Dangerous Deeds

My mother hates motorcycles. But then again, who's mother doesn't?

Time and time again I've heard her retell the story of the biker that crashed in front of the family farm when she was a young girl. The biker in question didn't die, but I can understand how the mangled and bloody mess of a man that he was could've left a few emotional scars on any child who witnessed it. I've never lied about how dangerous riding a motorcycle can be - not to my mother or to myself - but does that mean that I should cower away and hide, never to ride a motorcycle again? Hell no!

Like so many other things in life that put a smile on your face, there is some risk involved and you must gauge that risk everytime you head out. How well you evaluate the risk will most likely define how good a motorcyclist you really are, much moreso than wheelies and stoppies. So many times when I'm riding through time, either on my daily commute or just running errands, I see motorcyclists doing stupid things. This can range from bad form, like tailgating or wrong lane position; to complete dumb ass behaviour like the aforementioned wheelies.

Do I have a problem with stunt riders? No. What I do have a problem with is when these same riders chose to demonstrate their skills in city traffic. It's not only the inherent danger of going nuts on city streets that rubs me the wrong way; but I also hate the image of motorcyclists in general that they're promoting. Every town has a few abandoned roads or parking lots where they can go nuts; so why don't they? Simple reason, they need the attention. Like children who scream "Pick Me!" to their teacher, they need the validation of others to justify their existence. OK, I admit that was a bit psychological - but you've got to admit that there's some truth to it.

Anyhow - rant mode off. Final message is this: "Don't worry Mom, although there are alot of dumb riders out there, you raised me better than that!"