Life Goes Fast So You Don't Have To

I love riding motorcycles. I might go so far as to say it’s a passion. I think ninety eight percent of riders love it. The other two percent who bought a motorcycle for the sheer economics of it quickly trade that bottom line mentality for love. There really is no feeling like it.

Motorcycles, like getting out of bed, come with certain understood risks. There is danger. Truth is there is danger everywhere in a world jam packed with “what ifs?” If every conceivable fear cornered us our lives would be spent wrapped in bubble wrap cowering in our basements. So we take chances and get up in the morning and live the lives we choose.

There are sad things in life too. Yesterday a twenty year old man was found off highway nine at Keele Street with no vital signs. He was the victim of what so far has been called a single vehicle accident...just him and his motorcycle off the road. No witnesses and no obvious evidence. Ultimately I don’t care how it happened. I care that it did.

It’s so easy for all of us to be a Monday morning quarter back or an arm chair motorcyclist but unless any of us were there we simply don’t know. Admittedly my first thought with a man of his age is speed and experience. I won’t lie, occasionally my bike will see the high side of the posted limits and I’ll admit it it’s a whole lot of fun. I wonder if someone cut him off and he couldn’t recover. I wonder if something went wrong with the machine causing him to lose control. I wonder if he suffered some kind of medical emergency like an old friend of mine did and maybe that’s what caused this. Like I said...I don’t care how...I just care that it did.

These things, like so many sad or tragic tales cause most of us to step back and reflect. I have and my thoughts are pretty simple. If you don’t ride, give a motorcycle some space. Most of us are just average guys trying to get home safely for dinner. If you do ride, keep your front wheel on the ground, don’t lane split, weave in and out of traffic or other things you know are dumb and dangerous. Believe it or not a bike can still be fun within the confines of the highway traffic act. Finally I think we could all stand to slow down a bit. Sure life is short but you’ll still get there. Besides there’s lots of great scenery around here. If you are too fast you’ll miss something brilliant.

Condolences to the family. Rest easy unknown rider.