The love of motorcycles seems to run in my family. My dad loves them, my sisters and I all love them and our kids have shown their appreciation at young ages. So of course I married a man who shares that love. He’s owned a couple of bikes. Alot of his friends ride. And he’s survived a couple of wrecks – only 1 since I’ve known him and that one wasn’t bad as far as wrecks go. But it left him with a messed up shoulder and massive bruising. I know he’s a cautious and responsible rider. It’s just, well, accidents happen.
Last summer there was at least one local fatality involving a motorcyclist and a car. I looked at pictures afterwards…it’s not really difficult to figure out who the fatality was and who walked away. The car crossed the center line and hit the bike head on. I don’t know if the rider was wearing a helmet or being aware & cautious. It really doesn’t matter. He didn’t stand a chance no matter how “safe” and responsible he was.
Wednesday morning on the way to work, I passed an accident that had apparently just occurred. It didn’t look bad at first glance. There were cars stopped but I didn’t see any damage – until I saw the crowd of people hovering around a figure on the ground. A figure laying behind his motorcycle. (I assume he was the rider anyway) I don’t know what happened or how bad it was. It LOOKED like he was conscious and moving a bit but I was headed the opposite direction and only glanced for a moment. I had seen enough to make me cringe. I’ve seen the results of a minor accident. I don’t WANT to see the results of a major one – or even another minor one.
Regardless of the dangers, I still want to ride. The idea of wrecking doesn’t scare me. I know the odds are high that SOMETHING will happen at least once. It’s kinda like skydivers saying “It’s not a matter of if you get hurt it’s a matter of when.” I oddly don’t have a problem accepting that at all. (I planned to pick up skydiving when the kid turned 18 but Jon has vehemently argued against that little plan) No – my stomach clenches when I see/hear of these incidents because if I ride, then that means Jon will too. And I can’ t stand the idea of HIM being the one laying on the road in the middle of traffic. I can handle being in pain myself but to see HIM being injured…I don’t know how well I’d deal with that. Oh I know it’s hypocritical. And since we don’t have bikes, it’s really not an issue for quite awhile. We have other priorities before we start on the expensive toys wish list. But still – it’ll be something to consider.
