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Message: [QUOTE="rfs mike, post: 648569, member: 38100"] [size=2]A letter to the non-riding society... I have been riding motorcycles for quite a few years now. I’m 45 and still love it. My doctor says its great exercise and helps word off old age. I do not do the big jumps or the supercross. I’m what we call a "Wood’s Rider." I ride trails through the woods. I race Hare Scrambles and Enduros. We race anywhere from 2 to up to 6 hours straight, depending on the race. Stopping only for gas. We ride in different classes such as Pro, AA, B, C, over 30, over 40, over 50, and then different size bikes also. We race through the woods where there usually are not too many spectators. We race against the weather, rocks, trees, mud and what ever Mother Nature throws at us. We race against 40 to sometimes as many as 300 other riders on the same 4 to up to 13 mile course through the woods. Enduros we race from 50 to over 100 miles. We stop and ask "are you ok" if we see some one on the ground or give someone gas that’s ran out, not knowing if you’ll have enough to make it to the gas stop yourself. We stop and tell the course worker that someone’s broke down back there or help a stranger pull his bike out of the mud and he helps you pull yours out. Even in the middle of a race. Because caring and camaraderie are more important than winning for most of us. We work some of the races. Put up course markers, take them down, ride behind everyone making sure everyone makes it back safe. All for the hefty sum of "0". We help someone we don’t even know get out of the woods with an injury. We put his bike on his truck for him. We don’t sue because you ran into me. That’s racing. We all know that. We sometimes wonder "What the heck am I doing out here?" only to feel the elation at the end to know you finished. You didn’t drop out. Or maybe even do well and receive a trophy. There’s only a few that are good enough to make money and even fewer that make a living at it. We take the whole family out for the weekend and do some casual trail riding. Then we sit around the campfire and talk about that big hill or laugh at the time dad was showing off for mom and he fell over or that big downhill that sis didn’t want to go down but made it. We ride and race this way because we love riding! It’s in our heart and soul. It lets us know we’re alive. Sure there’s some danger but there’s danger in any sport. Sure you may get hurt but you get hurt in any sport if you do it long enough. Is it more dangerous than other sports? Maybe! I have read many statistics that prove otherwise but that’s not what this is about. The heart and soul. This is about what I think the real heart of off-road motorcycling is. The thrill, the adrenaline, the fun, the values, the confidence, the accomplishments, the camaraderie. It’s a way of life.  Please don't take this from me. Signed, Off road rider[/size] [/QUOTE]

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