The Irritation of Listening to People When You Ride a Motorcycle
It’s annoying to be told to “be careful — it’s dangerous” when you in some way make a reference to the fact that you ride a bike, both due to the frequency and the way it’s done.
While some of you may have mothers that warn you about the dangers of driving every time you get behind the wheel, I don’t. Do my parents like the fact that I ride a bike? Probably not, but that has to do more with the fact that my grandfather and grandmother rode bikes, making things a bit inconvenient for the kids, than anything else.
But the warnings about motorcycles are neither limited to your mother nor even to when you’re suiting up to ride. They come every time the bike comes up in passing in a conversation. Imagine you’re late for work, you apologize and say you had to take your car into the shop, only to be treated to a lecture on how dangerous it is to drive cars …
Then, more importantly, is the manner.
“it’s not you I’m worried about, it’s everyone else …”
Good, stop talking to me and tell all the unaware car drivers you know (who cause most accidents) to be careful around motorcycles.
Do you really think that in 25 years riding this is the first time I’ve ever ridden in traffic? Nobody who hasn’t ridden can tell you as well as someone who has the extent of stupidity the average car driver engages in without so much as a passing thought, do you think as a non-rider you’re going to enlighten me any?
Finally, at the end of the day I’m perfectly aware of the risk. Everything in life is a risk. It’s risk that gets my adrenaline going and makes me feel fully alive.
I’d rather be fully alive for a while and then dead, than start out half-dead to begin with.
