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Saturday, July 8, 2017

Summer Kamikaze Motorcycle Riders



I am a fan of motorcycles having ridden them all my life. Even now we have a Honda 125 that is for sale, but I have ridden a great variety of bikes, including the King of the Road, The Honda Goldwing
I have been accused of having been everything from a hooligan to a model rider, and I have earned those titles. I don't know what happens to turn a respectable and responsible person into a lunatic when he gets on his bike, but it happens every day.

They greatest sin that we bikers commit is that the rules that are followed, (kind of) by car and truck drivers don't seem to matter to us. Because of our slim size we seem to think that we can just zip in between the traffic and be on our way. Summer makes it worse because off goes the heavy clothing with skid protection and we ride around with t-shirts and shorts and flip-flops.

Many a person who has road rash will tell you it damn well hurts!

To make matters worse guys place their girl friends on the back of the bike and there she sits looking so vulnerable, holding on for dear life. He so often thinks he will give her a thrill by riding real fast, when if he wants to really impress her all he has to do is get her back home safely.

Considering how fragile a rider is, in comparison to a car driver you might think that out of self-preservation they would be very careful, but no, they seem to enjoy tempting fate. These are generally young men who think of themselves as being indestructible. I have been there and done that. What was I thinking?

The one thing this crowd don't do at all is take advice from anyone other than themselves. They have to have the experience of crashing, perhaps several times and bearing the bruises before they come to realize that they should slow down. It's just a part of growing up and hoping to survive to maturity. Perhaps too many don't make it.

So give them a little extra room if you don't want your car to be scraped and let's all try to enjoy Summer driving.

Let's all stay sober while on the road, especially those biker clubs who are so proud of their bikes. A good way to smash them up is to drink then ride.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

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