AM Damp

Yeah! I finally got the bike out this am for a quick ride. It’s been a long time. The forecast is for a nice sunny day, but it was foggy and damp this morning. Very damp…and chilly. :-)

No complaints though. It was nice to have cool enough weather to wear my big leather jacket and not roast.

To my pleasant surprise, the bike started right up. I don’t know why, but I figured I’d have a challenge getting it started since it’s been neglected for so long. But, no. I hit the starter and it roared to life, ready for adventure.

Now I’m sitting at Starbucks having a coffee and watching the AM people go through getting their fix.

A friend of mine at work was in a car accident day before yesterday. She was heading home toward the beach, and someone stopped short in front of her, and she couldn’t stop. It was raining and had been a very rainy day. She is fine, just sore and the car is totaled. We talked about how the accident has affected her driving and how conscious she is about other cars around her now.

Like everywhere, the driving here is challenging. {“The common driver here is aggressive, foolish, dangerous and suffering from the delusion of entitlement.”} So giving other cars plenty of room is a bigger challenge than one might think. As soon as a small gap opens up, someone jumps in it. And unfortunately, some amount of aggression is required to get anywhere. Forget signaling and being let in when you need to turn or make a lane change. Folks around here go out of their way to ensure you don’t have a way in, and if they see your signal, they will speed up to ensure they are in front of you. Apparently, that makes a big difference in the overall game of life.

I’m not a very aggressive driver. And while I do occasionally get frustrated and may briefly want to cause harm to everyone around me, I don’t suffer constant road-rage. In fact, I stay pretty darn calm. Frankly, I don’t see the point in getting angry at the other drivers. They wont know I’m angry, and I suspect they wouldn’t give a damn anyway, so why suffer the damage anger does?

It’s a little different on a motorcycle. To survive, you have to drive very defensively, constantly aware of those around you and what risks may appear. I’ve been fortunate as a bike rider, and I think my normal calm driving approach translate well to defensive bike riding. I know folks may be in a hurry, and I’m happy to give them plenty of space.

So rush along morning commuters. But keep your eyes open. There are bikers out there, and joggers, bicyclists, other drivers…and you are neither immortal nor infallible. Be safe.

Enjoy!