7 Ways Adventure and Dual Sport Motorcycling Will Change YOU

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Dorkside. I am the Dork in the Road and today we're going to talk about seven, yes, seven ways that riding dual sport, adventure, and other off-road motorcycles will change you as a person. That's right everyone, I am the Dork in the Road and I want to be your internet riding buddy. And I'm better than your regular riding buddies because I'm available whenever you want and I come with a mute button. So please consider subscribing and don't forget to turn on those notifications so that you don't miss out on new content just like this. Mmm, obvious product placement is obvious. So if you've been around the channel at all before, you probably know that I really like riding my dual sport motorcycles. Whether it's on the trails, exploring the forest, or even on the road occasionally, I love it. It's my primary favorite hobby and it's really transformed my life in a lot of very interesting ways because I spend a lot of time riding now and making these videos for you. I'm guessing you fall into one of two categories, you're either a brand new rider or someone who's thinking about getting into riding, curious about how being a dual sport rider can change you. Or B, you're a person who hasn't a lot of experience riding a dual sport off-road adventure motorcycle and you want to see if your experience lines up with what I'm going to say in this video. So let's talk about it. Let's just talk about seven ways that I've noticed that dual sport adventure off-road type motorcycling has changed me. The first one is, every time I drive anywhere, anytime I see a gravel road, an abandoned road, whether it is in town, out of town, a lot of time it's when I'm driving up a forest highway and there's a lot of logging roads off to the side, I cannot help but wonder to myself, where does that road go? I have to know. It's like an itch I have to scratch. I mentally make notes of them as I go by, thinking to myself, I'll come back here someday and ride that road. It doesn't matter where I am, it doesn't matter how far from home I am, I see that road, I want to know where it goes and I want to come back and find out on my motorcycle. If there's a gate, I want to figure out if I can get around the gate, not because I love trespassing but because I want to know where that road goes. It doesn't matter how abandoned a road, how new, how fresh a road, if I see a dirt or a gravel road, I have to know where it goes. It's just, it's a compulsion. It gets in your brain, like this desire to explore on your motorcycle and know that a dual sport or adventure bike can take you anywhere you want to go, in places that car or truck can't get, and knowing that no matter what's it on that road, you can probably continue to follow it to where it ends. The first way dual sport motorcycling has changed me and will change you is that you will constantly be looking around, wondering where every road you see goes. Number two, related to number one but a slightly different twist is you want to ride everywhere you see. So it doesn't matter where I am, my wife and I were on a walk the other day through the park and there's a little wooded area on the other side of a field that all I kept saying was I really want to ride my motorcycle through here. I probably won't because that's trespassing and illegal and all that, but anytime I see uneven semi-ridable terrain, I want to ride my motorcycle on it. In the city, that means abandoned lots, it means construction sites, there's a pretty big construction site near here with a giant gravel pile and every time I go by I think I want to ride to the top of that, I want to see if I can get up it. It just infects your brain, man. You just want to ride everything you see, always. And then it applies to places where you should definitely not be riding, like hiking trails. I see a hiking trail and I think, oh, I would like to ride that, that'd be fun. Trails in parks, walkways, bridges, all of it looks like a place to ride my motorcycle to me these days. It's even dumb stuff like, oh, there's a ditch, I could ride through that. Just dumb things that you see that you, why would you ride that? I don't know. Abandoned lots, private property, whatever, I just want to ride everywhere. Everything I see, I want to ride it. Number three way dual sport adventure off-road motorcycling will change you is it bleeds over into other interests. I always say it's a gateway drug and I find that to be very true. I started on a dual sport motorcycle and decided, I really think an adventure bike would be awesome for longer rides, motocamping and all that, so I got myself one of those. I've considered, kicked around the idea of maybe a dedicated trail bike or a dirt bike, camping, motocamping, which leads to non-motorcycle camping. It'll also lead to other type of outdoor activities. I've always enjoyed the outdoors, but I haven't spent a ton of time out there. And now that I'm dual sport riding out in the woods all the time, I find myself going out and doing other things. I started hiking again, like I hadn't been a hiker in a long time. It really bleeds over into your other interests. You're going to find yourself wanting to spend more time outdoors, wanting to go camping, wanting to explore local spots, hike up to local waterfalls, explore your national forests in other ways. We go drive up and have picnics in the woods now. We do all kinds of stuff. So this dual sport motorcycling thing, it is a gateway drug and it will make you crave being in the wilds, in the wilderness, in the outdoors more. The next big way I've changed since I became a dual sport and adventure motorcycle rider has to do with the weather. I used to not care about the weather like at all. I never looked ahead to see what the weather was going to be. I never really cared. I figured if I want to know what the weather was, I just look out the window. And since I became a motorcycle rider and particularly an off-road motorcycle rider, that has changed significantly. As an example, McLovin and I are planning a ride. We have been for about a week and a half now since we put it on the calendar, and I've been looking ahead to the weather for that day every day. That's not to say that bad weather keeps me from riding because it doesn't. I've ridden in some really heinous crap like torrential downpours and hail and snow and all that. But it does help me figure out which gear to bring and kind of think ahead to how comfortable I'm going to be. So I definitely really very much care about the weather in a way that I never did before, and not just on specific days, but in terms of overall trends. I'm checking constantly the day before to see if it's going to be raining or not, what hours is it going to be raining, look at the hour-by-hour forecast, sometimes down to the minute-by-minute forecast when you're out there in the woods. I do care a lot about the weather in a way that I never did before I was a motorcycle rider. Number five, this is maybe a bad thing, I don't know, but like many people, started out on a street bike, had a couple of those before I really discovered my passion for off-road riding. I still have bikes that can go on the street, but I've gotten rid of all my dedicated street bikes. And the reason for that is because riding on the road seems boring now. I'm just really used to having the woods to myself, to be able to go anywhere I want, ride at any speed I want, practice dinking around with wheelies. Any road or obstacle I see, if I want to ride over it, I can. It just seems boring to be in the city or on the highway, surrounded by other drivers, stuck behind them, having to go at the speed that's dictated to me by them and follow the rules of the road, when I could be in the woods with limitless possibilities around me, riding any way I want, having the most fun. And so when I think about riding on the highway or riding in the city, it's just not that fun. It's just, by comparison, it's like my eyes have been opened and I just can't go back. I'm not a drag-and-knee-in-the-corners type of guy, and I don't have the bikes for that, and I probably never will be. So this is not me saying that riding on the road can't be exciting. It's just not as fun for me. Every time I ride on the road, I just think, man, I wish I was in the woods right now. Wish I was off-road. I wish I was on a gravel road. Wish I was in the middle of nowhere, exploring places people hadn't been, rather than surrounded by other people, bad drivers, terrifyingly awful drivers, seemingly out to kill me at every turn. Number six way that dual-sport off-road motorcycling has changed me is, and I've kind of alluded to it in the earlier ones, but I for sure have a newfound respect for, admiration, and love of the outdoors. I've always enjoyed the outdoors, but I've never spent so much time in them as I have since I became a dual-sport rider. And like I said, it bleeds over into other things. I've definitely camped and hiked more, but I just appreciate it more. It's just amazing to get out there and look at what's in front of you and just marvel at the natural beauty that exists close to home. And you have something near you. It's not going to be the same as mine, depending on where you live. Not everyone has mountains and forests, but every place has places of natural beauty. And the crazy thing that always blows my mind is, I'll get out there, I'll see a beautiful mountain vista, or a hidden pond, or a waterfall, or something, and just think to myself, this was always out here. This was always an hour to 45 minutes away from me, and I spent decades never coming out and seeing it. How many people live their whole lives right next to something amazing and beautiful like that and never get out there and see it? And you're not one of them anymore. Because when you start riding dual sport adventure motorcycles, you get out there, you see that stuff, you appreciate it. Now I seek it out, right? Now I'm looking at Google Maps, scouring it, trying to find hidden ponds and lakes, trying to find trails and ways to ride overland from one place to another, to see the deep woods, looking for big natural landmarks like Wolf Rock that my dad and daughter and I rode to. That is the tallest, largest monolith in the state of Oregon. And I had no idea it was there, and it's like two hours from home. There's so much of that out there. So you gain a newfound appreciation and knowledge, really. It's like a whole new world has been opened to you when you get out there and start exploring the woods. Every time I find something new, it leads to two new discoveries. That's a big one for me. That's number six, is it's just a newfound appreciation and understanding of the wilderness and what's out there to be seen. And it's like a drug. I just want more of it. And that leads me to number seven. My final way dual sport or adventure motorcycling will change you. This one's a little bit more personal, but I'm guessing some of you can relate. I used to spend a lot of time just making excuses and deciding that, eh, it's a lot of work to get out there and do stuff. It's much easier just to sit on the couch, right? Like the idea of throwing on all my gear, throwing on my boots, gassing up the bike, riding all the way out there, riding home. It could be cold. It could be uncomfortable. It could be whatever, right? Or sometimes I load my bike up in the back of the trucks. The idea of getting all my gear, loading my bike up, driving out there, unloading. It was enough to stop me from doing a lot of things. And this is a motorcycling example, but it applies to a lot of things. But what I've discovered is that effort, right? The effort it takes to get off the couch is infinitely worth it. You get that investment back tenfold. Basically what I'm saying is it's encouraged me to get outside of my comfort zone, to stop making excuses, to stop being lazy. It's made me a lot less lazy. I want to seek out adventure. I understand that a little work is necessary to make it happen, but it's totally worth it, and I'm willing to do that. I'm willing to put in the effort. So it's made me less lazy. That's number seven. So that's seven ways dual sport or adventure motorcycling will change you. How has it changed you, or how do you anticipate it changing you? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear your thoughts. But that's it. That's the list. Thank you for watching the video. I appreciate you. If you learned something or enjoyed the video for even one second, if you would consider hitting that like button, I would really appreciate it. That helps YouTube. Know that people like the video and encourages them to show it to more people, which is really the whole point of making videos. You can get this rad technical t-shirt, technical, or this really cool coffee mug on Teespring. There's a link. And maybe even check out Patreon if you want to go crazy. But for now, and as always, I just want to say thank you very much for watching. I appreciate you, all your comments, and what a great community this has been to be a part of. Thank you for being part of a massive positive change in my life. And as always, do not forget to be excellent to each other. Thank you. Excellent! You're welcome. Have a good one. Coffee's good, but it's even better when you have a dork in the road mug. Available on Teespring. Wink. Bleep. Blegh. Bleep. So much product placement. There's a banner, too. Chadalack Gaming. Giant Loop. Technical. What's over here? Lots of stuff. Bleep. This is a microphone. It's not a nipple ring, despite how it may have looked hanging off my shirt. I take my nipple rings out for videos. Come on. Bleep.