By Brad Tuten

BMW of N. America presented me with the 100,000 mile award for riding their bikes so it seemed appropriate to reminisce on my experiences.

Age 7 is an impressionable time for anyone who may see a TV commercial about sport touring motorcycles and so it  was for me to be captivated by it’s magic charm. Although having protective parents prevented me from having my first bike until I was in my early twenties my friends who had them let me ride when I would visit.

On my fourth Yamaha (a list which included a 250 Enduro a twin 450 special an 850 triple and a 750 Seca) I wandered into the BMW shop to see the new K series which made bike of the year when it was introduced on the market. I knew then I had to have it when a two hour test ride put the hooks in deep. I was to own it for 67,000 miles and it was crashed in for the updated 1991 16 valve machine which, 5 years later, along with my 1975 R60/6 was traded in on the 1997 K1100LT High Line which I still have parked next to the Honda 450 Rebel which my wife occasionally rides.

Belonging to the BMW owners of America club and the BMW Owners Of GA. club and the Federation of Motorcycles has given me the courage and support and the camaraderie to ride and enjoy the sport of motorcycling. I’ve been asked why I like it, why fight the crazy drivers who don't look, why endure cold temperatures when people in climate controlled cars look out at you like you're crazy? Why ride in the rain, the heat, the wind? Why dodge the animals that either chase you or cross the road in front of you? Why do something that statistically is endangering? And why do the greasy maintenance yourself?

Why ride for hours and hours in search of good Southern barbecue? Why ride for days and days while camping along the way? Why take 4000 mile trips without set destinations or agendas? Why ride from the Florida keys to Atlanta GA. in 14 hours? Why travel to 27 different states on a motorcycle? Why see the Pacific ocean or the Canadian border?

It's not just a hobby it's an experience! A curvy road is not just a road - it's an experience! The sunrise is an experience you can feel, smell, and be an active part of. A town you've never seen before has a feeling all it's own when you hear the birds and the traffic and smell the doughnuts from the coffee shop and the lady's perfume who just came out; and the dog barks at the children playing and laughing and rolling in the freshly cut grass.

I ride for the fun, for the excitement, for the experiences, the challenges and the memories and for the friendships it brings. I ride for the conversations motorcycling inspires from the strangers you meet. I wave at other riders sharing the road with me who hustle to work or home or who ride for the police department. I wave to those who enjoy the sunny Sunday afternoons on their big loud Harleys (the ones too Bad to wave back)...

For me, it's just a one hundred thousand mile hobby.