Motorcycling is a very close hobby of mine. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to ride much this summer regardless of the awesome weather we’ve had here in Finland. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to rent a motorcycle from a city close to me and drive it in the most amazing weather a motorcyclist could ask for.
This text is meant as a sequel to my last text, Four Wheels move the Body, Two Wheels move the Soul. I hope that after reading this text you’ll understand motorcycling and motorcyclists a little better and just maybe, you’ll see what I see in this amazing way of transport. Although for many, it’s not just simply a mean of transport but a beloved hobby.
The most fun I’d had in a while
I rented the bike from a city called Turku. The idea was to get the bike, go downtown for dinner and then head back home along the beautiful coastline of the southwestern Finland. My friend drove us there on a beautiful Friday evening and I picked up the bike. You can imagine my excitement since I hadn’t been able to ride pretty much at all this season before that. I haven’t considered it to be reasonable to use my money on a bike (or a car of my own in that matter) as a young adult with other expenses as well. Perhaps one day I get payed so much from writing that I’ll be able to get a bike or two.
It was the first time it really felt like summer this year when parking the bike downtown and sitting down at a terrace on a sunny evening, knowing that it’ll only get better. I planned my route while waiting for my food. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be three times longer than the shortest possible route home. By the way, it didn’t bother me at all.
Fun and cheap – what more could you ask for
Motorways are not so enjoyable on a motorcycle (unless you’re going way over the speed limit) Therefore, I decided to stick to the smaller country roads. Fortunately, we have a lot of twisty roads here in Finland in a fairly decent condition. The trip ended up taking me over four hours with a few stops to clean my visor from the bugs. The summer nights are so light in Finland, so I I lost track of time completely. I was home way later than I had planned and hadn’t even realized what time it was. During the four-hour drive, I had only used 10€ worth of gas. Besides, you can’t exactly say that driving the twisty roads on a fast motorcycle is the most economical driving you can do. If I had driven this same route with a car, my consumption would’ve been at least five times of what it was on the bike. And I argue that I had a lot more fun too than if I’d taken a car.
There’s still experiences to be had
There are many things that I despite the efforts haven’t been able to make into reality. Yet.
I still haven’t had the chance to drive a motorcycle on a track which has been on my bucket list for a while now. I could safely (ish) test the limits of myself and the bike without having to worry about others on the road or getting huge fines for speeding on public roads. Another thing that has to be done in the coming years is a roadtrip to the Southern Europe. Or actually two, one with a car with my friends and one on a bike through the mountain roads in Italy. But dreams aside, motorcycles are an awesome way to commute, have fun and maybe show your personality a little bit. Like I said in my last text, you should undoubtably give it a try if you have the opportunity. The worst thing you could get from it is that you don’t like it.
Teaching my friend to ride. Yes, girls ride too!
