The Motorcycle Diary

 

What comes to your mind when you see a picture of a motorcycle? Mode of transportation, danger, thrill, adventure, independence, rebel, and many words might come to you. Depending on which part of the world you live your view on motorcycles might be different from people in other parts of the world. For some, they are a necessity and for others, they are an indulgence.  Some people use motorcycles as means of transportation while others use them as a lifestyle choice.


Motorcycles or motorbikes as some prefer to call them had been around since the late 1800s almost the same time as the motor car started to become a new way to move around. They are used in almost all parts of the world by people who use them for leisure or as their working tool. A lot has changed since the late 19th century so has the design and capacity of the motorbike but what remains is the danger of motorcycles. I think the danger of riding a motorcycle is more or less the same if not more. With the growing power and speed of motorcycles, it might be even more dangerous to ride now than in an early day of motorcycles. There had been a lot of progress made to improve the safety of bikers from the crash helmet invited in 1914 to more advanced riding clothing with spine and shoulder protection but still motorcycle accidents are deadly.  Even if they have their risk motorcycles are used and loved by millions of people all over the world for just their functionality or unique aesthetics.  


Motorcycles had been used by artists as subjects of their work or as a tool to build characters of their subjects. Cinema had used this to a great extent from making “motorcycle movies” like Easy Rider and Mad Max to using them to make their movies more dramatic like First Blood, Terminator 2, and The Dark Night. They usually portray the western vision of thrill, adventure, and danger. A different movie from this typical use of motorcycles is a Brazilian film The Motorcycle Diaries which is based on Ernesto (Che) Guevara’s memoir on his adventure traveling through South America with his friend Alberto Granado. Although Che Guevara was not the driver or the owner of the bike the movie clearly shows the character of the future revolutionary. The choice of the movie's title and using a motorcycle which didn’t make it up to the end of the adventure as the main storytelling tool is what makes the movie different from the other “Motorcycle Movies”.

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Like Che Guvera I had never been the main raider on a bike, to be honest, I had been always been the passenger. Right now I have no intention of buying a bike and take an adventure ride but whenever I come across a motorcycle I stop and take a picture. 

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