One Motorcycle Passenger’s Reverie by Stephanie

2011-07-14T00:18:00.001-06:00

While being a rider is liberating, challenging, and a blast, I was thinking the passengers needed some representation, too.

Here’s for all the passengers out there: Top 5 Reasons Why Being a Passenger Means You’re a Real Rider and Top 5 Reasons Why it ROCKS to be a Passenger!

Top 5 Reasons Passengers Are Riders, Too

1. We, Too, Know That Bug Guts Taste Sour

In fact, passengers don’t have the luxury of seeing a big juicy slow bug coming. Instead, we take it smack in the forehead, the mouth, the cheek, etc in full force as the rider dodges to the side with Matrix-like reflexes. The passenger and bug are seldom so lucky.

2. Ass Pains are Universal

If your ass is sore, chances are good our ass is sore, and has been sore for the last 150 miles thanks to that oh-so-sleek-but-thin-enough-to-feel-the-bolts-through low profile seat you insisted on having so the bike would look cool.

3. Road Grime Sticks to Makeup

You know the road is dirty. So do we. We don’t even need a mirror to tell us how filthy our face is, the stunned looks from other women in the ladies room at the first gas stop say it all.

4. We Also Have to Fit Our Belongings in a 13” x 20” Space

You might even say we have to make larger sacrifices when it comes to getting four days worth of personal items into one saddlebag. We roll, reuse, and wear wrinkled with the best of them.

5. When the Weather is Bad Enough to Hunker in an Outhouse, We’re Right There Beside You

Passengers get wet just like riders, freeze just like riders, our boots fill just as fast, and our raingear looks just as dorky. When you’re cowering in a public toilet along ID-55 as the storm thrashes by, it suddenly doesn’t seem to matter whether you were riding on front or on back.

Top 5 Reasons I Love Being a Motorcycle Passenger

1. You Can Just Chill

I know riders have a myriad of things to pay attention to. There’s speed limits (whoa, did we just pass a cop?!), road conditions, road hazards (a.k.a. other drivers), weather, animals, a passenger shifting her weight, and so on. Passengers have to focus on… oh, none of that (provided you trust your rider completely). In fact, with the right rider, the only thing that has to be on a passenger’s minds is, “sack of potatoes, sack of potatoes, be a sack of potatoes….”

2. Freedom to Gaze

This point really could be a footnote to my last point. As a passenger, you can stare, I mean really stare, at the passing landscape. You can soak it in, wave to it with both hands, snap a picture…. You never have to take your eyes off the scenery rushing by, not even to watch the road.

3. Windshields & Weather Blocks

The back of a bike is the perfect place to ride on the freeway or get caught in a hailstorm. Passengers can hunker down behind the rider, a perfect human shield from wind, dust, rain, hail, whatever the weather throws our way. We don’t have to keep our eyes open nor our hands straight out in front and two feet apart. We can curl up, bury our face, and weather the storm fairly comfortably, all things considered.

4. Equipment (or lack thereof)

Being the passenger means you can get away with certain riding gear no-nos. Forgot your gloves? Put your hands in the rider’s hand pockets. Don’t have chaps? Not really a concern; the rider’s knees catch most of the small rocks. Sunglasses suck? No need to stop at the next gas station and try on every $4 pair they have. Tuck your chin and don’t look up. No big deal.

5. Riding Two Up is the Second Best Couple’s Activity

There truly is nothing better than feeling the slowly cooling summer wind on your face as you ride by Idaho farmland and mountains; the crisp chill that springs out of nowhere when water is close by, the subtle mist from a nearby sprinkler or rapid, watching the moving shadow of two people sitting close stretch across the yellow line and along the roadway. As a passenger, wrapping your arms tight around the waist of your rider and breathing in his soft fragrance is both comforting and exhilarating. No matter how many kids a couple has, how many bills are piling up, how stressful life has become, a ride together can instantly transport you back to that carefree and amorous time when it was just you two.

Here’s to the passengers: the sack of potatoes, the back seat rider, the sleeper, the saddlebag hog, and the sqirmer. Cheers!

Purchase pre-owned motorcycles at Cycle Addiction

2011-07-06T22:04:00.000-06:00

It only took mountains of paperwork, back and forth with the insurance agent, an 8-hour "Nearly Everything You Need to Know About Selling Vehicles in Idaho" class (shameless bragging: I was only their second person all year to miss less than three questions), and waiting in line at the DMV (really, the guy one number ahead of me has a 15-minute question?!) and Cycle Addiction is an official Idaho pre-owned motorcycle dealer (#1605 to be precise).

Have a bike you're looking to sell? Give us a call to find about consigning it with Cycle Addiction! We offer a low dealer commission; our professionals in the motorcycle industry will help you set the price and handle all the paperwork and advertising. No need to worry about missed calls from potential buyers!

Looking for a bike to purchase? Stop into Cycle Addiction to check out our pre-owned inventory. We're always on the lookout for great deals so let us know what you're looking for; we just might find it for you. All pre-owned motorcycles at Cycle Addiction receive a Ready for Resale safety and mechanical inspection so you can buy with confidence knowing your new bike has been thoroughly checked by one of the best techs in the valley.

Today's featured bike: 1999 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic, $9795
This bike has only had one owner and comes with saddlebag & tourpack liners and both low-profile & stock windshield

Contact us at 208.465.6730 or simply stop into the shop at 4017 E Summit Lane, Nampa, ID to find out more!

Cycle Addiction, LLC

One Motorcycle Passenger’s Reverie by Stephanie

Purchase pre-owned motorcycles at Cycle Addiction