I Think I'm Done With Cars For Now

I think I’m done with cars. I’m tired of driving, and I just don’t want to deal with them anymore. No, I’m not resigning and moving to Amsterdam to ride bikes and yell about car brain. I just realized recently that every time I need to go somewhere, I’ve been grabbing my motorcycle helmet instead of my car keys. Even though it’s the middle of summer in Atlanta, and it’s hot as hell, if I go grocery shopping, I ride the bike. When I was leaving to visit my parents, I took the bike. There’s just something about motorcycles that makes getting around so much more enjoyable than being in a car.

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To be fair, it helps that I’m currently riding a shiny, new Honda press bike. Specifically, I have a Honda Transalp, and while my full review is coming later, I’ll tell you right now that it’s an outstanding bike. I haven’t gotten a chance to take it on any trails yet, but even just riding around town, I absolutely love this thing. I actually enjoyed my ride back to Athens. I enjoy the ride to Kroger. Heck, I’m also pretty sure that riding more has made me less depressed.

Don’t worry, I still have plenty of depression left to spare because, well, *gestures broadly*, but riding helps break me out of it in a way that my shitty old Forester simply doesn’t. So why not go all-in, sell the car and use whatever money I can get to buy a bike of my own again? I have the space and could still take press cars/bikes.

Is this an early midlife crisis? Maybe. Still, I’m 35, not married, don’t have any kids, and I just want to ride bikes, damn it. I’m also down about 30 pounds this year, so I can actually zip up my jacket again, and I’m feeling better than I have in a while.

It also wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had a motorcycle as my only form of transportation. I bought my first bike at 19, and for the next four years, I was car-free. I did eventually buy the E39 that currently lives at my parents’ house, so it’s not like I don’t know what I’m getting myself into. I’ve lived the two-wheels-only life before, and it was wonderful.

I’m also well aware that this is going to do nothing to help my dating life. If there are women out there who specifically go for guys with motorcycles, they never went for me before and probably won’t now. Especially since I only ever seem to attract women with advanced degrees who are also smart enough to know motorcycles are dangerous. If someone’s not into me because I don’t have a car, that’s fine. I’ll just keep riding my motorcycle until I meet someone who is.

Making this work long-term is definitely going to require buying better gear, but since I live in the South and don’t have to deal with real winter anymore, it should be a lot easier. Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to buy because I sure as hell don’t have Transalp money. Maybe Honda will forget I have it and never come back to pick it up?