This is a great week to be on two wheels. It's Motorcycle Week in New Hampshire.
Thousands of motorcyclists converge on Central New Hampshire. The vast majority of them are very good around bicyclists, even if some of them poke a little fun by pretending to pedal as they go by. You're a riot, asshole. I flip those morons off subtly, with the middle digit casually draped over the handlebars, but it's all in fun.
In the past couple of years some of them have seemed more aggressive. Last year the weather was horrible, so I blame their irritability on that. Also, the ones who ride rice rockets with nasty screechy engines tend more often to be complete male appendages of reproduction. And some of the ones set up like road racers like to whiz by kind of close. I guess they haven't really thought about what would happen to them if we tangled.
The invasion of the two-wheeled horde keeps the four-wheeled population pretty well boxed in. There are always a number of fatal accidents. In the ones involving cars and trucks, the cars and trucks always win. Others just involve motorcycles, high speed and chemical impairment. Generally when the motorcyclists ride in groups they rule the road. It's the loners that get picked off.
If it went on longer than a week it might get really tiresome. As it is, I witness the herds moving through with a sense of wonder. At night I can hear big groups miles away. It's much less disturbing than the noise of a single ATV living near me. They come. They roam around. They leave.
It used to be just a weekend. It used to be a lot rougher and dirtier. It can still get rowdy. But it's entertaining.
Mostly I like motorcycles, though they tend to be uniquely startling if they pass without a lane change, and especially if they pass on the right. Thankfully, such events are rare.
ReplyDeleteMotorcycling is fun. You really ought to try it.
ReplyDeleteI never said it wasn't, Mr. Senator. When I nearly purchased my friend's old BMW a number of years ago I was tempted by something with the maneuverability and some of the ease of parking of a bicycle, without the need to propel it myself. On reflection I concluded that motorcycles have the worst of both worlds. Motorcyclists are more exposed to the motoring public because they have to be in among 'em.
ReplyDeleteMy friend said, "you've probably been riding a bike long enough not to get yourself killed." I decided to allocate the funds elsewhere.
I agree that motorcycles can be pretty loud sometimes (especially at biker rallies), but their loud pipes help them get noticed and can even save bikers' lives.
ReplyDeleteMy boss recently launched his free book called "Loud Pipes Save Lives" and a lot of motorcyclists agree that this statement definitely rings true, especially when you see motorcycles on highways where bikers can really get hurt or even killed in crashes with cars.