THE PREFACE TO JOHN GARDNER’STHE ART OF MOTORCYCLE RIDING

So you want to ride a motorbike, cruise the coast and smell the sea. You want to feel flies fly by, the flap of fabric as you speed away to anywhere. In this guide I won’t tell you how to ride a motorbike -- you either can or you can’t. I won’t start this guide by telling you how to start your bike, how to put the key in or change gears because if you haven’t the common sense to do any of these then it’s of no use. Heaven help you. You ought to hang your helmet next to your other failures, box it away in the closet like you have your previous dreams and mark your map with the attainable.

This is a guide aimed at teaching the serious rider the art of riding. Many people I’ve known that wanted to become riders, did become riders, so long that they understood what it meant to be one. The motorcycle, like painting or writing sitcoms is an art form, something that must be studied and respected if one is to have any hope at mastering it.

We will cover the following things:

1. The aesthetic theory of riding: skulls, leather and dui’s

2. Techniques of riding.

3. Common errors in riding.

4. ect,

Before the rules can be broken we must take a close look at these principals, how they apply to the art of riding and you. It can be said that the true artist needs no safety net. This is a romantic masturbatory dream. In fact, every artist that has ever picked up a paint brush, that has sat down to write or ride has indeed had a safety net in one form or another.
Once and only once you understand these steps can you feel comfortable enough to forget your helmet, bring your crown and mount your princess confidently. If you follow the lessons learned in this book you can become a successful rider. You can ride the road and part the waves, make the moment yours.

There are however some, that even after reading this book will still feel no closer to becoming a rider. Then friend, you must come to terms that the world of leather and speed isn’t meant for you. Maybe you can giving riding lessons, become a mechanic or a lube job guy person thing.Good luck and happy riding.

John Champlin Gardner, Jr. (born July 21, 1933, Batavia, New York; died September 14, 1982, near Susquehanna, Pennsylvania) was an American novelist and university teacher. He was a popular and controversial figure until his death in a motorcycle accident at the age of 49. He wrote, The Art of Fiction.