TRUST

We ride a BMW 1200GS. Or, more accurately, the rider (driver for you non-motorcyclists) is my husband Al and I am the pillion (again, for the auto folks, passenger). We’ve been riding “two-up” for all our twenty-four year marriage, yet I still find it difficult to describe the pleasures of the back seat adequately.

Many, if not most motorcycle “riders” wouldn’t be caught riding pillion and thus not be in control of the bike. Non-motorcyclists think in terms of risk, exposure and lack of mobility.

I think riding pillion is all about trust.

There are the obvious building blocks. We both ride with helmets, gloves, boots and full, armored suits. The bike is fully serviced pre-ride and then checked every night at our hotel before we clean up and have dinner. And we never, ever drink while riding. Never.

But any two people can – and should - do those things. For riding two-up what you really must have is good communication, because everything that happens on the bike, every move made by either person, affects both rider and pillion and the bike itself. And because the rider has responsibility for both the bike and the pillion, every move must be communicated and coordinated.

But the final decisions on a bike are always made by the rider. This means the pillion gives up complete control while still being responsible to be an alert and actively involved passenger.

So there you are, lots of responsibility and no control.

Like I said it takes trust; trust that your rider is well trained, capable, alert and can handle both the bike and anything that riding the road throws his way. Trust that he is ready, willing, able, even eager to assume the decision making responsibility.

Once you trust your rider, a pillion enjoys the best form of travel: movement through open air, exceptionally wide views of the passing scenery, the clear sounds and rhythm of the road, the close companionship of a single other person.

Mountains become a range rather than a single peak, desert heat has both smell and taste, the sounds of the river run beside you down the highway, birds swoop and dive literally in front of your eyes, sunrises hang before your face and warm your cheeks and you move with each lean of the bike from side to side in rhythm with the road and the beat of the day.

On a motorcycle you do not pass through the scenery, but enter and partake.

Trust has many rewards.