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Watch the bike programs on TV or talk to bikers and one word that keeps getting mentioned about biking is "freedom".

I dont get it. I dont feel any more free or any less free in my car than on my bike. But the freedom bit seems to be a modern development - I dont remember it from when I got my first bike some 30 odd years ago.

So what is it all about. How does riding a bike make you more free than driving a car. Or walking.

30 years ago it will have gave you freedom if like me you only earnd £70 a week and couldn't afford a car bikes used to be cheep transport as well as fun

In all honesty

When riding I feel at one with myself and the world

That does not happen in a car

Aladinsaneuk wrote:In all honesty

When riding I feel at one with myself and the world

That does not happen in a car

But is that a problem with all cars or is it just the car you drive. My toy car is an Elise and I feel just as much at one with it as with my bike. The family Merc is a different matter - most of the time I hardly know I'm driving it. Autopilot.

Would you feel at one with the bike if you were riding a Pan?

With a bike you are in the 'outside'. With a car you are watching it happen from behind a window. There is also the safety of having 4 wheels; it won't fall over if you're inattentive. It's the difference between being a participant and watching it on TV.

I admit that a car like an Elise will blur the line, but it's still far more of a safety net than a bike.

I have had some great cars, but

I guess it's a safety thing - fuck up a corner in a car and you bend some panels..... Do the same on a bike and.....

Your Elise will be no more fun than a Micra when you are stuck in a long, slow traffic queue that a C50 or 1 litre superbike can just pootle on past.
That is a situation where the bike frees you from a lot of annoyance and stress.
Freedom or not, the sensation of harmony of 3D movement and the closer engagement with the road you get on a bike beats by far the sensation and empathy i can get from a car ..... and I have driven some pretty good cars (and some pretty bad ones)

You can also see more on a bike when touring some of the scenic parts of the country. Imprisoned in anything but a big (horrible) 4x4 you'll not see over the stone walls and hedges.

I think it is a mixture of things one of them being the zen thing. You know you visit this site you focus on the for sale lists and next thing you know 2 hours have gone by and you haven't worried about anything for that time.

well same on a bike you can be so focussed on the ride and engaged in it that you forgrt to hate the boss be annoyed with the wife or that you can't pay the bills

just my 2c

I suppose it depends on your definition of freedom. I too question the freedom concept and suspect that people have picked up on some marketing/advertising bullsh*t. Howver, as D-Rider says, we have the freedom to minimise the effects of traffic, but for me, it's that feeling of oneness with the machine like it's an extension of the body. I've had some well sorted cars too but there's a slight detachment in comparison with a bike. Also, when out in the countryside, I enjoy the smells that I don't get in a car unless it's a convertible....well, most of the smells! So, perhaps the combination of those differences amounts to a sense of freedom.

mangocrazy wrote:With a bike you are in the 'outside'. With a car you are watching it happen from behind a window. There is also the safety of having 4 wheels; it won't fall over if you're inattentive. It's the difference between being a participant and watching it on TV.

That above sums it up quite well for me, I drive 10,000 a year in my car & they are warm with passengers to talk to & tend to have music, so all well & good.
The bike on the other hand needs to be cared for more then the car & responds to very direct inputs where you can see the metal moving,the sound track tends to be made by you for the moment weather you are giving it the beans or just "making progress".
Overall it feels more like a living thing then a car -- for most of us.
As to this being freedom NO a choice YES & Pleasure OH YES.
I drive a car because I have to for other people but I ride a bike for ME.

To me the term freedom when riding a bike is.
Doing something i really enjoy when i get chance. Having two kids i don't get much time.
I also enjoy walking, usually on my own has this gives me time to clear my head. This to is freedom.
In fact i think the term freedom is basically getting away from the norm and doing something different.

I just like the adrenaline....

D-Rider wrote:Your Elise will be no more fun than a Micra when you are stuck in a long, slow traffic queue that a C50 or 1 litre superbike can just pootle on past.

You could say just the same of my trike but it's not true! Ok yeah, it's a bit irritating to be stuck in a queue but you choose routes that are not liable to queues and that's part of the fun. I don't know if Laz's Elise is soft top but if I had a sports car it would be, so you have that connection with the world outside the car.

But the real thing about 'freedom' - freedom to ride what you want, to go where you want to go - rallies and weekend meets in my case, so when I'm riding I know I'm free of my everyday worries, freedom to be the person I really am instead of the person work or family demands of me, freedom to breathe............

BikerGran wrote:

D-Rider wrote:Your Elise will be no more fun than a Micra when you are stuck in a long, slow traffic queue that a C50 or 1 litre superbike can just pootle on past.

You could say just the same of my trike but it's not true! Ok yeah, it's a bit irritating to be stuck in a queue but you choose routes that are not liable to queues and that's part of the fun. I don't know if Laz's Elise is soft top but if I had a sports car it would be, so you have that connection with the world outside the car.

Often not possible if you have to go to work (for example) - the choice of vehicle is generally more of an option than a realistic jam-free route.

Mmm, what is there to add that others have expressed so well ?
A ride is just so much more involved than a drive,riding being far less forgiving, you get out what you put in.
Yes, it is a type of harmony (and reminds me very much of horse riding with the affinity thing )
Who doesn't get a buzz from passing slow moving traffic,sneaking up on the outside to the traffic lights ect ect
The pleasures are way way too many to list
Freedom ?
Freedom within confines ( vunerability factor )
Who doesn't grin riding a Falco