All New Ways to Look at a Motorcycle

by Melissa
(Vancouver, BC)

Have you seen the price of gas lately? It’s a wonder that anyone is going anywhere at all these days. And that is why now, more than ever, people are starting to look at the motorcycle in all new ways. They are finally starting to look at it as a reasonable way of getting around, a cheaper alternative to the gas guzzling minivans and SUVs they once favored. Face it, not everyone can afford to run out and get one of those trendy electric cars or a hybrid. And even if you can, are they always the best solution?

Of course, if you have a family to deal with, a motorcycle is not going to be your best bet. And obviously, no one is suggesting that you go and buy one to travel back and forth say in Michigan, in the wintertime, but there are times when a motorcycle can be a great way to squeeze a few more dollars out of your budget and get you a little further.

Take Jaala for instance. On days when it is not pouring down the rain, windy or cold, she walks to work. Yes, that’s right, she hoofs it because she works about a block and a half from her home. If she needs to go to the store for just a few, small items, she takes her motorcycle and goes. She is saving gas both ways, both by walking to work when she can and by riding her motorcycle instead of taking either of the family vehicles. If she is buying the major groceries or one of the kids wants to go, then she is stuck with those other options, but she does what she can do.

Another friend rides her motorcycle as often as she can and catches rides with others when she cannot. She no longer owns another vehicle, which saves her money not only on gas but on insurance costs as well. She recycles stuff around her house and has really started pushing her friends to follow suit. Imagine that - the motorcycle leading the charge for better awareness of the environment around us.

There is a man who wistfully wishes he could ride his bike more but is stuck in the climate that will not allow it for several months out of every year. He is part of a production crew that is currently working on a global warming documentary; they call it the project that never ends. Every day, they think they will get to the end of this film, everyday they find a new expert to interview, one that destroys all of the work they put in the day before. The experts are not agreeing on what can and cannot be done, what is and is not worth trying to do to save our environment. The crew has decided that they will all do what they can and enjoy their lives in the meantime, especially since that means a solid commitment to riding their motorcycles as much as they possibly can.