What I'm Thankful for in Motorcycling - From the RideApart Staff

I'm thankful that motorcycling showed me what life could really be.

I have a confession: I'm a workaholic. I've always been one. If I'm not working, then I just don't know what to do with myself. I used to work without purpose. A few years ago after a series of unfortunate events, my life fell apart. Around this time, I bought a motorcycle: my 2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250. There's a great metaphor in how I learned to be a decent motorcyclist while I learned how to have a fulfilling life. There were hard lessons in both, that each resulted in physical and emotional scars. I think the decision to push on with motorcycling, despite its hardships, inspired me to push on with my own difficulties in finding myself and creating a happy life.

READ MORE: The Risks of Not Riding a Motorcycle | RideApart

It's been a few years since I got my life back together, but it's not the same as it once was. I'm still a workaholic, but I no longer work for work's sake - there's a purpose for it. I work so that I have the time and resources to see the fascinating things life has to offer. The world is actually a very beautiful place, and it becomes more wondrous when you're on two wheels. I've spent 25,000 miles on my bike carving out deserted roads alone with my thoughts, watching sunsets as I search for a motel in an unknown town for the night, and enjoying the crisp cool air as I awake the next morning to do it all over again.

Sometimes I am alone, and others times I have companions. There's a magic in the connections you make with people, whether it's weeks on the road with your best friend, a few hours at a gas station with a new friend while you wait out a rainstorm, or an evening in a small town with another group of motorcyclists who are also just passing through. In each of these moments, I am grateful to be alive.

So this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful that my bike opened my eyes the wonders in life. We're only here for a short time, so we might as well make the most of it. Would I have been able to do that without a motorcycle? I'm not sure. - Jen Tekawitha.

Thanksgiving is an interesting holiday; every year it seems to be losing that original intent to celebrate being with family and friends. Much like Christmas it is commercialized and marginalized into a shopping extravaganza instead of spending time with loved ones that you don’t see often enough and truly being thankful for what we have in life. Too often we only think about what we don’t have.

So in honor of Thanksgiving we want to talk about the things we are thankful for having instead of wanting.

I am thankful for my wife who lets me follow this crazy motorcycle addiction all over the country, and goes tent camping in the cold because it makes me happy. I am thankful for my children who are starting to get the motorcycle bug, and for just being awesome! I am thankful for everyone who reads what I write, whether they make a good comment or a negative one without you I have no voice. I am thankful for RideApart and the people who work with me every day, for the team members that keep everything going as smoothly as possible.

There are a few things in the motorcycle world I am grateful for as well. ABS brakes are a daily lifesaver and the advent of ABS while cornering makes our sport even safer. I am thankful that Kawasaki slapped a supercharger on a motorcycle to make us giggle with anticipation. I am glad MotoAmerica exists to help road racing in the US. I am thankful for radial tires, bead lock rims, heated grips, gel seats, that motorcycles still exist, and for every day that is not snow covered and I can ride.

The great thing about writing down what you are thankful for is you can see how many things are good in your life. There is so much more I am thankful for and I can honestly say I look forward to every day.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! - William Connor

My grandfather built the trike long before I was born. That's me as a kid joking around when my dad started making changes after he inherited the bike. The photo below is a camping trip at the Horse Backstreet Choppers Smoke Out motorcycle rally. I rode the trike there with a cooler and sleeping back strapped to the back, although this night I slept right there. I found this photo on a random blog.