‘TRACKDAYS SHOULD BE ON PRESCRIPTION’
Vanessa rides a KTM off-road, a Harley-Davidson on it, and believes that motorcycles could be the cure for the world’s mental health problems
Have you ever noticed how content dogs look with their head out of a car window? They have the wind in their hair, the world is whizzing past and they’re panting happily. That’s exactly how I feel when I’m riding my motorcycle. Maybe minus the panting. It’s freedom, the open road, escapism and speed.
There are 1.3 million bikers in the UK, but a terrifying one in four of the population experiences a mental health problem every year. It’s even being described as an epidemic. According to the World Health Organisation: “By
2030 depression will be the leading illness globally.” The cure?
More motorbikes. Seriously!
There’s a thriving industry focused on supporting mental health through adventure therapy. You leave normal life behind, venture off into the wilderness and participate in emotionally and physically challenging, sometimes risky, outdoor activities.
The idea is that exposing yourself (not like that) to nature’s elements grounds you. No hustle and bustle of life, it’s just survival. And that’s exactly what I get from riding. There’s something spiritually replenishing about being out on the edge of the wilderness on a motorbike. The emotions, the nomadic sense of adventure, tackling the terrain beneath your wheels, where you can be threatened by nature and intimidated by the landscape. Gnarly assents, deepwater crossings, the exhaustion of hauling your bike out of an unexpected bog. You’re sweating and covered in mud, but you’re alive and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. But what about road riding? You’ve still left normal life behind, have nothing but the open road ahead, and it’s all about the ride. Sweeping turns, long stretches to open it up on and the rainstorm you outran for the warmth of sunshine. Solitude. Life feels good. You’re completely enveloped in sensations you can’t ignore. There’s a sense of selfpreservation that is often absent in our daily lives. That turn you took a little too fast, that negative camber that nearly had you off, and the flood of endorphins when you get it all right. Your mind is solely focused on the moment. It’s a thrill all bikers have in common. Imagine if more people could experience that? Just think of the NHS cost savings. I would have loved my GP to prescribe me a course of trackdays for posttraumatic stress disorder. Sod counselling, ride a motorcycle.