Where the dermis meets the road

Ever since I discovered, as a small child, that there was a means of transportation where in people assimilated the power of a car and the design of a bicycle, I have been in love. Envy gripped me every time I would catch a fleeting glimpse of those beautiful machines and the ease with which they navigated the roads, less riding on top of the pavement and more gliding just above it. They always appeared, to me, to be pulled in tow by some invisible thread, all of their movements seeming  to lead inexorably into one and other, almost as if it were riding on a smoothly oiled track of it's own devising.
The often grungy and portly fellows with their leathery women, almost always the norm, riding on my most envied machines, always left a pretty awful taste mouth. They coveted their bikes as trophies, which isn't wrong in the least, but I did not view them in the same fashion. To me the motorcycles were a companion, much more personable than a car or truck,  often four to five times your own size, and much more versatile than a wimpy bicycle... who want's to have to expend their own effort to locomote? To see these old washed up alcoholics riding on their earth-rendingly loud noise machines just kind of irritated me. It's like Chihuahuas... you've taken one of the most humble and lasting bonds an human can make with something other than another human, and bastardized it, Adorned it to the point of gaudiness. There's a simply connection, that when made, proves all the more satisfying than they and their 15,000$ two wheeled land boat, equip with mobile cappuccino maker and a comfy fireplace, can understand.
It's the truly one on one experience that the motorcycle allows you to have with your travel that really appeals to me. The handlebars acting as a secondary steering device to that of your own body weight, each movement of your hands and feet directly effecting brakes and clutch, and the subtle differences in the texture of the road , all combining to make it an immersive and visceral experience for the rider. Or... at least, that's what I assume it's like, I've never ridden one! Soon enough though!
I have taken this bull by its goddamn horns and already gotten my Motorcycle learners permit, now the last piece of the cog (and arguably the biggest) just needs to fall into place... I need to get a bike.