Escapism: A Two Wheel Antidote

With the coronavirus pandemic reaching all corners of the globe, for billions of people, life as we know it has changed.

With self-isolation still being enforced and people encouraged to maintain social distancing even as life attempts to return to some semblance of normal, the need to escape, to break free of restrictions, fear and anxiety has propelled riders towards their motorcycles.

The rebellion and the ecstasy of the temporary release from purgatory you feel as you squeeze in the clutch and twist the throttle feels like an antidote to life right now.

The self-selected isolation of riding a motorbike solo is one of its greatest gifts. For brief moment in time you have complete separation from the world (and all the crazy that may be going on). Your phone’s in your pocket: unresponsive. Your brain’s refocused: responding instead to the noise of the engine, the sway of the road and the situation around you. Unreachable, and utterly uncaring of the sweating small stuff.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that we crave this hit that two wheels can deliver, Hollywood and pop culture is littered with references to the liberation and rebellion of riding – particularly when it comes to apocalyptic times.

Motorbikes have provided the backbone to many of Hollywood’s great apocalyptic narratives. Whether it be Mel Gibson fighting an outlaw gang of scavenging bikers in Mad Max, Will Smith fleeing swarming zombies in I Am Legend, or Arnold Schwarzenegger chasing down a rival cyborg on the back of a Harley Davidson Fat Boy in Terminator – bikes add soul and substance to the unknown, the chase and to freedom.

So if you’re feeling those isolation blues and you’re in a city or country where you’re able to get out on the roads, throw on your helmet, zip up your jacket and make an escape.

Take that five-minute drive to the shops on your bike. Explore new roads. Kill that extra hour before work with a ride to watch the sun rise from the seat of your bike.  Find time to disconnect and re-energise.

Lead Image: Photography by Halfatonne