Summer Sounds: Roaring Motorcycles

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MELISSA BLOCK, host:

And we end this hour with the latest in our series on the sounds of summer.

(Soundbite of noise)

Ms. MEREDITH OCHS (Radio Host): I'm Meredith Ochs and I'm a DJ and talk show host at Sirius XM Satellite Radio. I host a show on the Road Dog channel, so I know a little bit about engines. But even if you don't know much about engines, you can tell that a motorcycle sounds different than anything else on wheels.

(Soundbite of motorcycle)

Ms. OCHS: When the weather gets warm, sounds from the road begin to change, like bird songs but much louder. A faraway sputter, a rumble approaching, then a roar trailing off into the distance, the audio equivalent of taillights in the fog. Boys on bikes. Yes, women ride, too. But when I look out my window to see what kind of motorcycle is making all that righteous noise and which way it's headed, more often than it's a guy behind the handlebars.

(Soundbite of motorcycle)

Ms. OCHS: The sound pulls me back to the summer when I rode everywhere on the back of my boyfriend's custom chopper. It was my first taste of freedom, flight without leaving the ground. Every ride promised adventure, and the sound of every motorcycle rolling down my street still does.

The smell of freshly cut summer lawns, fragrant trees on mountain roads and tires marking the asphalt are so connected with the roar of the bike beneath us that I can conjure them whenever I hear an engine rumble.

I loved being with him, even though I knew it wasn't going anywhere. But that's the best thing about a motorcycle ride. It gives you the feeling that anything is possible even if you're headed nowhere in particular.

(Soundbite of motorcycle)

BLOCK: That's DJ and music critic Meredith Ochs. To share your favorite summer sound, just go to NPR.org and click on Contact Us. And please remember to put Summer Sounds in the subject line.

(Soundbite of music)

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