I decided today to get my bike out of storage and use it for a while to get around, tired of pouring gas in my Mustang every week! It's amazing how fast you can build up mileage without never seeming to go anywhere! Only flaw was I didn't have an up-to-date insurance card, don't know if they forgot to send me one or if it's buried in my old mail somewhere. So I go to get online to print out the temporary cards from Progressive's website and the Internet is down! I called Verizon and spent 15 minutes listening to recorded suggestions then finally was put in touch with a real person. After 20 minutes managed to get the connection working again and printed out the cards. Then I go to the shed, fully expecting to have to jump start the bike after being stored for the winter. To my surprise she started right up and everything worked for inspection! Go Honda Nighthawk 250!
I figured my luck was picking up so I headed to Motor Vehicles, as the registration had expired in March and the MVA never notified me. Beautiful sunny day, bike running great, perfect! Halfway there it started raining on me out of a clear sky. Guess Mrs. Murphy (Murphy's Law) still is looking after me! I make it to the MVA, pass inspection with no problem (luck on upswing again!) then go inside. After waiting 20 minutes I get to the counter and I'm told they don't accept computer printed insurance cards! Has to be the permanent card from the insurer or it has to be faxed directly to MVA. (luck on downswing!) So now I have to go back on Monday.
Riding a motorcycle is exhilarating, a lot of people think they're unsafe and there is a lot of truth to that. You have to look out for all the drivers out there that aren't paying attention, they're too busy talking on their cell phones to notice what's going on around them. Then you have the shredded retreads all over the highways, the people that suddenly slam on their brakes for no reason, and the heavy traffic that makes people suddenly change lanes without looking or because they're in a hurry. And you also have the motorcyclists that have never taken a safety course and buy a crotch rocket and go flying up the road at 100 mph, weaving in and out of traffic and causing problems.
But if you take a safety course, and learn what to look for and anticipate, and buy the proper riding gear, they can be a lot of fun. I spent $100 for the safety course and consider it well worth it. I have been riding for 5 years and never had an accident. I wear helmet, jeans, boots, and gloves, and a leather jacket during the cooler weather. For the life of me I can't understand why someone would ride a bike in t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. There have been a lot of accidents lately where bikers and their passengers have been killed or critically injured because they weren't wearing a helmet. What is wrong with these people? You do not have the protection of an automobile body and frame around you, doesn't it make sense that you should adjust for that by putting protection on your body?
I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for the idiots that don't want to wear a helmet. It's a case of they deserve what they get. I know my chances will be a lot better should anything happen to me. Just yesterday while sitting at a traffic light two bikers pulled up next to me. The one on the right took his helmet off and secured it to the seat behind him because it was too hot. It was a major intersection and the light turned green. I started to turn, they started to go straight, and guess what? Somebody in a big hurry, still trying to make the light on the cross street, ran the light! We all had to hit the brakes even though we had the green and the green arrow. That stupid biker would have been the first one hit and nearly was!
To get back to the subject, it just goes to show that people like me have good luck and bad luck and it's subject to frequent change, often several times in one hour. I could be at home, in my car, on my bike, but wherever I am I just need to pay attention to what I'm doing and be careful. Or I could fall down the front steps, get in my car, and back into my bike, thereby having a pile-up in my own driveway. Some say we make our own luck, I say there's no such thing as luck and things are going to happen no matter what.
Please feel free to comment, would love to hear some of them!
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