Women on their own bikes?

Maybe it's my age, maybe it's my myopic view of manhood, maybe it's my chauvinistic view of women, but I think that for the most part women belong on the back of a motorcycle and not riding their own bike.  Now I know that most women, and maybe many men, will cringe with what I just stated, but that's what I think.  The 1960's and the '70s were (allegedly) the age of enlightenment.  Women discarded their bras and a woman's role as the primary homemaker dramatically shifted to where now women outnumber men in the workforce, and now many of them own and ride their own motorcycle.  Now I'm not going to argue that women were not repressed and oftentimes seen as second-class citizens, but was there really a  need to take it so far so that now women ride their own bikes?!

I've written previously in this blog about freedom, and certainly I'm a defender of an individual's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  But when it comes to a woman riding her own bike I have to check my own libertarian views.  And, of course, it is my selfishness that underlies my position on this.

You see, I don't want my wife riding her own bike.  I absolutely love the feel of her behind me, holding gently to my hips, leaning her head against my back after a few hundred miles of riding, reaching around and hugging me around my neck and shoulders, my being able to reach down and touch and rub her leg, or reaching back and squeezing her hand, all while heading down the road together, attached as one into the wind.  I like that.  I like my wife.  And I would expect that BOTH men AND women like that too.  If not, I expect that you are one pissed off frustrated person.

So, when I see a husband and wife on their own individual bikes I feel sad for them.  I wonder what it is that went wrong so that they've lost that passion for each other's company, for the touch, for the love of doing it together.  Then again, I've heard many a man express his frustration and wish his wife would get her own bike so he could have the freedom to ride however he wants.  And then again, I'm sure many a woman fears that the guy in front of her can't totally be trusted and she'd feel more comfortable choosing her own fate and not have to rely on his abilities to save her ass in a bad situation.  Yes, riding with my wife behind me demands a respect for her safety, and sometimes, when I've crossed the line and made her feel endangered she's reminded me that she's there behind me with a slight pinch or a comment later on, so maybe even she has thought more than once how she'd be better off on her own ride. I hope not.

Of course, the enlightened woman may demand her own ride as an expression of her independence.  I get it.  But why?  Have we so screwed up as men that we've made our wives or girlfriends feel demeaned and powerless?  Probably. 

I hope that my wife never asks for her own ride.  For me it will mean failure for our relationship, though I'm not too worried about my wife actually going that way.  She tells me often how she's so grateful that she's not on her own bike, especially after a couple of hours riding in the rain.  She's a smart one she is.