Why We Ride

Mark Barnes launched his career as a clinical psychologist in 1992 and settled in as a regular contributor to Motorcycle Consumer News in 1996. His monthly columns have explored wide-ranging psychological aspects of the motorcycling experience and he has written numerous gear and accessory reviews, technical/how-to articles and feature stories about motorcycle-related events and destinations. Having ridden extensively both on- and off-road, Mark has amassed a wealth of observations and insights over four-plus decades of involvement.

Table of Contents Preface PART ONE: WHY WE RIDE Introduction The Survey Category One: Engagement Category Two: Autonomy Category Three: Mastery Category Four: Exhilaration Category Five: Transcendence Category Six: Relaxation Category Seven: Practicality Concluding Comments PART TWO: SELECTED COLUMNS From the GARAGE The Joy of Maintenance Perfect Imperfection Just Say No Necessary Evils Your Rite to Ride Making it Personal Necessity is a Mother Garage Fever From the ROAD Human Relations 102 The Verdict Can't Live with 'em, Can't Live without 'em Feels Like the First Time...Again The Call of the Open Road Get Lost! What Should Be vs. What Is Doh! Brain Fade and the Perils of Fatigue From the TRAIL Dirty Thoughts Half the Fun Back to School Near-Life Experiences Experts From the TRACK Concentrating on Concentration Learning Curves The "Trust Me" Line You Just Can't Get There from Here From the COUCH (Freud goes for a ride) Twin Brain - Part One Twin Brain - Part Two Moto-Voyeurism Linkages Spiritual Motorcycling Self-Diagnostics Shifting Riding in the Zone Motorcycle Camping Moto-Connoisseurism Safe Distance Displacement Black Boxes The Voice of (In)Experience Loud Pipes Do What? Top Ten Reasons... Moto-Placebos Oh, What a Feeling! Getting in Touch with Your Inner Cartographer (or not) From the HEART (personal favorites) Wrecks Sensory-Motor Satori A Cure for What Ails Us Riding Through the Valley of the Shadow Giving Ourselves a Hand Milestones PART THREE: FLOW FOR RIDERS Introduction Aspect One: Challenge-Skill Balance Aspect Two: Action-Awareness Merger Aspect Three: Clarity of Purpose Aspect Four: Clarity of Feedback Aspect Five: Present Task Focus Aspect Six: Paradox of Control Aspect Seven: Absence of Self-Consciousness Aspect Eight: Transformation of Time Aspect Nine: Autotelic Experience Concluding Comments