Riding Season is Around the Corner

     Riding season is around the corner, hell, it’s begun, which means one thing. I’m super excited to be able to wake up, gear up, and take my bike out instead of my car, not that I hate my car or anything. It’s just that four grueling months of waiting and waiting for warmer temperatures is enough, and although I’ve gotten a few rides in here and there within that time, they’ve been forgettable and borderline dreary due to the cold. 
         So, what is it that I’m looking forward to the most? A lot of riders look forward to that man and machine bond, or the solidarity and isolation riding provides by disconnecting the rider from their phones and social media, simply because it’s hilariously stupid to attempt using a phone when riding. These are all things that I enjoy and value deeply about riding, but at the time of writing, the one thing I’m anticipating the most is the ability to haul ass past the 99% of cars I come across on a daily basis with a flick of the wrist, and watch as they become increasingly smaller in my rear view mirrors. My BRZ has cost me too much time and frustration trundling alongside or behind inept drivers, simply because I was not able to exploit overtaking opportunities because of its lack of power. With my Fireblade, I think of overtaking, and the ease with which that thought becomes a reality is unbelievable and intoxicating. Cars and traffic (read “danger to me”) are dispatched instantly. Is it a feeling of dominance which I desire and my bike fulfills? Eh, not to my knowledge, and besides, what dominance is there to speak of? My bike and I are a fraction of the size and weight of cars and if anything, us riders live in fear of the four-wheeled vehicles. I love the image, the noise, and the excitement which pumps through me every time I wind open the throttle and surge off into the horizon. Even more simply put, it fills a large void my BRZ leaves me with. The need for speed.