history of the holiday
The history of World Motorcyclist Day began in May 1992 with an article published in the American motorcycle and motorcyclist magazine Road Rider.
The author of this article was the editor-in-chief of the aforementioned magazine, Fred Rau, who called on all motorcyclists to participate in an event called Ride To Work Day, which translates into Russian as “Motorcycle Ride to Work Day”.
The purpose of the event was to draw the attention of motorists to motorcyclists and show them that a motorcycle is also a vehicle that has the same rights as a car.
The date for the event was set for June 22, 1992. On that day, the participants of the event left their cars in garages and went to work on motorcycles.
Since then, this event has been held annually on the third Wednesday of June, and since 2008 it has been held on the third Monday of June. It is believed that in many countries of the world on this day the weather is good, conducive to riding a motorcycle.
The Ride To Work Day event quickly became so popular that over time it transformed into a non-profit public organization of the same name, which was founded in 2000 by American entrepreneur Andy Goldfine, who is also the founder of Aerostich, a company specializing in the production of protective clothing for motorcyclists.
Currently, Ride To Work provides legal and technical support to motorcyclists, and it has offices in Canada, Latin America and Europe, the Philippines, Israel and even Russia.
This is how the event, once organized, first became simply popular, and then traditional, and is now celebrated as World Motorcycle Day.
Holiday traditions
Of course, the main tradition of the holiday is a trip to work and daily activities on a motorcycle, but this is not the only thing that motorcyclists do on this day. Many of them, if not all, are members of various clubs that organize various shows and charity events on this day.
What attracts a motorcycle
People prefer a motorcycle to a car for a variety of reasons, but they all agree on one thing: a motorcycle gives a feeling of freedom and adrenaline rush, and also allows you to feel everything that happens on the road in a completely different way.
In addition, the risk of getting stuck in a multi-kilometer traffic jam on a motorcycle is much less than on a car, since the motorcycle is more maneuverable, and finding a place to park the motorcycle is also much easier.
Also, to the advantages of a motorcycle, you can add a significantly lower fuel consumption than a car, which is beneficial not only economically, but also environmentally, as it has a positive effect on the state of the environment.
Why Motorists Dislike Motorcyclists
Even pedestrians know about the tense relationship between motorists and motorcyclists. Radical motorists call motorcyclists “crunchies”, and the latter call the former “canned food” in response.
The main reason for the hatred of motorists for motorcyclists is their driving style, which creates a danger to other road users. After all, motorcyclists often exceed the speed limit and drive between rows, and their maneuvers are completely unpredictable.
Nevertheless, motorcyclists also do not favor motorists and are outraged that some motorists maneuver without direction indicators, suddenly open doors without first looking in the side rear-view mirror, and also talk on the phone while driving, which is why they sometimes do not have time to react to one or another maneuver of a motorcyclist.
It is noteworthy that in most cases, motorcyclists and motorists are the same people in the sense that a motorcycle is usually not the only vehicle of its owner.
Therefore, nothing prevents motorcyclists and motorists from treating each other with understanding and being mutually polite.
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