Being a biker means far more than merely owning a bike, and we members of The Clan know that only too well. It’s that sense of belonging, which is sometimes quite obvious and at other times rather subtle and discreet that, for better or for worse, makes us seem different in the eyes of other road users.
Pedestrians and motorists view people like us, who are in the front-line of traffic, rather showy and sometimes rowdy, with a mixture of mistrust and fascination, and kids stare at us wide-eyed, yet far too often we are ignored by other vehicles on the road and exposed to any number of perils.
Seen from the outside, there is a mysterious aura surrounding that which to us is simply the most natural way of living out our passion, with many different facets and virtues that few people ever get to understand but that could teach many others quite a bit about life.
1 – Always seek out adventure
It doesn’t matter how epic is the undertaking on which you’re about to embark, you just need to hop on your bike and take off to feel that charge of electrical energy and enthusiasm, even if you’re just riding to work on your two-wheeler. Of course, if you should get it into your head to cross Siberia by bike, armed with little more than a tent and a tank of fuel, you’re perfectly capable of that too. But in essence, adventure is merely a state of mind, that shiver that runs down your spine all the time and that always makes you feel truly alive.
2 – Get up after a fall
“Such is life. Fall down seven times and get up eight times”, says a well-known Japanese proverb, but how many people have experienced what it means as personally as we bikers have? We bikers know that riding a bike is a pretty risky business, but when we fall, we are also able to pick ourselves up again, perhaps with a few extra battle-scars on our leathers to remind us that we have learned something more about ourselves and about life, but more determined than ever to do better next time, both on and off the road. Remember that the only person that never falls is the one who never tries!
3 – Always (or almost always) be punctual
When it comes to appointments, a biker’s word is sacred. No amount of heavy traffic or city chaos scares us as we weave our way “safely” between the motorists entombed in their little tin cans, and we know all the best roads to take in order to squeeze a few bends into even the most mundane trip…all OK, but without overdoing it, otherwise even you’re going to run late for that appointment!
4 – Always stay young
Bikers are ageless by definition. However, one thing that we all have under the helmet is that same smile that we had as children, playing with our friends in the courtyard at home. That happy, carefree feeling that we experience when we’re out on our bikes is beyond time, space and daily routines and something that certainly doesn’t diminish as the years go by, that’s for sure!
5 – We are romantics
We spend hours and hours with our heads enclosed in our helmets, in many cases with only rare and sporadic contact with the outside world. On paper, biking would seem to be a solitary and not so pleasant pastime, but that’s not really the case at all: we know how to strike that perfect balance between the powerful and addictive emotions of riding and those quiet spaces where our thoughts are free to roam, fuelled by successive bends and passing kilometres and with no outside interference whatsoever. In the end, we feel a certain sense of excitement without even knowing why.
