Anyone who has ridden a powered two wheeler has no doubt received 'the wave' from fellow cyclists heading the opposite direction. I don't even want to get into how it started or the proper way to wave...it actually annoys me how much thought and web space has been taken up by a simple gesture. But being a scooterist, it's really hit or miss if I'll get the wave. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If I had to guess, I think it depends on the day because if I get one wave, I get them all.
So here I am riding along on the most beautiful day, on my favorite roads of all time, and not one single rider waved to me. It normally doesn't bother me too much...but Sunday was different.
The thing about the scooter is it has nothing to prove. It's the most basic machine and it cant' do anything 'neat'. It just goes. And as companies have continued to make these basic machines, other companies have been hard at work making motorcycles bigger than ever and bikes capable of mind blowing speeds. But along with this has come an image...an image of being 'cool.' And image of being 'mean'. An image of being 'unhappy'?
I guess it all depends on how you define happy but I'll tell you how I would define unhappy...not waving at someone who has waved at you. It's almost as bad as not returning a smile! These are basic forms of communications that have been around for all of mankind.
I called this post "dare to be happy" after a Volkswagen ad from back when the Beetle was still in production. Back when auto manufactures started making cars look mean and unhappy to appeal to the masses. Somehow we've allowed manufactures to depict us as evil human beings and we've fallen victim to their scheme. So lesson learned, by buying a motorcycle, you can no longer be nice to someone. It is against the 'image' and against protocol. You are to look mean, act mean and even worse...act unhappy.
I agree completely. Nothing bothers me more than the weekend Harley rider... The CPA, attorney, doctor, etc who gets decked out in leather to ride his spotless, brand new $50K Harley once a week when the weather is nice.
ReplyDeleteI can just see how the Monday morning break room conversation goes:
"Hey Bob, what did you do last weekend?"
"Same thing I do every weekend - get on my hog and act tough!"
If only they were that honest with themselves and everyone else!
They don't talk about the craftsmanship of the machine, the things they've done to make it their own, or even the miles traveled...they just try and mimic how loud the pipes are and how fast it goes. It's like they have two minutes to 'sell' YOU on the fact that their purchase was justified because it's mean, rugid and raw.
ReplyDeleteI need another post!
ReplyDeleteAnd this wasn't a rant on Harley riders or a bash on 'non-scooter' riders...it was simply the question of since when did it become cool to associate with an image or being mean, rude and unhappy and who took all the comradary out of riding two wheels? The fact is, if we pass eachother, we're on the SAME road. It's not like you're more of a 'man' than me!
ReplyDeleteIf you do a wheelie at 90 past me...then yes, you ARE in fact more of a man than me :)