Therapy Through the Handlebars

By Mitch Traphagen

mitch@observernews.net

RUSKIN - I have a therapist. She's a big girl weighing in at more than 550 pounds but she's quick. At nearly 20 years old, she is considered a senior citizen by many of her contemporaries. But she is mine and she is always available when I need her - for a little therapy through the handlebars.

People ride IN a car. You ride ON a motorcycle. Riding a cycle is a far less passive activity than being inside an automobile. For one thing, you can actually feel the laws of physics as you barrel down the highway at 70 miles per hour. You are acutely aware of the force, the energy, created by a slight turn of the throttle.

With a motorcycle, who needs Prozac? Riding, and staying alive doing it, requires all of your attention. A motorcycle rider must be aware of everything that is happening and everything that could potentially happen in the next few moments. Riding a motorcycle means that you must focus, you must concentrate or you will die.

Several trends in motorcycle ridership have appeared over the past few years, in many ways Florida is the poster child for those trends. In 2001, the most current available data, Florida crash statistics show a measurable rise in motorcycle fatalities since 1999. The statistics also show an even greater increase in new motorcycle registrations. In fact 2001 saw registrations increase by more than 20 percent. That figure outpaced the 11 percent increase in fatalities. In other words, fatalities are actually decreasing in relation to the number of bikes on the road.

According to Florida crash studies and other research from around the nation, a significant percentage, nearly one third, of motorcycle fatalities involved riders who were not licensed to operate a motorcycle. The under 30 age group has also played a significant role in nationwide fatalities.

In Florida, a motorcycle may well be the cheapest form of transportation available. For those who are simply unable to recognize speed limits, auto insurance premiums are one way to bring reality home to the pocketbook. Insurance is not required, however, on a motorcycle so therefore, the lunatic who blew by you in-between lanes on I-75 is probably the same lunatic who can no longer obtain automobile insurance. According to a Department of Transportation 2001 study, more than 60 percent of motorcycle fatalities in the under 30 age group involved speeding.

Motorcycles, like nature, tend to weed out the stupid and there is usually a price paid for willful disregard.

Another area often pointed to in crash statistics is helmet use. There are strong and very vocal arguments on both sides of this issue and the only thing clear is that a helmet should be required before entering the debate. In Florida, helmet use is voluntary. For me that means that I voluntarily strap mine on because I know that my head is no match for a wayward Lincoln Continental.

The U.S. Census Bureau has identified a relatively new trend and a look around Sun City Center on a beautiful sunny day will quickly confirm it. Motorcycle ridership in the over 40 age group is rapidly growing. Not only that but also growing is the size of the bike. No longer content with the 1,000 cc monsters of the past, today's mature riders are seeking out 1,500 cc bikes. A 1,500 cc engine is also what powers many of today's automobiles.

Unfortunately that age group is also showing up in the crash statistics, however not in numbers that are out of proportion with ridership. Many studies cite statistics that correlate accidents with motorcycles less than five months old. In other words, a greater risk is present while the rider learns the nature of a new bike.

Motorcycles are, however, big business and states like Florida are quick to recognize the economic benefits. During Bike Week in Daytona Beach, the local area population of 64,000 swells to more than 600,000 during the event. The American Motorcycle Club estimates that in 2001, more than $300 million dollars were spent during Bike Week. For the state, motorcycles seem to be a bright spot in a slowing economy. The AMC estimates that nearly one half billion dollars were added to the Florida economy through the sale of new motorcycles, sales taxes and other fees. That figure doesn't include Bike Week.

Riding a motorcycle is a form of therapy. The machine is an extension of your arms and you don't just drive through an area, you are actually in it. Your fate is in your own hands and it rests upon your ability to focus, your skill as a rider and your own common sense. You simply don't have time to worry about that project, or the yard that needs to be mowed or about the nasty customer who yelled at you. As you happily feel the laws of physics applied with just a slight turn of the wrist, you simply don't care about any of those worries.

Riding also puts you into a special brother (or sister) hood. Motorcyclists rarely pass each other without waving. The left-handed wave is brief but that act recognizes a bond, common ground between two strangers. It is a good feeling. It's good therapy.