Just for the record, I’m not a perfect driver, sometimes I do *ahem* stupid things.  Having said that, I feel it’s fair to comment on other drives and what stupid things they do.

It all started out rather fun, my brother and I was taking a motorcycle trip to see an Aunt and then we were going to put a few more miles and states on the bike (so far I’m ahead with 11 states under my “motorcycle” belt, at some point I hope to have all 50).  The first day’s itinerary was to get to my Aunt’s and I would like to say it was without incident, but that would be a lie.  It’s also a story for another day because what I’m talking about today happened on day 2 of our 3 day trip.

We were in Illinois on Route 1 when it happened.  Route 1 for the most part is a two lane highway with sections that are four lanes.  The particular stretch at the start was a four lane highway through a town with a speed limit of 35.  My brother and I were traveling at about 50MPH and keeping up with the flow of traffic.  That’s when I noticed a guy coming up behind pretty fast in an burnt orange mustang.  The lane to the right was clear but he stayed right behind my brother and I.  I decided to be nice and moved over to the right lane at which point he sped up to right behind my brother and started honking the horn.  When my brother moved over I heard the engine rev and he took off like a speed racer only to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the car that we were following.  I immediately thought to myself “what a jackass”.

As we traveled through several smaller towns the guy was never more than two or three cars ahead.  We eventually got to a stretch of two lane road and ended up behind the same Mustang.  It seemed like it was hundreds of miles, but it was probably only 20 or 30 that we followed this guy.  The whole time he was weaving left and right, speeding up and slowing down while following the Chevy truck that was in front of him.  At one point, he even had his right hand turn signal on for probably five miles.  I told my brother at one point (probably at one of the crossroads with a stop sign) that the guy was just looking for someone to race because there were plenty of opportunities for this guy to pass, but he stayed behind the truck and continued to drive erratically.

Finally I told my brother “we have to stop and let this guy get away or pass him, I can’t stand this much longer”.  So, the next good clearing where my brother could see clearly (it was very hot day and the heat from the road was creating an hazy heat wave affect) my brother pulls and passes.  He then pulls back in between the Mustang and the truck because he sees a car coming towards us (his original intention was to pass both).  I follow my brother’s lead and pull out, as I get even with the Mustang, I hear him kick it down and speed up.  (Did I mention the word jackass before?)  Well, that just sets me off because it proved I was right about this guy just wanting to race.  He probably bought the Mustang to compensate.  At any rate, Mustang or no, my brother’s in front of him and my bike is no wimp.  As I kick it down a gear I flip the guy off passing him and my brother and pull back in line behind the truck.

I’m sure you can guess what happened next right?  Yeah, he’s revving the engine and good to go so he pulls out and guns past us.  I see him coming and flip him the bird the whole way past.  As he’s going past he’s staring at me and flipping me off as well.  So he goes past us (remember the car?) and goes past the truck diving back into the right lane almost clipping the front of the truck and I’m sure giving the folks in the oncoming car a fright.

Regardless, he’s gone and I’m happy to sit behind the truck cruising at 55 because now I don’t have to deal with an unstable erratic driver in front of me.  It made the rest of the trip seem so peaceful!

The amazing thing about this is that I usually feel guilty about doing “stupid” things, like flipping off that guy in the car.  Really, it wasn’t necessary and I’m sure it didn’t help the situation any.  However, this time I didn’t feel the least bit of guilt.  This guy was an idiot at best and how he was driving was creating a hazardous situation.

Stay safe, stay sane and keep the rubber side down.

–ServerGoon

I was returning home from visiting a friend in South Carolina.  I had a route all planned out and was cruising along enjoying the ride.  I had a purpose.  I was going to head over into the north eastern tip of Georgia (never been there on a motorcycle)  then head north into North Carolina to Deals Gap and  The Tail of the Dragon.

Well, needless to say I made a wrong turn somewhere along the way.  I don’t know when I realized this, but I think it was when I saw the state line for North Carolina.  I started to get a little worried, but the beauty of the scenery, the call of the open road, the wind surrounding me somehow kept me from stressing out.  I thought about it a bit, knew I was heading in the general direction I needed to go and decided to let it all go. *Man, what a feeling*

When I stopped to fuel up, I got out my atlas to plot a new route to my destination.  Along the way I found some beautiful road (64 and 28) that was clean and twisty, met some interesting people in Cashier, North Carolina (the “heartbeat of western North Carolina” the gentleman said with a grin) and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Even now, when I’m not on such a long trip, I find motorcycle riding very therapeutic.  When I’m feeling stressed about work, I can hop on the bike, pick a road and after a while the worries just disappear because at some point along the way I remember it’s all about the journey.  The destination will always be there, but it’s how you get there that matters.

Even now as changes are occurring at work it helps me to put things in perspective.  So, as Queen would sing “get on your bikes and ride!”

I pulled into a gas station off of I-77, parked under the canopy and went inside for a coffee.  As I stood outside sipping coffee and watching the rain a group of Harleys pulled in from Michigan and a few minutes later a guy with his wife from Zanesville, Ohio pulls in on a Yamaha Venture Royale (if I recall correctly).  I chatted a little and the Harley riders decided they were heading to a local bar for some grub while waiting for the rain to pass.

Bill (the guy from Zanesville) and I chatted for a bit more waiting for the rain to pass.  We discovered we were both headed the same direction as as the rain slowed to a bearable drizzle Bill asked if I wanted to ride along.  Now, since I was headed the same direction and it’s always nice to have someone else along should things go south on a bike, I agreed.  Besides, Bill and his wife seemed like nice enough folks.

We pulled out onto 77 and headed south towards Charlotte, NC.  Now Bill stated that he only rode at about 5MPH over the speed limit which I soon discovered meant 80MPH.  We cruised along, stopping for gas about every hundred miles or so until just north of Charlotte.  At the last stop before we parted, Bill decided he was going to listen to the radio instead of the tape deck on his bike (yep, it had a tape deck).  This, ended up being the cause of our departure.

As we continued on down the road, Bill and I were following a truck hauling a wrecked car on a trailer.  Bill switched lanes to pass the truck as a piece of plastic came flying back the road at me.  It was at this point I thought “CRAP! this guys losing parts off this car and I’m gonna get hit by something” and a split second later thought “Hey, that piece of plastic looked familiar”.  Well, I goose the bike and get past the truck in time to see Bill pulling over to the berm.  I follow suite (somewhat ahead of him) and he pulls up along side and tell me his wife said something fell off the bike.  Hmm… I glance over and sure enough, the plastic cover for his tape deck is gone.  I point it out and he just stares for a couple of seconds then says.

Horse tits!

Yeah, really, that’s what he said.  Now me, I would have said something that sounded really close to that, followed along with several other words that would get bleeped on daytime TV.

Maybe he’s trying to be a good person, not cussing and all.  Maybe he just has an aversion to using stronger language.  I can respect that.  But then why use something that close?  Why not “Donkey Nipples” as ShootMeNow suggested when I told him the story.  Or “poppycock” or any other variety of euphamisms?  My dad has a saying (well, okay, my dad has a whole bunch of sayings) and I don’t think a one of them could be mistaken for a swear word if said fast or around background noise.  And really, in the grander scheme of things, does it really matter?  I suppose not, but if you are going to go to that level of effort to not cuss, why not avoid similar sounding phrases?  Me, I doubt I’ll ever have that level of control…. especially when I got back and found that little plastic cover in pieces all over the four lane.

It was a much needed vacation for me, some time alone to reflect and think.  It was also a nice start to what I believe will become a yearly ritual for me.  Be it for a week or an extended weekend, a long motorcycle ride each year seems to be in order. But that’s another story.

During my time in South Carolina, my friends wife saw a couple of motorcyclists do the customary hand out to the side “wave” as we were heading into Columbia, SC on the “slab” (4 lane divided highway).  At that point she asked “Why do they do that? They’re clear across the four lane!”.  At the time I didn’t have a good answer for her, but as I pondered the question during my ride home, I came up with a theory.

Biker’s wave because we all share a common interest.  Bikes.  We know that no matter what the other guy is riding, he enjoys the same joy of being on the open road on two wheels.  As you pass folks in cars, you have no idea what they might do for a living,  what they like on tv, what hobbies they might have.  All you know about that person is that they are heading to a destination in a car.

When you pass a biker, you know at least one thing.  They ride.  Now, you might meet that person in another situation and have nothing in common, but while you are on that bike, you share the road and a passion.  In fact, you might not even like that other person.  But, chances are, if you happen to be stopped along side the road, scratching your head and looking at your bike, they will stop.  They might not be able to help, but they will stop, because they share that common interest.

Of course, some don’t wave.  Maybe they’re shifting gears, didn’t see you or are just too afraid to let go of the handlebar.  Or, maybe, just maybe,  they don’t share that sense of brotherhood or their sense of brotherhood is only with those that ride the same kind of bike.  Those folks are the minority.

I hope that helps explain to those non-bikers out there why we wave.  In the mean time, keep the rubber side down and see ya’ll in the wind.

Oh, and in case you are wondering… the full version is 299 (that’s in pennies folks!) – great product from the first look and I’m thinking well worth that high price tag to get the full version.