I'm looking at this thread and thinking 'Quite a few flippant answers here!' and I think that's because its so hard to some up in a few words. I do know that no matter how hard I try some of my freinds just don't get it. You can see it in their eyes they are thinking 'Why? Cars are so much more comfortable, and why Iran/Pakistan? Europe is much safer, easier, more relaxing etc.' And the funny thing is they are right.
But some of my freinds say 'COOL!' and you can see from the light in their eyes and the unsupressed grin they mean it. They know that the discomfort and vulnerability are worth it. They know that adventure does not come without risk. They are also aware that a cup of nescafe heated in a battered aluminium pot over a roaring petrol stove as the sun rises over some exotic mountain range tastes better than huge cup of choccamoccachino with chocolate sprinkles in a big sofa at a holiday resort on the Med. And they are right too.
It's not that one way is de facto BETTER than the other it's just that adventure motorcycling SUITS US better. And while there may be particular facets of the experience that appeal most to the individual motorcyclist (fast off road action/leisurely cruising through exotic cultures etc.) I think there is an indefinable quality of adventure (indefinable by me at least) inate in travelling by motorcycle that either appeals to your natural make up or not. It's why some people lie on the beach while others go surfing and why some people ski into the back-country while the majority queue for chairlifts. To some up I don't really think the question should be 'Why a bike?' but more 'What type of person...?'
JMHO
Matt

bike looks much better in photo with ocean or mountains or river or food stand or people or friends or tent or .... than car does...

because its really ****ing cool. check out the movie easy rider if you don't know what i'm talking about. or go to globeriders.com and check out the pics. awesome.

In a car/truck/bus/plane/train you are inside. You view the passing parade.

On a motorcycle or bicycle or walking you are part of the parade. There is an immediate contact with the soil, air, animals and other people you don't have when you’re inside. Like looking at a football match rather than playing it.


Copywrite - me! Unless I'm remembering it from somewheres else.

On a motorcycle/bicycle you are so much more aware of your surroundings and the smells, some good some bad. You never seem to forget these.

Julio

If one has to ride in the air conditioned comfort of your CAR then he might as well sit at home and get the same feeling in his couch playing some CAR racing game on X box.
To ride a bike is more than just viewing sights , riding allows you to experience places that one can never feel while driving in the closed confines of a car!
Robert Prisig had it perfectly on the point when he said!

Travelling by car is like watching a movie, Travelling by bike is like being IN a movie.

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Ride far, ride safe , ride often,,,...

Hello all,
These are some of the quotes collected by me from writer friends,, But I think which would be apt here and would define why we choose RIDING over driving ....
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Pleasure for riding FREAKS!!

The pleasure is when you finish your day ride, and reach in one piece. You the smallest vehicle on the road, and you survived.

The pleasure is when you take off your wristwatch, and see a band of untanned skin.

The pleasure is when your motorcycle and you move as one single united form. Whatever shape the road takes, whichever end of the compass it leads to.

The pleasure is when you use your hands, arms, thighs,
knees and feet to steer.

The pleasure is when you take off your riding jacket for a break, and feel the breeze dry your sweat.

The pleasure is when you sing to yourself on an empty road. You are the world’s best rock star.

The pleasure is when your rear wheel slides, and you bring it back, when the front wheel lifts, and you take your time bringing it back.

The pleasure is when you cut through air, at 50 kph or 100.

The pleasure is when you reach a place you never been
before, and someone you never seen before asks you for a ride. And comes back grinning.

The pleasure is when you wave to village kids, and they wave back.

The pleasure is when you almost, almost fall. But dont

The pleasure is when you fight the wind, and win.

The pleasure is when you get up that narrow path for the view you never forget.

The pleasure is when you view the world at an angle.

The pleasure is when you eat bugs at 90 kph.

The pleasure is when you look at a dust-streaked face in the mirror after a 500 km ride, and don't want to wash up.

The pleasure is when your pillion moves with you.

The pleasure is when you can see the petrol after a top-up.

The pleasure is when your throttle hand has calluses.

The pleasure is when you jump a speedbreaker.

The pleasure is when you stop to help push a stranded car to the side of the road.

The pleasure is when you stop at the smallest of towns, and somebody asks you technical specifications.

The pleasure is when your book of roadmaps gets dog-eared, rain-splashed, tea-stained.

The pleasure is when you give a stranger a lift.

The pleasure is when you have battle-scars.

The pleasure is when you can feel the cool morning and the hot afternoon, the light rain and the damp fog.

The pleasure is when you leave four-wheeler traffic standing in a jam.

The pleasure is when you aren’t lulled by an air-conditioner.

The pleasure is when you are free. Open. Independent.
Liberated.

I dont think you can compare car overlanding with bikes, can you? No more than you would compare bikes with Inter-railing. So why a bike - because there is nothing else like it. It's about adventure, freedom from and freedom to. Faced with those sorts of opportunities a car - which sure has its uses - just doesn't come into it.

Bishop Ted

It's not where you've been; it's where you're going. Going on two wheels... !

Because four wheel drives are for mums to take the kids to school.

http://users.netlink.com.au/~asimpson

That's a bit sexist, Simmo! What about dads that take their kids to school and mums that ride bikes?

Sorry Stephano no offence intended, just taking part in the great Australian rush back to nineteenth century morality and human rights standards.

Am I being seditous?

Looking at your garden through the window from inside your house is more comfortable when the weather is bad but you would miss so much if you never ventured outside.

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for me...piloting a motorcycle thru the environment is much more interactive. maybe it comes with adding some vulnerability to the elements that provides true interaction.

the common cliche of cars being a cage are true. ALSO, you limts what you bring along when on a motorcycle...which constantly reminds us of what we really do not need in life.

Look around...every creature on this planet moves head first thur the liquid they live in, wheter it is water or air. A motorcycle allows you to mimic this natural movement better than a car.

How many times to you see ferry queue car drivers/passengers get out and talk to each other?
Bikers nearly all do, and then meet up on the ferry for a blether.

How many times do you see car drivers wave to each other?
In the UK nearly all bikers do.

Kids don't often wave to cars, but plenty of them wave to bikers.

On a bike the journey is challenging,fun, risky,satisfying. In a car it's a chore.

At the end of a days journey if fellow bikers are met stories are swapped and information exchanged. Haven't done that so much after a car trip.