a day after i sell my car, buy a motorcycle, and fully commit to life on two wheels, there's an article in the new york times targeting this very topic with a rather morbid conclusion: motorcycles are the new cocaine - the instrument that men my age use and abuse, and ultimately die from as a result.
based on the statistics cited for the average age of a fatal accident victim, i have about eight months to live.
it's a funny thing in a lot of ways; to strive for a certain connection to self, only to be greeted by such a grim statistic.
i grew up during the video revolution, and as a result closely followed the happenings of the cunningham family on happy days and their suave upstairs tenant. i owned a fonzie t-shirt in elementary school which made me feel a little closer to the cool guy i always wanted to be.
but fat kids with unruly cowlicks and repressed social skills are not cool. even in pseudo leather jackets. they just become sweaty, uncomfortable fat kids with cowlicks and even less social charm.
the best i could do was ride my bicycle and try to hang out with my brothers; cool, long haired rebel rousers who smelled like gas and looked like trouble. they had minibikes and gokarts and eventually, motorcycles.
our house was abuzz with engines, full of makeshift ramps and loud rock and roll, and carried with it the consequences of such adolescent combinations in the form of flesh wounds and other related injuries.
hard working and mechanically inclined, my siblings poured themselves into their motorcycles and carried with them a sense of pride as a result. they were different people. self aware and confident. everything i was not.
i didn't know much, but i always knew i wanted into that world.
years ago, i finally picked up my first motorcycle from the showroom floor. the emotional connection i had with ownership and with riding was instinctual, yet something i had distanced myself from for no good reason.
and now?
the dramatic jump and move to things exclusively on two wheels (motorcycles and bicycles) is for a lot of reasons a reconnection to self; a renewed sense of adventure, a desire for simplicity, and my minor attempt to be a little more earth friendly.
plus there's always the cool factor.
if i achieve any of those in the next eight months, then it was all worth it.
