I used to think the hardest part of a ride was the ride itself — the traffic, the weather, the 700km stretch on a boring highway.

Then I had a family. And the hardest part became the five minutes before I left the carpark.

That look on my then 4 year old son’s face; cried when I told him he can’t follow along to my moto-camping ride. The silent treatment my wife gave me, till today, after returning back home from a 2,000km ride to UAE & Oman - 3 weeks after i broke my left fibula + having a newborn.

I've ridden since i was 18. I know the risks. I've made my peace with most of them. What I hadn't made peace with was watching someone else make peace with them, for me, every single time I put the key in the ignition.

Now in my mid-40s, looking back on how the kids grow up too fast, and the career that suddenly I’ve built. Time can’t buy back the happy days when you cherish doing weird faces with your toddlers, but now who are teenagers who prefer to spend time with their friends. Or those days where you actually enjoy hustling to get things done where as nowadays you spend crazy hours staring at screens to discuss problems with faceless colleagues a few partitions away.

I put the whole thing into a video — what it's actually like trying to hold onto this part of yourself when you've got people depending on you to come home in one piece. It's more raw than this newsletter, because you can hear it in my voice when I talk about being present.

🎥 Watch it here: Zahrin Ride’s They Wont Let Me Ride | The Truth About Family & Motorcycles

Here's what I actually want to know from you:

If you ride (or love someone who does) — what's the one thing that changed for you the day you realized someone else was waiting for you to come home?

Reply or drop your thoughts in the comments below. I read every single one, and I'm genuinely trying to figure out if I'm the only one who feels this, or if it's just something nobody talks about in this community.

If you felt this story, forward it to another rider who is experiencing it — or share it with the one person in your life who worries every time you leave the house. It might help them understand why you keep going back out there.

I'd love to hear more about what you're experiencing because sometimes these feelings are more common than we realize and sharing can really help others feel less alone.

Remember when the news was about what happened, not how to feel about it? 1440's Daily Digest is bringing that back. Every morning, they sift through 100+ sources to deliver a concise, unbiased briefing — no pundits, no paywalls, no politics. Just the facts, all in five minutes. For free.

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Coming Soon | Have A Story To Share? - Lets Connect

— Zahrin Idros