I rode a bike between the ages of 11 and about 28. Between age 22 to 28 it was my daily, well, only transport. I found that it requires a lot of concentration to ride a bike. Not so much because you have to be aware of every wet patch, oily area, any gravel, and/or leaves, which of course you do, but also because folks in cars, trucks, RVs, pedestrians, and yes, even other motorcycle riders will not see you. My scooter was a Honda 500 4 with a fairing and trunk which was replaced by a Kawasaki 900 also with a fairing and trunk.

In all my years on a bike I never had an accident, knocking on wood. By the time I was in grad school, I was too preoccupied to ride safely any longer.

I could share many stories about folks who didn’t see my bike; fortunately, they all ended the same. If you are on a bike, any bike be 100% focused on what you are doing and your surroundings. In short: PAY ATTENTION, WATCH OUT. All there is to it.

Dang they are fun! And soooooooo seductive.

Mike: your story reminded me of a time I was riding on a 2 lane road through the ‘burbs going about 35. I signaled to make a left turn. Someone behind me driving a VW bug took that opportunity to pass me on the left, just as I was initiating the turn. I hit the front brake so hard it brought the rear tire off the ground and almost pitched me at a 45% angle through the fairing. I thought of pursuing the bug, but saw no gain in beating up the guy.

Or the time, when accelerating hard on a long curving on ramp for the freeway, to my horror there was a full sheet of plywood, complete with nails right in front of me. During the brief instant the entire bike was on the plywood, the plywood skid about 5’ while twisting. Aimed me directly for the guardrail....

Or the time when going about 70 on the freeway the front tire blew....

Or the time when heading down I5 after a couple of hours driving through the woods and first seeing Lake Shasta off to the left. I was awe stricken. Only to look ahead of me and see the guard rail mere inches from my right foot.

There were so many near misses. Ugh.

The most important thing is to keep the shiny side up.

Hey N, ever hear the expression from Star Trek: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"