  |
|
|
|
Ask just about any motorcycle rider to describe the uniqueness of two-wheeled travel and you're likely to get a near-spiritual account of floating magic-carpet-like along twisty mountain roads in the bright sunshine.
As a motorcycle rider myself, I've experienced or seen many such encounters. Here are a few that I remember well:
The motorcyclist's crazy danceI must admit that while I've heard others describe this strange phenomenon, I've never actually seen a rider other than myself do the motorcyclist's crazy dance.Picture a motorcycle parked haphazardly along side the road with the rider nearby flailing his arms and perhaps pounding his chest while trying to rip off his coat or shirt. A variation of the dance includes the rider violently slapping his helmet while simultaneously trying to undo the chinstrap and remove the pot from his head. The crazy dance starts right after a bee, wasp or some other stinging creature flies up the biker's sleeve, down the front of his shirt, up his pants leg or into his helmet. If the rider is lucky, he's able to park the bike and extricate the bug without getting stung. Years ago, before I started wearing a full coverage helmet, a huge moth flew into the narrow space between my open-faced helmet and my ear. While I knew the moth wouldn't sting, it was very distracting to have it flapping against my ear. It must have looked strange to passing drivers when the moth flew out after I'd stopped and took off my helmet. And then there was the time a bee hit me in the face and stung my lower lip. Sure, it hurt, but the experience actually became laughable when my lip swelled up like a miniature inner tube. Boy, I looked dopey.
Florida love bugsOne summer, my friend Don and I were riding our bikes into Florida when a gas station attendant warned us that love bug season had started, and that we'd start seeing them within the next 50 miles.We'd never heard of love bugs before, but we soon ran into them -- literally. We'd hardly gone ten miles when the firefly-sized insects filled the air in thick swarms. Because they mate in flight, they're called love bugs. And when we started hitting them, we'd squash two at a time.
The copyright of the article Close encounters of the motorcycle riding kind in Motorcycles is owned by . Permission to republish Close encounters of the motorcycle riding kind in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
