I really need to vent today and I will probably alienate some people but so be it.
This is one issue I WILL NOT pussyfoot around.
My goal here is to create some honest dialogue.
I want to discuss CARELESS & RECKLESS "RIDERS".
I hear a lot about careless, inattentive cagers, but yah know what people - there are a number of "riders" who are just as bad if not worse.
At our Toy Run here in GP this year there were 2 people in particular that I would gladly have throttled. And I was not alone. I have spoken with several people who describe the same two bikes being ridden in an aggressive and reckless manner that put other people's lives at risk.
Here is MY story....
I was leaving the park and was in a group that all decided to turn right and go directly to Wembley instead of taking part in the parade. On the way out of town I let the pack go ahead of me and rode by myself.
The wind was really strong and gusty and my Street Glide was traveling a fair bit from side to side in my lane as the wind would gust - it's just the nature of a bike with a fairing.
Anyway, looking in my mirrors, I see a group of 6 bikes coming up in the lane on the left(the road is a four lane divided highway), I check my right mirror and ditch again, scan to the left, check my left mirror and see the riders coming closer.
One rider is riding the center line fairly tight, so I decide to start moving to my right to ensure there is lots of room in the event of another wind gust and as I start to move, I do a shoulder check and see a sportster coming up beside me - passing me on the right!
A suicide pass as she wasn't waiting for me to acknowledge that I saw her - she was passing me on the right and didn't give a shit. Had a wind gust come up and my Glide moved a foot we'd have touched bars and both been wrecked - what gives her the right to play with my life that way?
I told a couple of riders about my experience and they expressed that a female rider on a black sportser did the same thing to them, passing on the right. They did not appreciate their lives being played with in this manner either. They too were highly pissed off - is she nuts, an ego maniac or just uneducated - that's the 64 million dollar question?!
If I would have seen this gal at Wembley I'd have throttled her and probably landed in jail - I was that angry! I'd have done what one gent in the states did this past weekend (Read the article Reckless rider gets a whoopin': http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/fwm/news/29950884.html)
I think rider trainers should discuss ego and stupid riding with all new riders and I think it should be mandatory to take rider training.
I also think rider trainers need to explain to riders what effects high winds have on different styles of bikes and the handling abilities of different styles of bikes and explain to guys like the one riding the lime green Yamaha that when you pass (by splitting lanes) you should allow a bit more than a foot of room. Oh - right - they don't recommend that in rider training - do they!
You may have the skill to pass that way but what about the riders you split lanes on?
You really didn't leave anyone else the room to react now did you?
I'm just grateful - again - that the wind didn't decide to gust about then - and again I ask the question - what gives you the right to play with other people's lives that way?
Was getting to Wembley 2 minutes faster than anyone else really that important that you'd willingly risk another riders life? Again I ask, is it ego, are you nuts or is it lack of education? What the hell drives you people?
I resent riders who put other people's lives at risk because they are too busy riding their bike like a fashion statement or as method of attention seeking.
You may think you are Joe or Jane Rocket - you might be an incredibly skilled rider - but that does not mean the rider you are showing off in front of or beside you is.
When things go wrong on a motorcycle - they do so quickly and decisively and I resent another rider playing God with my life or those of others who ride responsibly.
I get enough of that from cagers on cell phones.
My motorcycle is NOT a fashion statement. I do not ride it with the hopes that others will notice me and think I am wonderful or special because I ride.
I ride my motorcycle because I love wind therapy.
I ride my motorcycle because it helps me to focus and concentrate on what is most important to me - life.
Those of you who ride to get attention - go the race track.
The spectators there will cheer you on and clap for you all you want.
I am sick and freaking tired off show offs and wanna be's - you are not riders - you are selfish, inconsiderate jackasses that need to be taught some manners.
YOU are the reason that non motorcyclists get pissed at the rest of us.
YOU are the biggest pain in the motorcycle community's ass - It's because of You that law enforcement gets all over our community - it's because of You that so many people who don't ride think the rest of us are jerks and are trying to have us banned from their communities.
As with any other community that is inhabited by people - it only takes one bad apple to spoil it for the rest of us.
So.... Go ahead ride your bike like a jerk - wreck it for the rest of us - kill a fellow rider with your stupidity - who cares - it's your right.
There - I feel somewhat better now - at least until the next inconsiderate, selfish, attention seeking "rider" comes into my lane and space.
PLEASE people - ride safe out there - we have enough dangers on the roads.
Belt Drive Betty
This is one issue I WILL NOT pussyfoot around.
My goal here is to create some honest dialogue.
I want to discuss CARELESS & RECKLESS "RIDERS".
I hear a lot about careless, inattentive cagers, but yah know what people - there are a number of "riders" who are just as bad if not worse.
At our Toy Run here in GP this year there were 2 people in particular that I would gladly have throttled. And I was not alone. I have spoken with several people who describe the same two bikes being ridden in an aggressive and reckless manner that put other people's lives at risk.
Here is MY story....
I was leaving the park and was in a group that all decided to turn right and go directly to Wembley instead of taking part in the parade. On the way out of town I let the pack go ahead of me and rode by myself.
The wind was really strong and gusty and my Street Glide was traveling a fair bit from side to side in my lane as the wind would gust - it's just the nature of a bike with a fairing.
Anyway, looking in my mirrors, I see a group of 6 bikes coming up in the lane on the left(the road is a four lane divided highway), I check my right mirror and ditch again, scan to the left, check my left mirror and see the riders coming closer.
One rider is riding the center line fairly tight, so I decide to start moving to my right to ensure there is lots of room in the event of another wind gust and as I start to move, I do a shoulder check and see a sportster coming up beside me - passing me on the right!
A suicide pass as she wasn't waiting for me to acknowledge that I saw her - she was passing me on the right and didn't give a shit. Had a wind gust come up and my Glide moved a foot we'd have touched bars and both been wrecked - what gives her the right to play with my life that way?
I told a couple of riders about my experience and they expressed that a female rider on a black sportser did the same thing to them, passing on the right. They did not appreciate their lives being played with in this manner either. They too were highly pissed off - is she nuts, an ego maniac or just uneducated - that's the 64 million dollar question?!
If I would have seen this gal at Wembley I'd have throttled her and probably landed in jail - I was that angry! I'd have done what one gent in the states did this past weekend (Read the article Reckless rider gets a whoopin': http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/fwm/news/29950884.html)
I think rider trainers should discuss ego and stupid riding with all new riders and I think it should be mandatory to take rider training.
I also think rider trainers need to explain to riders what effects high winds have on different styles of bikes and the handling abilities of different styles of bikes and explain to guys like the one riding the lime green Yamaha that when you pass (by splitting lanes) you should allow a bit more than a foot of room. Oh - right - they don't recommend that in rider training - do they!
You may have the skill to pass that way but what about the riders you split lanes on?
You really didn't leave anyone else the room to react now did you?
I'm just grateful - again - that the wind didn't decide to gust about then - and again I ask the question - what gives you the right to play with other people's lives that way?
Was getting to Wembley 2 minutes faster than anyone else really that important that you'd willingly risk another riders life? Again I ask, is it ego, are you nuts or is it lack of education? What the hell drives you people?
I resent riders who put other people's lives at risk because they are too busy riding their bike like a fashion statement or as method of attention seeking.
You may think you are Joe or Jane Rocket - you might be an incredibly skilled rider - but that does not mean the rider you are showing off in front of or beside you is.
When things go wrong on a motorcycle - they do so quickly and decisively and I resent another rider playing God with my life or those of others who ride responsibly.
I get enough of that from cagers on cell phones.
My motorcycle is NOT a fashion statement. I do not ride it with the hopes that others will notice me and think I am wonderful or special because I ride.
I ride my motorcycle because I love wind therapy.
I ride my motorcycle because it helps me to focus and concentrate on what is most important to me - life.
Those of you who ride to get attention - go the race track.
The spectators there will cheer you on and clap for you all you want.
I am sick and freaking tired off show offs and wanna be's - you are not riders - you are selfish, inconsiderate jackasses that need to be taught some manners.
YOU are the reason that non motorcyclists get pissed at the rest of us.
YOU are the biggest pain in the motorcycle community's ass - It's because of You that law enforcement gets all over our community - it's because of You that so many people who don't ride think the rest of us are jerks and are trying to have us banned from their communities.
As with any other community that is inhabited by people - it only takes one bad apple to spoil it for the rest of us.
So.... Go ahead ride your bike like a jerk - wreck it for the rest of us - kill a fellow rider with your stupidity - who cares - it's your right.
There - I feel somewhat better now - at least until the next inconsiderate, selfish, attention seeking "rider" comes into my lane and space.
PLEASE people - ride safe out there - we have enough dangers on the roads.
Belt Drive Betty
my sentiments EXACTLY!
ReplyDeleteI hold no book for abject stupidity...and I pray all the time that someone else's stupidity won't cause my death...because it is stupidity...anyone who has a license knows better...they had to know better to get the license...
I actually had much the same thing happen to me in my car on the way to work this morning...bike passing me on the right in the bicycle lane...only we were doing 60KMs
idiot!
brava my friend
for saying it out loud!
Very well said.......!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. I've seen riders doing wheelies at 60 miles/hr on a four lane highway and have often wondered what in the name of God were they trying to prove?
Don't they realize that a small shift in winds may forever wreck their lives if not end it.
Usually, I find it's the inexperienced riders that take the most chances with their and everybody else's lives. (Including their passengers')
Is it ego, are they nuts or is it lack of education? What the hell drives these people?...you ask...I think the correct answer is all of the these factors and then some. Alcohol consumption is also a severe problem with riders trying to fit into a certain peer group and of course all inhibitions and sense of fear disappear when you've had more than you should have had.
It is also my belief that the trainers need to be periodically re-trained to ensure they are equipped with the latest, newest and all available info and tools needed on techniques, riding knowledge...(Things like wind factors and motorcycle size and type..road condition...how to ride on gravel and maybe how to slow down and properly apply the breaks on gravel...perhaps last weekend's tragedy could have been avoided...who knows?)
There is certainly a need for a riding code of ethics. The trouble is, I found many of these show off riders think they are very skilled and experienced...Ego is bigger, in these cases, than self preservation and safe riding for everyone on the road.
Will it ever change... I very much doubt it