Do I qualify to be called a biker?

When I think of a biker, image of a man, tattooed body, wearing sleeveless leather jacket, riding on a huge cruiser bike- Harley Davidson with an expression of extreme pride and cool attitude, comes to my mind. In the Indian scenario, the bike is replaced by a Royal Enfield and the biking gear, by a big mustache and literally any kind of clothes. After all, riding a bullet (Royal Enfield) is a fashion in itself in India.

I do not exhibit any of the above images, do not possess even a single tattoo, don’t own cruiser bike or a bullet and I don’t even wear a mustache. But still, I love to ride my bike, without caring much about other details. Do I qualify to be called biker?

I do not have a bike for the past one and a half year as I have relocated two times during this period, though I have been riding for about 6 years before that. For now, I live in a metro city (Hyderabad) which is not as much crowded as Bangalore (it is one of the worse cities in case of traffic), but still, biking is a tough task here for commuting. While stuck in traffic, it feels better to sit in an Air-conditioned car or a public transport, rather than hanging on a bike. I cannot afford a bike just for leisure with the burden to carry it with me all the time (rather than it carrying me).

Still, I miss my bike when I want to have a ride on a silent and broad highway to forget all the tensions of life. I still own a bike at my home (apparently I live away from home now), which is waiting for me to get back home. I always loved the late evening rides on my bike, riding alone on the dark streets and feeling the cool breeze on my body.

But riding a motorcycle is not the only thing which may qualify me as biker. Unlike most of today’s kids, and like most of the people of my generation, who have seen bicycle in the movies and ridden a bike in the video games, I have spent a long part of my childhood riding bicycles. It was after I completed my school that I got my first bike. But even today, when I get the chance to ride a bicycle, I hardly miss it. Its refreshing to ride a bicycle, paddling, rhyming some song, with a few friends, cycling along. Bicycling, being a lot more fun, is actually a healthy and eco-friendly hobby too. It cannot replace the thrill of speed biking, but can offer you calmness and health.

So, it seems I love being a biker who loves the occasional biking and still feel that “enjoying riding” qualifies him to be called a biker. After all, riding is all about the feeling and not about how hardcore one is as a biker, following biker codes or joining a some motorcycling clubs.

Yes, I am a biker.