Recently I was riding on a rural highway. It was sunny out and a great day for a cruise.
I noticed a single headlight in my rear view mirror gradually getting closer. It looked like a Harley and he had a passenger.
A couple of miles down the road I saw that he was right behind me and still closing. I was wondering if he was actually going to try to share the lane with me or even pass on the right.
What's with this guy? Is he mistaking me for someone he usually rides with?
I have to say that I'm not a fan of riding two abreast. There isn't enough room and you can't change your position in the lane - something you need to do a lot around here with the condition of the roads and all the curves. I guess it would be cool to do it in the sense that it might feel more like you were riding together. Maybe that's why people do it. And if you don't have your helmet on, I guess you could even carry on a conversation. But not me. It just doesn't feel safe. And I always wear my helmet.
When I do ride with other folks, we don't talk. We ride. We talk when we stop. I suppose if I had one of those intercom systems...
Anyway, back to the road - At this point he's really crowding me. He's in my blind spot on the left and slowly creeping up even more. So I speed up just a tad and position myself to the right. I was considering making a right and letting him go by but that option wasn't available at the moment. Then opportunity - there was a break in oncoming traffic on a long straightaway. He was in the left part of the lane still and again closing in. I eased off the throttle a bit and let him slowly pass.
Just as we were exactly two abreast the guy smiles and nods as if to say, "Yeah, man. We're ridin' together!" As they went by the passenger was smiling and waving as if we were old friends.
What the?
Now don't get me wrong. I don't mean to be a spoil sport, and I feel the camaraderie among bikers, but I don't know this guy from Adam. And that's not how I ride. Crazy.
We're all aware of being careful around cars and trucks but sometimes (even though it seems like they should know better) I guess you have to watch out for other motorcyclists, too!
I noticed a single headlight in my rear view mirror gradually getting closer. It looked like a Harley and he had a passenger.
A couple of miles down the road I saw that he was right behind me and still closing. I was wondering if he was actually going to try to share the lane with me or even pass on the right.
What's with this guy? Is he mistaking me for someone he usually rides with?
I have to say that I'm not a fan of riding two abreast. There isn't enough room and you can't change your position in the lane - something you need to do a lot around here with the condition of the roads and all the curves. I guess it would be cool to do it in the sense that it might feel more like you were riding together. Maybe that's why people do it. And if you don't have your helmet on, I guess you could even carry on a conversation. But not me. It just doesn't feel safe. And I always wear my helmet.
When I do ride with other folks, we don't talk. We ride. We talk when we stop. I suppose if I had one of those intercom systems...
Anyway, back to the road - At this point he's really crowding me. He's in my blind spot on the left and slowly creeping up even more. So I speed up just a tad and position myself to the right. I was considering making a right and letting him go by but that option wasn't available at the moment. Then opportunity - there was a break in oncoming traffic on a long straightaway. He was in the left part of the lane still and again closing in. I eased off the throttle a bit and let him slowly pass.
Just as we were exactly two abreast the guy smiles and nods as if to say, "Yeah, man. We're ridin' together!" As they went by the passenger was smiling and waving as if we were old friends.
What the?
Now don't get me wrong. I don't mean to be a spoil sport, and I feel the camaraderie among bikers, but I don't know this guy from Adam. And that's not how I ride. Crazy.
We're all aware of being careful around cars and trucks but sometimes (even though it seems like they should know better) I guess you have to watch out for other motorcyclists, too!
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