”

“Just to Lemang To’Ki. Wanna tag along?”

“Yeah, sure!”

We then started adding each other in FB and I have a huge network of like-minded friends before I knew it, and enjoying the brother- or sisterhood henceforth. A process of education and learning also starts.

Mixing with the right bike clubs will make you a better person too, and it’s taught me to be more charitable, through charity rides and visits to orphanages and old folks’ homes.

So there you go. Motorcycling isn’t just a mere form of transportation. Instead, a whole way of life revolves around it.

What’s your experience?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]