Opinions - All or Nothing: lessons learned from a decade of motorcycling

I have been riding motorcycles for over a decade now. It feels such a long time ago that I started. Yet, in the world of motorcycling, there are extraordinary stories of people outliving themselves, 10 years is a little more than a mere blink.

In ten years came 4 bikes, over 100000km of road and dirt combined, and a sense of understanding and a feeling of joy - Hundreds of moments that will live vividly inside my head, the solitude within the helmet being more of a time spent in pursuit of experience and freedom.

Newer aspects of motorcycles opened up - dirt tracking, track racing, exploring some of the most beautiful landscapes of the world on two wheels, solo times on the road and of courses memories of inevitable crashes and incidents. Not to mention the many different people and friends I have gotten along the way and experienced the road with them. It has been beautiful.

This has been my decade of motorcycling. And along the ride, I learnt something that taught me a little about motorcycles and why they make us feel the way they do.

The motorcycle has become an image of someone I love. When I see the person that I am in a relationship with, I am reminded of all the fun, good, bad and the dull times encountered together - The highs of the experiences balancing finely with the lows of the downfalls, and all the crazy, fun, exciting times in between. And in between all of this, I have gotten a glimpse of the future and how beautiful it probably could be.

The sound of a motorcycle when I make the first twist of the throttle is something that is a joy to the ears - a tingle runs down my spine when I hear it - is something similar when I hear the voice of the person I love. In the good and the difficult times, it is a sound that will be present as a constant. It is reassuring, and it is exciting. It thrills the senses. It gives hope.

I have found places and had experiences that will stay with me forever. I have had the wildest experiences - staring at a fully grown mountain Yak right in the eye, or finding myself in the midst of nowhere with a broken motorcycle that somehow hauled me back to civilisation.

I have learnt the lessons that only the motorcycle can teach on a long ride on an open road. I have met people that have coloured my experiences in varying shades. I have gained an appreciation of the little things and learnt that I cannot outrun time, no matter how organised or efficient I am or I want to be.

I have discovered that life lessons - almost all of them - can be learnt in the most unique ways possible.

And in return, it has made me get off the bed and work harder to get what I want, makes me control my anger when things go wrong and has taught me the all important skill of patience. It is something that makes my vision clear: makes me filter what is important to me and what is not, and so much more.

It has demanded all of me to work in tandem with its mechanical heart. I cannot shortchange. I cannot make more excuses than what is essential. I cannot show ego, or carelessness. I cannot be untrusting. I have to give it I all. Or I give nothing.