Real world rides, real world riders

Hey, a Biker!... Hello mate... err... Hello? Oi!

Someway off in the distance, coming towards me and the little black Daytona, was the unmistakable single headlight of another biker. We had plenty of time to see and acknowledge each other, as we got to a ‘normal’ sort of distance I raised my hand in a ‘Welcome, Brother, isn’t this just the best thing to be doing on a day like this?’ way.

Nothing. Not a nod, not a hand wave, not a foot casually stuck out to one side like our foreign cousins do. Not. A. Dicky. Back.

You miserable sod, I thought. You utterly miserable sod bereft of the human interaction that I’ve always associated with the common bond of bikers.

I thought about turning round and going after the man who ignored me, I wanted to find out why. He’d seen my wave, I was sure of that. The road was straight and we were both going easy.

What a miserable sod, I thought.

It got me thinking about how many times this has happened over the past few years. Depressingly, it seems to be more and more common among bikers. Oh sure, there are still some who acknowledge the common bond but they are getting clearly fewer in number, to the point where when you do see a kindred spirit on the road you want to embrace them in a ‘there’s only a few of us normal, human types left’ kind of way.

When did motorcycling get like this? Oh I have felt that over the years we all seemed to be looking out for ourselves a bit more but has it ever been quite like it is now?

In the world of utterly pointless electronic ways of blathering on about the last bit of toast you’ve eaten or what colour socks you’re wearing this morning why do we seem to be unable to respond to the most easily human of gestures?

‘Oh yes, I’m on Twitter, you can Facebook me, get me online,’ is the virtually essential spew of connectivity (urgh, shudder...) that happens today, but a wave or a nod? Why isn’t that among us two-wheelers?

Maybe the other biker didn’t know how to do it. Maybe they’d actually evolved to the point where a wave isn’t recognised unless it’s on a home page or accompanied by a little ‘dring’ sound effect. If it isn’t on my screen den it aint reeeel man, innnit.

Maybe if I’d ridden past waving a Blackberry in the air then they would have checked their’s when they stop to see if I’d offered a hook-up by Bluetooth.

When I started riding on the road I, like a lot of people, kicked things off on a cheap, fifth-hand two-stroke bike. It was rubbish as a piece of metal but it was mine, it offered me freedom and the ability to go places and explore without having to rely on public transport or parents. In short, it was terrific. And I remember clearly the day I was riding through a nearby village and a group of bikers on big, real bikes came past in the opposite direction.

They all waved or nodded. At me, a snotty kid on a snotty bike. Mismatched riding gear, a borrowed helmet that didn’t fit properly and a lonely L plate hanging off the rear mudguard.

I nodded back enthusiastically and felt like I’d been accepted into a bigger world. I knew my bike was rubbish, I knew I didn’t really have a clue but motorcycling in general didn’t care. I was on a bike and that was all that mattered to bikers like those guys. Yeah man, I was a biker!

It was a feeling that’s never left me. Motorcycling is part of the bigger community that we create ourselves. It’s knowing that if something happens and you’re stuck by the side of a road then a biker would soon stop and help.

Twice in the past month I stopped to see if I could help what appeared to be stricken bikers. As it turned out, neither were in need. One was waiting for a friend to catch him up (and was really thankful that I’d stopped anyway) and the other was having a cigarette in a lay-by. The second guy seemed to be much surprised that a biker stopped to check that they were OK, it took no more than 20 seconds out of my day to check on what looked like a stranded fellow rider but the offer was there.

What struck me was that this second guy seemed quite shocked that another motorcyclist was offering a hand. It was like this side of biking never occurred to him. Maybe he was new to biking. I wonder if he’d have waved?

Have a safe ride.

Tony Carter
Editor