IMAGE BY BRANDON LAJOIE
Though motorcyclists are often portrayed as risk-takers, thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies, I’ve never quite bought it. If riders only wanted to take risks, then why would a safety-oriented blog like mine even exist — much less have hundreds of visitors each month?
Before I started riding, I considered motorcycles the sole domain of adrenaline junkies, so I never even considered doing it myself. I mean, I’m adventurous — I love trying new things and being a bit rebellious. But I wouldn’t call myself a risk-taker. I always buckle up, always wear a life jacket.
Of course, it only took one ride for me to fall in love with two wheels. But I’m still the same person. My love for motorcycles didn’t transform me into an irrational thrill-seeker. That image of the motorcyclist as unpredictable, reckless daredevil… it’s simply not me.
And because you’re reading this post, I don’t think it’s you, either.
Looking beyond the risks of motorcycling
So, what is it that compels us to ride motorcycles, if not the sheer thrill of risking your life? The thrill is part of it, of course, but I refuse to believe it’s all there is. After all, if we only wanted to take risks, there are far easier (and less expensive) ways to put your life on the line.
Other explanations, like freedom or connectedness, also strike me as shallow. If that was all there was, we could get the same feeling from riding bicycles or hiking in the woods, without taking the same risks.
I’m not claiming freedom, connectedness and risk-taking aren’t an important part of the riding experience. It’s just that if those feelings were all we wanted, we could achieve them in other ways. But those other ways wouldn’t scratch the same itch we have for motorcycling.
In my view, the straightforward feelings of taking a risk or feeling freedom are too passive. I believe that the appeal of motorcycling is that it makes us active participants, in control of our experiences.
When we ride, we don’t just feel free and connected, we actively create those feelings. With every second, we both create risk and save ourselves from it.
In other words, motorcyclists do not simply seek risk. We master it.
“Flowing” with the Ride
My inspiration for this insight came from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s influential book, Flow. In the first few chapters, Csikszentmihalyi describes the factors that help generate the mental state he calls flow — the feeling you get when you’re “in the zone” or “at the top of your game.”
To better understand flow, Csikszentmihalyi interviewed people who are experts in activities that require extreme skill, such as mountain climbing. And he found that, although some people may be addicted to the rush of facing risks, most of the mountaineers he interviewed actually found fulfillment from using their skills and expertise to avoid danger and control those risks.
Csikszentmihalyi also claims that control is one of the reasons we find flow enjoyable — even just for a few minutes, experiencing a world where things are ordered and under control is immensely reassuring.
In fact, I think this same flow state is what most riders are talking about when they call riding “therapy” or “meditation.” And, according to Csikzentmihalyi, exercising control over a risky situation is one of the key factors that helps us reach that state.
Cool story… But what’s your point?
You might have heard — May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness month in the U.S., which is a topic dear to my heart. Helping riders stay safe and enjoy riding for as long as they can is the reason I started this blog in the first place.
My point is this: if we continue to portray all motorcycle riders as risk-takers, we undermine our efforts to keep riders safe on the road.
After all, if someone is interested in taking risks, why would they wear a helmet? If you want the maximum risk possible, shouldn’t an increased possibility of having your brain bashed in be a good thing?
For some, perhaps. But it’s certainly not how all riders feel — not anyone I ride with, at least.
If we reframe our perspective, however, and instead view motorcyclists as people who want to master dangerous risks, then wearing a full-face helmet and protective gear makes complete sense. Motorcyclists who want to overcome risk will embrace wearing a full-face helmet since it not only increases their chances of surviving an accident, but signals to other riders that they are not afraid to confront and control the risks of riding.
From this perspective, practicing your emergency riding skills, wearing protective gear and increasing your visibility are absolutely badass endeavors.
Motorcyclists: Masters of Risk
I’ve always said that improving motorcycle safety will require a culture change. In fact, in his book, Motorcycle Safety and Dynamics, Vol 1, motorcycle safety expert Jim Davis tells new riders to behave atypically if they want to survive their first year of riding.
Certainly in many riding communities things have gotten much better for riders who prefer to master risks instead of just taking them. But the fact that helmet usage in the US was only at 64% in 2014 indicates that we still have a ways to go.
Luckily, this simple attitude adjustment — one that I personally find very appealing — could help us close that gap.
There will always be risks beyond your control, but embracing motorcycle safety as a courageous, worthwhile endeavor will help you survive to enjoy a ride another day.
Because really, what more do we want than to ride again tomorrow?
UPDATE 5/16/17: Originally, the title of this post said “Not all Motorcyclists are Risk-Takers…”, which I quickly realized was inaccurate. Riding is an inherently risky activity, and I never want to imply that it isn’t.
My goal was to discuss the idea of riders as people who take irrational risks, and how it would benefit our safety culture if we could ditch that stereotype, which I believe doesn’t apply to the majority of riders.
Also, many thanks to my readers who are willing to sink their teeth into these complicated constructs with me! I appreciate every one of you.
Personally I ride for a few different reasons. The first of which is – when everything comes together (skills, traffic, time, life) – it feels more like flying than anything else I’ve ever experienced.
I rode a bicycle exclusively for three years prior to buying the motorcycle and the motorcycle gives me the same feeling as coasting down a long smooth hill – only without slowing at the bottom.
There is a visceral difference between riding comfortably inside a vehicle and being propelled upon it, holding on while it goes about its merry business carrying you forward. I’m not a risk taker, but there is definitely a sense of thrill – even if it’s managed safely.
Another good article, Loryn. I love your writing and wanted to add my thoughts as another *safe* rider.
Thank you, Kasey! I agree, motorcycles are as close as I’ve ever been to flying. Might be one of the reasons there’s such a tight association between motorcycles and aircraft 🙂
I think, what I was trying to say with this article, is not to offer an explanation for why *everyone* likes riding, but rather a potential explanation for why the human brain likes riding, and why it creates in us all these feelings of enjoyment, satisfaction, freedom, healthy thrill, etc. If that makes sense. I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to take “it’s inexplicable” for an answer, and sometimes it leads me down paths that are hard to follow 😉
And then, also, I was possibly even more interested in the implications it would have for our discussion about safety than the explanation itself. Maybe I should have lead with that.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments and solid discussion, as usual! I’m grateful to have motorcycle friends like you to read and assess my ideas.
Have been and always will be a fan of you and your gifted writing. This one troubled me some and got me thinking more than your usual thought-provoking missives. We [bikers], like everyone else in life, fall into so many categories … so many, in fact, I get irked by it a little.
When it comes to bikes, I wish we could all just be a family of riders and not bought; built; new; vintage; American; foreign; cruiser; sport bike; bobber; scrambler; brat; cafe racer; et cetera … except trikes … those MUST go! Only Kidding! 😀
The fact is, regardless of what we ride, we do all fit into one category: We are all risk-takers.
We just assume varying degrees of it. There’s no such thing as a “safe motorcycle rider.” Our chosen / preferred method of transportation is inherently risky.
Forget talking on mobile phones – on my bike I’ve seen people crocheting while they drive “cages” or reading a book with the book above the steering wheel (as if lowered would be better, yes I know). And never mind the octogenarian who sees no problem with the fact that he drove three people off the road … he’s got places to go. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to external threats.
There are only 19 states (and Washington D.C.) with full helmet laws; 28 with partial helmet laws (riders above a certain age don’t have to wear them); and three with NO helmet laws (I’m looking at you Iowa, Illinois, and New Hampshire). And none of them require people to wear any other PPE than the helmet. Many of our brethren in all 50 states still fight / lobby hard to not wear helmets. Further feeding the “risk-taker, thrill-seeker, adrenaline-junkie” image are those speed freaks who (at least on this coast) blow through traffic at triple-digit speeds wearing nothing more than a helmet, a t-shirt, and jeans (or shorts).
We don’t all have a death-wish; but a not-insignificant number of our fellow riders do, and that sullies the brand you are doing so much to protect with your wonderful and much-needed blog.
We would like to not be classified as reckless; but unfortunately not everybody in our boat is rowing in the same direction.
Regarding the “Why” I ride, for me, that is not simple at all. I know there’s the meditative effect that you & I have discussed: I come back from a ride almost a completely different (and happier) person; but to truly describe why I love motorcycles would be like trying to describe why I love my wife. Yes, from an existential standpoint, she’s beautiful, whip-smart (even though she married me), has a ginormous heart, she’s funny, she’s competitive, supportive, and an incredible mother to our kids. She’s all of that; but at the same time, none of that comes close to capturing why I love her. I have (selfishly) hoped that I go before she does, because I don’t want to know a life without her.
For me (and obviously on a lesser scale), motorcycles are similar. Yes, there’s the life-changing aspect; freedom; mastering a skill; swimming in the “flow” and so much more; but for me, it’s also visceral.
I love the ride; and I love the way it makes me feel. I could list of number of reasons why I love motorcycles and riding; but similar to describing why I love my wife, every attempt to do so falls woefully short of capturing the feelings within me.
All that aside, and much like you, no, my love for motorcycles didn’t transform me into an irrational thrill-seeker. That image of the motorcyclist as unpredictable, reckless daredevil is not me either; but we do assume risk.
There’s incredible stuff in your head; and we all benefit when you put your fingers on the keyboard to share it all with us. I don’t take that nor your friendship for granted.
Ride on and write on, because you’re right on!
Ohene, as usual, thank you for your generous comments 🙂
It’s true, maybe I got too carried away trying to keep this headline short — as I mentioned in my response to Kacey, what I was trying to communicate was not necessarily what *everyone* likes about riding, but the psychological reasons our brains create those different feelings in us, and frankly why the human brain even likes such experiences in the first place! Like I was telling you about my “effectance” experiences — I’m the sort of person that doesn’t like to take “just because” for an answer, and sometimes it leads me down crazy roads 😉
I agree, though — we are all different, and our brains don’t all react the same way to the same stimuli. In fact, many of us can respond in many different ways all at once! And riders are definitely all risk-takers to an extent (probably it should have been “Not all Motorcyclists are Daredevils”). But I think what I really got excited about was the potential for appealing to the sense of mastery and control of riding a motorcycle in relation to motorcycle safety, and how we could possibly help reframe some of those safety issues in the minds of other riders — for example, riders who think that wearing a helmet isn’t badass. I possibly should have focused on that first.
Thanks again for reading and for sharing a thoughtful response, Ohene. As a character in a Barbara Kingsolver novel says, “I never learn anything from listening to myself.”
LT, not taking “just because” for an answer and then letting that inquisitive drive lead you down “crazy roads” is the fountainhead for innumerable human endeavors (past & present) that have benefited – and will yet benefit – mankind … not too dissimilar to what RIDEWELL does for the biker community – young and old(er). 😉
You are wise beyond your years; and we are all the beneficiaries of your penchant to “open the closed doors” many of us either don’t see or ignore because we assume they’re shut for a reason, and then share the contents of the rooms they lead to with the rest of us for our own edification and yours.
Proud to know you. Keep the rubber side down.
“motorcyclists do not simply seek risk. We master it.” I love this so much. It has been difficult to explain at times that I do not pursue risks on my motorcycle like some drug, but rather the risks are the stimuli that encourage me to grow the skill needed to master motorcycling. I commute year round up here in western Washington. I don’t shy from riding in the rain, cold, nighttime, or anything else the PNW throws at us. I also recently became an Iron Butt Association member by riding 1,047 miles in 17 hours. All of it is part of my strategy to gain experiences that will translate into expertise. That expertise will enable me to ride safer and enjoy the motorcycling life as long as possible. When risk is inherent in the activity you love, safety must be paramount in the culture with which you live out the activity.
Thank you so much, Bryan! I’m with you, I find the idea that risk mastery is behind what we do as riders insanely compelling. And congratulations on your Iron Butt run, that’s awesome! I think you’re right, there is something to learning how to ride in many different conditions, on different bikes. Every type of riding teaches us something different, and the more types of riding we do, the more often, the better equipped we’ll be to handle the risks inherent in riding.
Thanks again for your comment! I’m glad you connected with the post, I hope we can spread this idea to as many riders as we can 🙂
Hi Loryn,
Loved the article as always. I was just wondering, what are the sources of the studies you refer to? In this article, and Psychology Of Becoming One With Your Motorcycle?
You’ve referred to some really interesting studies, and I’d love to read them in depth. 🙂
Thanks!
Great writing as always.
Thank you very much! I’m so glad you enjoyed these articles, they are some of my favorites 🙂
For this article, most of the research all came from Flow by Mihalyi Cszikzentmihalyi, and in the other article the main book reference was The Distraction Addiction by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. Any other source that was available online is linked in the text of the article.
If you’re interested in this topic, both of those books are excellent reads. Enjoy!
This article is bull shit. I’m a truck driver so I’m all over the country and I’m on the road every day. I have never seen a safe person on a motorcycle. They all want to do a hundred miles an hour, weave in and out of traffic getting too close for comfort and if you make them mad, they knife your tires or bash your mirrors. Then the police let them go because the cops are riders too and douche bags stick together. You people are as bad as the people who say pitbulls don’t kill enough kids to get a bad rap. Suck the left side of my right nut.
I don’t know much about pit bulls, but I would think humans have a much greater diversity of approaches to risk-taking behaviors.