There is nothing like being on a bike. Before I was a biker my friends Micah, Todd or Rodney would try to explain to me the feeling of riding. My Uncle Steve would go into another voice when speaking about his Harley. I of course would glaze my eyes over or worse yet mock them for their “obsession”.

Then that night happened. A summer evening at the McNeals and I was hooked. All it took was ten minutes on dirt bike in their back yard, with a helmet that didn’t get over the top of my head. I did not own a bike but from then forward I told people “I was a biker”.

If you ask bikers why they like riding you will hear varied words…exhilarating, freedom, speed, or power. My word I like to use is… silence.

This became evident the other Sunday when we had three bikes lined up at church. Two Harley’s and my Vulcan. We started them up afterwards and I was sitting on my bike and could not hear it over the noise of the Harley. I had to check to see if mine was even on.

Then it hit me…I have enjoyed the silence the most about riding a bike. You see on a motorcycle you have no phone calls, no email, no texting (I have tried once at a stop sign), no tv, no conversations and no radio.

You see when I put my helmet on the only thing I hear is the noise in between my ears. When I eliminate all the other noise I can focus on the sounds that need the most attention. My thoughts which can be deafening seemed to have been always been pushed to the backburner.

Now when I am on my motorcycle they get a bit more attention which has allowed me to give greater attention to all the other areas of my life when I am off my bike. We are in a great lack of silence these days and I think it is hurting not only ourselves but our relationships.

What do you do to eliminate the noise? Garden, read, take a bath, run…