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Are You a Good Motorcycling Community Ambassador?

Early Friday morning while making small talk with a co-worker by the coffee pot, he slipped in a ‘did you ride your motorcycle to work today?’  There is nothing unusual about him asking me. Though he is not a rider himself, he always makes it a point to wish me safe travels and tells me to watch out for the crazies on the road.

Other co-workers, none of whom are riders also take the time to mention bikes they may have seen and liked. They’ll ask if I did any riding over the weekend. Sometimes they say things like, ‘I saw this bike and thought of you’ and they’ll whip out their phones to show me a picture they took.

Of course, there are also those times when people will mention a motorcyclist that they may have seen doing things that were… “dangerous.”

These people, my non-riding co-workers – seem to see and pay attention to motorcyclists of all flavors.

Motorcyclists, anonymous as they are – are often unwitting ambassadors to the sport, to the lifestyle. They serve as conversation starters, subjects of chit-chat, examples of good and bad behavior just by the simple act of going about their everyday lives on a motorcycle.

What do you think?

  • Does the behavior of other riders have an effect on you as a motorcyclist?
  • Are you a good ambassador for the motorcycling community?
  • Do you care one way or the other?

Motorcycle Blogs – Showing Off or Sharing the World?

In March of 2012, MotoChat, the motorcycle Twitter/Facebook chat dedicated its hour-long gab fest to the topic of Motorcycle Blogs. One of the questions that was posed was:

Big Epic Trips: Is it showing off?

When motorcycle bloggers post about their trips to far flung places or their weeks or their months out on the road – do you see it as showing off?

My point of view~
Without people sharing their stories, their photos, writing about their experiences – a huge part of what inspires me to want to see more of the world would be missing. I have learned so much from reading about others travels. Sometimes I don’t even realize that a seed has been planted in my imagination until much later.

Showing off? I say, no way.

Have you ever read about something or some place in a blog and said - I have to see that and actually went for it? Was it around the corner or some far away place?

What do you think – is it showing off?

Three Things That Pissed Me Off On the Road This Weekend

I’m tired and I’m grouchy. And so, I’d like to share a few things that have pissed me off on the road this weekend:

Cigarette Butts
Oh, you’re a smoker? That’s great. I hear smoking does wonders for your heath. Thanks ever so much for sharing your cigarette butts with me.

Maybe you could toss out some fast food trash next time to keep things interesting?

Turn Signals
If you’re in a car, they turn on and off with that stick thingy near the round wheel in your hands. Using them gives other people on the road around you some semblance of an idea of what you plan on doing with your vehicle.

Or not… because you’ve been driving for the last 5 miles with your blinker on. The stick thingy turns ‘em on AND off. Go ahead, give it a try!

Cell Phones
I’m sure that your family and friends like you. A whole lot, even. But you know, you probably aren’t so f’n fascinating that you need to relay every flippin’ thing going on in your day while you’re driving 48mph in the left lane (with your left blinker on) on the highway with a parade of cars behind you.

Hang up and drive your f’n car BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEONE!

{takes a deep breath} :::serenity now:::

Making Friends: File Under Kawasaki

When I am out riding my motorcycle I must have the kind of face that says, “Please talk to me!”

On Sunday while I was standing outside next to my Tiger drinking juice in a rest stop, a man walked over to talk to say Hi.

“Wow, nice bike. Looks really good.”

I proudly smiled big and said, “Thanks very much!”

“Yeah, alright. Looks like a Concours by Kawasaki. Do you know what that is?”

Survey Says…

Ooooh. That’s too bad. Thanks for playing, mister. 

If he knew the bike model “Kawasaki Concours” enough to throw it around in conversation, I’m a little surprised that he’d see the Tiger 1050 and the Connie to be of the same ilk.

I suppose that if by “looks like a Concours” he meant that they both have wheels, a seat and a windscreen, then I guess I can see it.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

I can only imagine that most people don’t know what to say to start a conversation blindly. The awkwardness is often compounded when they want to let the rider know that they too might know something about bikes. “Nice bike,” is pretty all purpose and a good opener. Don’t stray far from there if you aren’t confident with the subject!

I wonder if he got back in his car mumbling, “A Concours? What the hell was I thinking?” :)