One of the most dis­tinct things about rid­ing is that noth­ing feels quite like a motor­cy­cle; the thrill of being at one with a two-​wheeled machine that weighs only a few hun­dred pounds is one of the purest ways to get from point A to B, and the risks involved some­times even heighten that enjoy­ment. Per­haps Robert Pir­sig said it best in Zen and the Art of Motor­cy­cle Main­te­nance: “You’re com­pletely in con­tact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watch­ing it any­more, and the sense of pres­ence is overwhelming.”

Whether or not you care about your car­bon foot­print, a motor­cy­cle is an effi­cient form of trans­porta­tion that min­i­mally impacts the envi­ron­ment. Even if you ride just for the thrill of it, there’s noth­ing wrong with being a lit­tle kind to Mother Nature every once in a while. The sense of free­dom feels more com­plete on two wheels, and rid­ing doesn’t trans­port you to a des­ti­na­tion; it is the destination.