At this point in my life, and in the experience of using a scooter, motorcycle or bicycle to get around, I have reached a conclusion. A conclusion that I wish I had reached much much sooner in my life.
When I was younger, high school and college age younger, I owned a car but I truly lived on my bicycle. I rode it everywhere and anywhere, including places I should not have. At that time in my life, I was in good shape. Riding was a mixture of pleasure and transportation. As I got older, got married watched my wife bring or children in to the world, I lost touch with the fitness and love of my bicycle.
I became distracted. The creature comforts of a car. The ease and "safety" as it is. I told myself I enjoyed driving, and I suppose I did, for a while. 10 years ago, I bought my first mountain bike, and started back to riding, casually and purely for recreation. The enjoyment was there, but the fitness was not. I had gotten old, fat and out of shape, so I never really committed to it. 6 years ago this moth, I bought my first scooter.
Though I had ridden motorcycles on occasion when I was young, this was the first time I considered committing to a riding as a lifestyle choice. As I turned my car over to my daughter this year, I also returned to riding my bicycle on the roads for the first time in close to 15 years. The love is still there. Slowly working my way back to a point where I can use my bicycle as a part time commuter in addition to my scooter.
Quickly I found something that was missing from my life. I was happy. My wife was not. She was and remains terrified of motorcycles, and the scooter as an extension of that. She is terrified of what can happen to motorcycles on the road. She is, without question, correct. It is dangerous to ride, even casually.
But, she copes because she sees the difference in me. She sees that I am happy, and for that, she hides her discomfort. I love her for that and many other things. Every now and then, she slips and makes a comment that hammers home how uncomfortable she is with it.
This summer though has led to something of an epiphany.
I love to be on two wheels, and I truly do not enjoy being 'inside'. There is nothing specific just many little things. The air, the sun even the ambient noises. It is something I lack the eloquence to explain. Some people can ride and never feel it. Others will ride one time and be forever changed.
What really drove the point home for me was going out to look at cars with my wife. Our 'family' car is now approaching 10 years old and while it stills runs well, 13mpg is not going to cut it for everyday usage much longer. We decided to shop around for a nice high mpg sedan to haul the family as the daily driver and keep the bigger vehicle in the garage for those times when we actually need to haul 6 or 7 people. Shopping for cars hit me hard, because standing on those lots and looking at the options I came to understand a simple truth.
I do not want a car. I enjoy two wheels too much. I see too many negatives to cars as they exist today. Environmentally, culturally, and even socially, cars have come to represent much of 'what is wrong' in our societies today. They have ceased to be tools and become symbols.
While I know that most of the people I meet in life will never be able to understand or agree with me, I wish I could help more of them feel the changes that need to be made. I am still working on how I can help to influence and shape the perceptions to get more people on two wheels, but understanding my own experience is probably a good first step.