Motorcycles are magical. They can instantly transform the worst day of your life into the best afternoon's ride. I have been around bikes my whole life. As a kid I kept a dirt bike hidden at the neighbor's farm because my mother is so against motorcycles. As a young man, I had a small street bike, but I eventually sold it and always regretted doing so.

Even before my wife and I were married, I wanted another bike. I begged, I pleaded, I made deals with her. But, at the time, we had other interests and hobbies, so the time for another motorcycle was just never right.

In September 2005, Mother Nature stepped in. When Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, fuel costs skyrocketed. Within just a few days, gas prices topped $3 for the first time.

When this happened, we owned a full-size conversion van. While luxurious inside, it was far from fuel efficient. Many days, we were lucky to get 8 mpg in the city.

All it took to convince my wife was one fill-up of the van. As the numbers went over the $100 mark, she started looking for an alternative method of transportation. For a short while, we dusted off our decades-old bicycles and tried to ride them. However, Western Pennsylvania is not the place for out of shape thirtysomethings to try and get back into bicycling. The distance between point A and point B may only be a mile or two, but climbing the steep grades we call streets adds a degree of impossibility to the task.

A few weeks went by and gas prices sank back to where they were before the storm. But the seed was planted, and it grew over the course of the winter.

The following spring, gas prices started their inexorable march higher, and my wife came to me one afternoon and asked, "Honey? Have you ever considered us getting a scooter?"

Inside, I was doing backflips, but on the exterior, I was calm, cool and collected. I said (slyly) "Why, no, dear, tell me more."

Her brief description was still hanging in the air when I raced to my office, grabbed my checkbook and loaded everyone into the van for a trip to the motorcycle shop.

That day started the best three years of my life. Our first scooter is long gone, but the memory remains. You simply cannot forget the thrill of feeling the bike surge under you for the first time, or the rush of the wind against your body. It is truly a magical experience. The best part was the first time we stopped for gas. The tiny tank only held a gallon of fuel, but that gallon lasted for more than 100 miles.

There was a certain amount of gloating involved when we passed a Toyota Prius and could actually call the driver a "gas hog."

We have since moved up to larger and more capable bikes, but despite their size and weight, they still deliver better fuel economy than any hybrid on the road today. It is truly rewarding to stop at a gas station, hand the clerk a $20 and say fill it up. It is even more rewarding to see the look on the clerk's face when you come back in and get the change. The best part is being able to ride to and from work, then all around town for a week or two on just $12 in gas.

Outstanding fuel economy is not the only benefit to owning a motorcycle. It is very difficult to have a bad day while riding. Riding is revitalizing as well as therapeutic. There is a saying among bikers: "You'll never see a bike parked outside of a psychiatrist's office." It is something you just cannot understand until you have owned one.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm in need of an extended asphalt therapy session. Ride safe and keep the rubber side down.