Volume Twenty-Three | Fall 2021
Words by Ben Giese
Photo by Dylan Gordan
“All good things are wild and free” —Henry David Thoreau
The word freedom is one of the most commonly used clichés in the world of motorcycling. Just ask someone why they ride, and I guarantee you’ll hear all about it in the answer. It’s a tired subject, and we’ve troped about it far too often in this magazine. But we do it for good reason: because it’s something we value, and it will always be relevant and important. Not just for riders, but for humans in general. For humanity, and for our sanity.
The funny thing about freedom is that when you have it, you don’t really think about it. It’s only once that freedom begins to fade that it becomes so alluring. This is something I’ve noticed in particular during the last 18 months. We’ve been locked down and masked up. Confined and claustrophobic. Isolated and dehumanized. And as the pages of this issue began to unfold, I noticed a recurring theme: We need an escape. A release.
We need freedom.
Cover photo by Lindsay Donovan
We need a way to outrun the perils of modern life, the mass hysteria and mental breakdown of society. The never-ending hamster wheel of work and deadlines and bills and bad news. The mistrust in government and the media, and in each other. The constant fear and division, and the culture of self-obsession that’s pulling us further into toxic digital worlds. There’s got to be a way out, and I think motorcycles can help.
The genuine enjoyment people get from riding is great for our mental health. It’s something we as riders can relate to, and it’s something that unites us. It gives us purpose, identity and community. Motorcycles bring people together in a world that’s pulling people apart. They help us to see each other for the things we have in common rather than for our differences. They create lifelong friendships and unforgettable experiences. They take us to extraordinary places, and they give us a tool to escape all this madness, even if only for a moment.
It’s getting harder to feel optimism for the future of humanity, but at least we can find comfort knowing we have our bikes, and we have each other. We can still do the things that make us happy, and we can still choose to live wild and free.
