Tuesday 23 June 2015

There’s always someone to spoil the day

After a spectacular May we have had a pretty miserable June so far with lots of rain and very cool temperatures. So when this weekend was forecast to be sunny and hot (YES!!) the die was cast – Saturday was going to be a long ride day.

After a bit of a late start (10:30) I headed off for Calabogie and Highway 511 through Lanark to Perth where I stopped for lunch. Not surprisingly there were a lot of bikes on the road and I wasn’t lacking for comradeship at the Perth Tim Hortons while I ate.

I had planned on going north to Carleton Place and home from there, but a spur of the moment decision saw me heading west on Highway 7 towards Kaladar. I stopped there for gas and a chat with a couple of good ol’ boys heading to a tractor pull with 2 machines loaded on a flatbed, and then swung back north on Highway 41 towards Dacre and onwards to Renfrew.

Kaladar Loop
Up to that point the riding had been great. There was quite a lot of traffic but it had been moving well so it wasn’t a bother. But when I hit Highway 41 it was like everyone had gone home. Kilometre after kilometre passed without seeing another vehicle in either direction. It was great riding!

At a tad over 100 kph I wasn’t exactly doing the limit (80 kph on that stretch) so I was watching the mirrors conscientiously in case some cop was looking to pick up a few extra points towards his quota. Nothing until, seemingly out of nowhere, 2 bikes were on my tail. The first passed on my left across a double line at a very high speed, and as I was waiting for his buddy to do likewise, said buddy passed me on the right hand side, in the 4 feet or so separating me from the gravel shoulder catching me completely by surprise.

Now I am usually pretty cool about ride whatever you like as long as it’s two wheels. And I have no issue with exceeding the speed limit under the right conditions. But these guys who crouch over the tank like they’re Valentino Rossi on a Grand Prix track are leaving me with a bad taste for sports bikes in general and, by extension, their riders. Unfair, I know, but if I, as a motorcycle rider, detest these morons who put others at risk with their childish and irresponsible road behaviour, just think what the average cager thinks, and worse, what they say to the politicians considering further restrictions on our sport.

And to the idiot with the IQ just slightly above the total number of cylinders between his legs who passed me, there’s a special award waiting just for you. It’s called the Darwin Award. Look it up.

12 comments:

  1. My sporty ain't a bullet bike, but I love to ride it and ride it fast, under the right conditions. As for the other road rules, I follow them, and I respect other riders, whatever they're on.

    I agree with you wholeheartedly on the political point: To folks who don't ride, one rider represents all riders. We, all of us, simply must do a better job representing motorcyclists and motorcycling, this wonderful sport that enlivens living.

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    1. Ry- Operative words: "As for the other road rules, I follow them, and I respect other riders..." I think that's what pissed me off as much as anything was the lack of respect.

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  2. Yikes, that would have scared me as well.

    I had a guy race by me on a double solid line on the outside of a blind corner, was not a good experience.

    Like you said, Darwin award, karma will catch up, but it is unfortunate when the guys that ride like that give all riders a bad name.

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    1. Trobairitz - Really, really don't understand what makes these guys think that's okay. Blows my mind. And it's happened to me before, so it's not a one-off situation.

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  3. Those same 2 idiots came through Ohio!

    Not funny, that's for sure. Glad you kept it running straight.

    I just don't get it and I wish them nothing well.

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    1. Deb - Likewise. I just don't get it. Why go out of your way to antagonise another rider? We're better off without them in our sport.

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  4. There's never a police officer when you need one.

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  5. Been there and have had it happen to me as well, it's not a pleasant feeling is it. I agree with you 100% in all it takes is one idiot to give us all a bad name.

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  6. Guys like that leave me scratching my head. If the only lives they endangered were their own it would be one thing...

    Two years ago a jackass on a sport bike rocketed past me, weaving through traffic, cutting people off. His girlfriend clung to his back like a monkey. A few miles later the traffic backed up. He must have rear ended a car. He seemed fine, crouching on the roof of a car with some others where the girlfriend was sprawled not moving. Totally disgusting behaviour. Criminal in my professional opinion. I often wonder what happened to her.

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    1. Agreed. You want to kill yourself? Fine. But leave me and others out of your stupid plans.

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  7. I have been overtaken by rice rockets often, and sometimes unexpected due to their excessive speed, but not once in the scary and disrespectful way that you experienced.

    Wanna kill yourself? Do it on a closed course and don't endanger fellow motorcyclists. I have no mercy for this kind of riders, no not riders, call them by their real names: a$$holes. A Darwin award will be rewarded soon enough, hopefully with no other person involved.

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  8. Souns like a great day's riding. It's a petty we have to encounter such idiots andof course their dangerous antics get us all tarred with the same brush. Just plain selfish!

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