What Gives A Bike Soul?

While riding into work the other day, a thought struck me. I am riding a bike that I designed the geometry, picked the color, and every single component. It literally feels like an extension of my body. Does that give it something that goes beyond a mere object?

I have a stock mountain bike that I have been riding for 10 years. It has been repainted twice and completely rebuilt as many times. Is the connection I feel to that machine due solely to the time in the saddle? I think it has to do with the time spent together…all the trails and miles. All the memories imbedded into that steel and gears.

I think that all bikes, when used and enjoyed by the rider, have personality. It is the accumulation of nicks, dings, wear and tear of use that imparts a patina that a new bike just does not have yet.

Only the accumulation of time, blood, sweat, smiles and miles give the machine its special something that makes it more than a mere object. It becomes a partner, a gateway in which to experience the world in a way which cannot happen without both a rider and a bike. Singly, the rider is only a person, and a bike alone is useless. Only together is that soul, that dynamic, created.

Yes.  We certainly do love bikes here.  What gives your bike that special something?