Carter Edman recently wrote something for the ever-excellent
Ride Apart that neatly sums up the allure of the
motorcycle. The piece was an open letter to those fine people who love nothing more than to regale riders with every horror story they've ever heard about a bike, and while the text is littered with plenty of "hell yes!" moments for those of us with a pair of riding gloves to our name, one paragraph in particular struck me dead on.
Edman's words are heavy on my mind, as this marks my final post on Autoblog.
After three years of driving some of the most interesting cars on the planet, meeting and working with a slew of talented people and writing day in and day out, I'm leaving to join the madness at Road & Track. Autoblog has been the best working experience of my life, and the chance to interact with this site's army of dedicated readers has been a legitimate honor. But it's time to take the next risk. It's been fun.
How true. How many of us wake up, fall into our routine, fall back asleep and repeat the process the next day? For me, the best part of riding a motorcycle, aside from the excellent hair that accompanies a three-hour ride, is the challenge. It's more than a risk. Every time I jump on the bike, it teaches me something about control, patience, grip and momentum. I've been riding for over three years now, and grabbing the handlebars requires no less focus now than it did on day one. Every ride has the potential to serve up a situation that puts me out of my comfort zone, and for that, I love it.You want to know what's truly dangerous? Not taking any risks. Hanging out with like-minded middle-of-the-roaders. Absorbing the same brain-ossifying shit from media factories every day. Jogging. Putting helmets, flotation devices, and auto-deploy epi-pens on your kids every time they leave the house. Passivity. Not paying attention to where your car, or your life, or your country is going.
Edman's words are heavy on my mind, as this marks my final post on Autoblog.
After three years of driving some of the most interesting cars on the planet, meeting and working with a slew of talented people and writing day in and day out, I'm leaving to join the madness at Road & Track. Autoblog has been the best working experience of my life, and the chance to interact with this site's army of dedicated readers has been a legitimate honor. But it's time to take the next risk. It's been fun.
