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Difference between revisions of "Motorcycling"
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Many motorcyclists ride as a way to relieve stress, to "clear the mind." Despite the fact that ''Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'' speaks very little about motorcycle maintenance, or Zen, some enthusiasts believe the link to be a natural one. Zen is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism which strongly emphasizes the practice of moment-by-moment awareness and of "seeing deeply into the nature of things by direct experience." Motorcycling demands moment-by-moment awareness and, unlike driving, rewards the rider with direct experience. | Many motorcyclists ride as a way to relieve stress, to "clear the mind." Despite the fact that ''Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'' speaks very little about motorcycle maintenance, or Zen, some enthusiasts believe the link to be a natural one. Zen is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism which strongly emphasizes the practice of moment-by-moment awareness and of "seeing deeply into the nature of things by direct experience." Motorcycling demands moment-by-moment awareness and, unlike driving, rewards the rider with direct experience. | ||
[[Hunter S. Thompson]]'s book ''Hell's Angels'' includes an ode to the joys of pushing a motorcycle to its limits on the open road: he states that "with the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin, and no room at all for mistakes... that's when the strange music starts, [and]... fear becomes exhilaration [and the]... only sounds are the wind and a dull roar floating back from the mufflers. <ref>[[Hunter S. Thompson]], ''Hell's Angels'', 1967, Random House, New York</ref> Similarly, | [[Hunter S. Thompson]]'s book ''Hell's Angels'' includes an ode to the joys of pushing a motorcycle to its limits on the open road: he states that "with the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin, and no room at all for mistakes... that's when the strange music starts, [and]... fear becomes exhilaration [and the]... only sounds are the wind and a dull roar floating back from the mufflers. <ref>[[Hunter S. Thompson]], ''Hell's Angels'', 1967, Random House, New York</ref> Similarly, T. E. Lawrence wrote of the "lustfulness of moving swiftly" and the "pleasure of speeding on the road" on a motorcycle, which he compared to the sensation of "feel[ing] the earth moulding herself under me", coming alive, and "heaving and tossing on each side like a sea." | ||
<ref> | <ref>T. E. Lawrence, ''T. E. Lawrence to his Biographers Robert Graves and Liddell Hart'', (edited by Robert Graves and B. H. Liddell Hart), 1963, Casell, London</ref> | ||
[[Milan Kundera]] also noted that "speed is the form of ecstasy the technical revolution has bestowed on man"; unlike a runner, "when man delegates the faculty of speed to a machine" such as a motorbike, "from then on, his own body is outside the process, and he gives over to a speed that is noncorporeal, nonmaterial, pure speed, speed itself, ecstasy speed." <ref>[[Milan Kundera]], ''[[Slowness (novel)|Slowness]]'', 1996, Faber, London</ref> Not all motorcyclists have a "need for speed", but many do. Speed draws many people to motorcycling, because the power-to-weight ratios of even low-power motorcycles rivals that of an expensive sports car. The power-to-weight ratio of high power [[sport bike]]s is well beyond any mass-production automobile. All for a fraction of the price of those automobiles. | [[Milan Kundera]] also noted that "speed is the form of ecstasy the technical revolution has bestowed on man"; unlike a runner, "when man delegates the faculty of speed to a machine" such as a motorbike, "from then on, his own body is outside the process, and he gives over to a speed that is noncorporeal, nonmaterial, pure speed, speed itself, ecstasy speed." <ref>[[Milan Kundera]], ''[[Slowness (novel)|Slowness]]'', 1996, Faber, London</ref> Not all motorcyclists have a "need for speed", but many do. Speed draws many people to motorcycling, because the power-to-weight ratios of even low-power motorcycles rivals that of an expensive sports car. The power-to-weight ratio of high power [[sport bike]]s is well beyond any mass-production automobile. All for a fraction of the price of those automobiles. | ||