Racing to beat the wind

If you think that your daily life lacks adrenalin, just attend a bikers’ event. And don’t say no if someone offers you a ride. Say yes and give him a happy smile. First, you won’t regret the experience; it’s really cool. Second, you’re sure to get a double, even triple, dose of adrenalin.

SOME TYPICAL MISTAKES

I can’t say that I believed that all bikers are hairy and gloomy and smell bad, when I set off to attend the ceremony to launch the 2006 biker season. Now I can definitely state that bikers’ average, statistical hairiness does not exceed that of, say, many hairy journalists. Let’s not even talk about the scowls. I am now convinced that most bikers are people of solid social standing.

You don’t believe me? Judge for yourselves: our domestic Dnipro or Java motorcycles cost between 2,000 and 3,000 dollars. The most popular sports models here come from Japan. Considered mediocre, they sell for between $6,000-9,000. But if you see a Harley whish past, you can be sure that the man riding it is a very prestigious businessman. How else can he afford a toy worth $40,000?

More often than not we see bikers on television-American or at least European bikers, not Ukrainian ones-people who practice not only the “sex, drugs, and rock-’n’- roll lifestyle” but also a full range of asocial behaviors. “They live on welfare and can allow themselves to act any way they please,” Mykhailo Taratorin, chairman of the civic organization Motoobiednannia “Moto Active Group” explained to The Day. “We can’t do this. We have a completely different mentality. However, bikers in the West are creating a negative stereotype in our society. Well, there are different people here, too, and different kinds of bikers.”

Let’s not forget about different bikes. Motorcycles are chosen not so much by their price tags (admittedly an important factor) as by character. You can pay the same price for a bike that turns out to be peppy, very fast, and untamed. You can buy a “soft and puffy” one, as much as these modifiers apply to a motorcycle. It all depends on the brand name.

Finding the right kind of bike is not easy; here trial and error is the most popular technique. Another option is designing your own motorcycle, the only one of its kind that will meet all your requirements. This option is also complicated.

“THE MOTORCYCLE IS A HALLMARK OF SUCCESS”

Nearly 300 motorcyclists attended the ceremony launching this year’s biker season. Although the number sounds impressive (especially when you see all those gorgeous bikes of every shape and size), it is actually a drop in the ocean. Yet motorcycles are not popular in Ukraine. In fact, the Moto Active Group launched its biker movement project to popularize it in Ukraine through a series of biker events. Similar events in Moscow can attract 10,000 bikers, like in Europe and the United States.

“Everybody is beginning to realize that the bike is a hallmark of success because only successful businesspeople can afford good motorcycles. A bike is a way of life; it’s actually a healthy lifestyle. You can’t ride a bike under the influence. Today, a number of bikers about to attend a party with food and drinks leave their vehicles in a parking lot so they can pick them up later, and only then do they join the party and start opening beer bottles (it is true; I saw this). “Some people are into yoga, others do parachute jumping, while others prefer the bottle. Bikers just focus on riding their bikes. I have chosen the latter option. My bike is my essence; it’s part of me. My wife also wants a motorcycle. She is taking care of the kids, but I will buy a bike for her at some point, I really will,” says a veteran biker. In this family the children’s hobby has been predetermined.

There are quite a few female bikers. Although these are mostly wives and girlfriends, there are also absolutely independent “combat-ready” females who ride motorcycles. There is a special kind of female biker, who got on a bike for the first time without giving much thought to the adventures that lay ahead.

IT’S WORTH IT!

Riding a bike seems like a fun activity, especially if you are a passenger. In reality, it is a very responsible task. What makes it especially responsible is the absence of safety belts and lane dividers. The way you handle a bike will determine whether you will ride safely or get thrown off the seat with all the attendant consequences. Before riding as a passenger, I was briefed on where to put my legs and where to lean with my hands. It turned out that I was using my hands the wrong way, and they were getting numb.

The experience was worth it. I won’t describe the sensation of flying rather than riding, because none of us has flown that way. Just imagine riding a merry-go-round when you suddenly find yourself — and your seat — blown by a strong gust of wind, without any safety harness, that you are being blown like that through Kyiv’s evening streets, past cars, trucks, and familiar store signs. It is great to discover that you are not that much of a sissy after all. You will spend a long time bragging about this fantastic experience with your friends. The feeling really was out of this world — but there is no use trying to describe it. Just visit a bikers’ event, and someone will surely offer you a ride.