...but glorious sunshine and a wonderful breeze are always welcome!
I remember riding behind my dad on his street legal Yamaha 250 Enduro on/off-road motorcycle when I was in grade school. The only instructions for me: lean into the turn. Easy enough. I would clasp my hands together at his belly and just trust...enjoying the wind in my face and the scenery as a passenger. He taught me the hand signals you should always use for turning, stopping, etc (especially if your lights didn't work); but he also taught me the coolest thing about riding. You saluted fellow bikers as you crossed paths with them. Not really a wave as in "Hi, neighbour, isn't the weather great?!?"; not even a greeting at all; more of an acknowledgement. Like, "I see you, fellow biker." I used to love that part of riding so much. Whether the guy was on a huge Harley or a more modest Honda, we always waved to each other.
It was with this in mind as I drove down M-36 in my trusty Ram 1500 behind a man on a mid-size motorcycle, and we came to an intersection. (I'm not sure of the integrity of that sentence, structure-wise). As we passed through, there was another guy on a hog in oncoming traffic waiting to turn left. When we passed him, I specifically looked to see whether either of these two knew the old customs. ... Nothing. No acknowledgement, no salute, no sign of camaraderie. The guy turning left kept his stone face eyes straight ahead with an unadulterated stare; I'm assuming the guy I was behind did the same.
It's ok, I wasn't sad, like when I saw one swan standing by the road next to an obliterated ball of white feathers that presumeably was its mate; I guess it's just a sign of the times.
My task to-day: be more friendly!
No comments:
Post a Comment