hey ride for the freedom. They ride to get away . . . to see the countryside, to explore the back roads and mostly . . . just for the joy of it.

They ride as couples, and in small groups, taking 20-and 30-mile jaunts to their favorite restaurants and hangouts. They love the excitement of taking on an open road, devoid of four-wheelers (cars). They relish the freedom and thrill of letting go, and feeling the powerful Harley's engine as its strength grows and takes charge. It's experiencing the centrifugal force on long turns and gliding at speeds just within the law.

There's a mystique about it all and a love affair between rider and bike that only riders can describe. It's the smell of leathers, coffee and breakfast on an early morning tour that continues into the afternoon - taking a trip to nowhere in particular - just to cruise in some spontaneous, uninhibited way where you and your bike can become one.

Perhaps it's the feeling you get from the wind hitting your face, the sudden acceleration, or the constant vibration and loud hum. Maybe it's the fun of boulevarding down Main Street and showing off your metal to everyone who will look and to the wannabes along the way. It's a sharing thing, a bold, caring thing, that lets the little kid in you come out and play. It's a cross between a sport and a life style. It's shedding the confinements of day-to-day business and evolving into a completely different self. It's time to ride and time to be free.