Therapeutic value of Riding a Motorcycle
Motorcycles and therapy. To many people, if you ride a motorcycle, you may need therapy. Little do they know that riding in itself is a kind of therapy.
It is stated in almost every article about motorcycles that riding is dangerous. That is a given. There is no need to go into that further. When you are riding, you can feel the road. You don’t have the 4 way independent suspension. You will actually feel the bumps of the road. You will feel the wind hitting you. The faster you ride, the more the feeling of flight you will experience.The danger that a motorcycle brings is therapy in itself. That rush that you get knowing that you are doing something that can be dangerous, but not out of control, can help stress melt away. If you are having a bad day, nothing will put a smile on your face more than putting some highway miles between you and your problems.
While you are riding (while keeping safety in mind), you can let you mind wander a bit. Maybe it is the wind, maybe it is the rumble of the engine, whatever it is, a few hours rolling down the pavement will clear your head. Very rarely will you come back from a ride as stressed out as you were when you left.
As long as you adhere to local laws, and have the experience to do so, motorcycles can be a great way to get rid of excess anger. Everyone knows that motorcycles are fast. They have a very high power to weight ratio. This can give you the opportunity to take off, ripping through the gears and be moving at a high rate of speed in no time. Without saying you should break any laws and providing you do it safely, “riding like you stole it” can make you much, much happier than when you started the motorcycle.
On the other end of the scale, you can take a ride around town. With stop and go traffic, you will not be able to ride fast or feel the open road. What you can do is get noticed by all the other drivers on the road. Yes, pride my be one of the deadly sins but it is still a lot of fun to see the jealously in the eyes of the guy next to you at the stop light. You are on the motorcycle that you have spent hundreds of hours building in the garage, him in his Eco friendly (and usually ugly) “smart car” that is attempting to get the same gas mileage as you are. Let’s be honest, for the same gas mileage, you are cooler on your custom motorcycle. It feels good to know that most people (especially men) that see you riding want to be you at that moment.
The beneficial mental reasons for riding are countless. These are just a couple of reasons that riding can be the best therapy. Just like all people and all motorcycles are different, what you get out of the ride is completely different from person to person. The bottom line is, if you are having a bad day, a few hours on your bike will make you feel better.
It doesn't cost you several hundred dollars an hour to complain about your problems to a stranger. It is you, your motorcycle, and the open road. If that isn’t therapy, therapy just doesn't exist.
