It was still a place of worship as far as we were concerned.” Given Pierson’s attentiveness to the rituals of the ride, it’s not surprising that many pages on, she tells of her visit to a motorcycle museum in Otterbach, Germany in spiritual terms: "We admired all the fine old bikes, from Aermacchi to Zundapp, sure, but I think we were at least as appreciative of the fact that they were housed in a former church. There is contained fire within inches of the rider’s knees." A simultaneous twist of the right grip pulls the throttle cables and the engine bleats, then gulps, then roars. The starter button on the right handlebar, pressed, begins a whirring below. With a push from the thighs, the rider rocks the bike forward once, again, picking up momentum until it starts to fall forward and down from the centerstand. Then the rider swings a leg over the seat and sits but keeps the weight on the balls of the feet. "The key is slipped into the ignition at the top of the steering head. The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles by Melissa Holbrook Pierson, begins with a lyrical passage that reads like a description of a religious rite.
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