What Effect Does Adventure Riding Have?

Have you ever wondered what effect you have as you travel the planet by motorcycle?  As a participant in two-wheeled roaming, women and men wander across vast stretches of land, riding away the days, potentially with no real destination.  They may watch sunrises in early morning chill and witness sunsets having experienced the searing heat of the day.  They may have ridden through monsoon rains of Southeast Asia or the seemingly ceaseless winds of Patagonia.  Does such riding represent the sorrow of a lonely rider, a “rich” person’s folly, a lost soul’s wanderings or is it something more?

I would argue it’s much more.  While traveling the planet by motorcycle may indeed represent one of the above, it more often represents a person’s desire to observe.  Observe and more often than not, share.  You see, when someone chooses to travel by motorcycle, they have chosen to expose themselves to a myriad of experiences, the effect of the elements and their fellow human beings.  They have consciously made themselves far more vulnerable than they would have been had they surrounded themselves in a cocoon of metal and glass in climate controlled comfort, with cup holders and other conveniences.  No, the motorcycle rider often chooses to bypass these in favor of experiencing the all the planet has to offer.

The smell of the flowers on the spring, the sudden change in air temperature as they pass from searing heat to a pocket of cool air and even the beginning of rain having watched the clouds swell and darken as the day progressed.  And most importantly for many adventure riders, when the wheels stop spinning, a chance to stop and think about the day’s experiences and perhaps share them as well as their journey’s experiences with the people of the community where the rider finds themself.

It’s through this sharing that the adventure rider gives and takes.  She gives others the benefit of her life, the lessons learned, of the things she has seen and knows from the miles she has traveled.  In so giving receives a gift without asking.  The people she shares with often give back more than she has given.  What is their community like?  What have they experienced?  How can they help her?  This giving without really trying furthers understanding between people and communities far more than any politician could.

So the effect of your adventure riding is to further the community of the planet.  Ride to new places, observe and share with others.  Keep riding and everyone benefits.

Ride2Adventure – Shrink The Planet One Ride At A Time