SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
My wife and I took the bike out for a ride today. The weather was beautiful and the bike was feeling lonely. We geared up and off we went. 110 lovely miles round trip, (although we did sweat at the stop lights. Hey it was 85°+ degrees out here today.) A grand day to be riding.
Along the ride we saw a car pulled over and stopped. Their engine had suddenly started racing and the guy had pulled over and shut it down. He had no idea what to do. I had him pop the hood and I started looking. It took me about fifteen seconds to find the problem. His throttle return spring had snapped. I thought abouot it and talked with him then replaced the spring with one made from the springs from three ball point pens he dug out of his car. Not a perfect solution but enough of one to get him, his wife and their kids off the highway and to a service station. He wanted to pay and I just waved it off. The looks on his and his wifes faces was payment enough for me. (You should have seen the looks on their faces when we pulled over on the bike.
)
A short while later we pulled into a grocery store. We wanted something to drink and we had a bit of shopping to do. As we strolled into the store we saw a guy standing there asking people for money or food. He was clean although his clothes were worn. Hell he was even shaven. Looking around we saw a woman and child off to the side watching him. As we came by he looked at us and moved to the side, he didn't approach us. When we were in the store my wife and I chatted a bit and started filling a basket. We picked up what we needed and then started adding to it. A loaf of bread, cold cuts. A quart of milk and a gallon of water. Foods that didn't need cooking and a bottle of Vitamins. Then my wife added the last bit, she grabbed a Meatloaf from the Deli. (Yes they do have things like this in the delis in some stores.) At the checkout we made sure things were seperated. Our bottle of water and sandwich were in one bag while the rest was in other bags. My wife then went up to the Customer Support Counter and bought a $100.00 Gift Card for the store. This was added to the large bag. As we walked out we looked for and found the guy standing off to the side. We walked up to him and handed him the bags then turned and walked away. As we rode by a couple of minutes later we saw them sitting there digging into the meatloaf with smiles on thier faces. When they saw us they waved.
A couple of miles down the road we pulledd into a gas station to feed the beast. As we were filling the tank a couple of riders pulled in on their bikes. These guys were on their nice clean bikes wearing T-Shirts and Shorts. They climbed off and filled up as they commented about us wearing leathers and helmets. They trash talked my ride as much as they trash talked what we were wearing. (Both my bike and my leathers were older than they were.) Then they ran into a problem. One of their bikes wouldn't start. They got on their phones and blatted at people as I watched. Then I walked over and took a look at the guys bike. The wire had come free from one of his plugs. In ten seconds I had fixed his ride. I Pulled the clutch and hit the starter and the bike started right up. The guy just stood there looking at me in shock as I strolled back to my bike. As I pulled on my helmet I looked at the guy and gave him a bit of advice. "If you aren't smarter than your ride you shouldn't be on it." Okay so I was being cruel but this guy had been trash talkng everyone around there and I was a bit pissed.
When we get home we park the bike and stroll inside chuckling about what we had seen. Then it hit me. There were people out there afraid of bikers and we had actually helped some of the people responsible for this feeling. At first I was upset about this then it dawned on me. I thought about it and realized the difference and understood something a biker had told me a long time ago. There are bikers and there are riders.
The difference is the mentality. A rider is someone who believes in the image. They ride in good weather and show off their ride. The biker is the one who keeps riding when things go south. The rider is the person who rumbles past a person in need and the biker is the one who stops and helps out because he's been there. The rider is the one who acts all tough and feels the need to prove it, the biker is the one who backs down and just keeps riding. The rider is the one who talks about his ride yet conforms to fit in. The biker is the one who looks different with his long hair or shaved head and doesn't care what others think because he knows who he is.
Me I'm a biker and damned proud of it. I'm the one who will be found sleeping on the side of the road. I'm the one who will be found helping someone else in the pouring rain. I'm the one who will donate toys and money then fade away without giving his name. I'm the one who will spend time at the shelter handing out food without expecting to get paid, and I'm the one who will step up to the plate when you need help. Then again I'm the one made to look like vermin because I have tats or piercings. I'm the one made to look like an outlaw because of a few, and I'm the one who is looked down upon because I dare to be different.
Cat
Along the ride we saw a car pulled over and stopped. Their engine had suddenly started racing and the guy had pulled over and shut it down. He had no idea what to do. I had him pop the hood and I started looking. It took me about fifteen seconds to find the problem. His throttle return spring had snapped. I thought abouot it and talked with him then replaced the spring with one made from the springs from three ball point pens he dug out of his car. Not a perfect solution but enough of one to get him, his wife and their kids off the highway and to a service station. He wanted to pay and I just waved it off. The looks on his and his wifes faces was payment enough for me. (You should have seen the looks on their faces when we pulled over on the bike.
)A short while later we pulled into a grocery store. We wanted something to drink and we had a bit of shopping to do. As we strolled into the store we saw a guy standing there asking people for money or food. He was clean although his clothes were worn. Hell he was even shaven. Looking around we saw a woman and child off to the side watching him. As we came by he looked at us and moved to the side, he didn't approach us. When we were in the store my wife and I chatted a bit and started filling a basket. We picked up what we needed and then started adding to it. A loaf of bread, cold cuts. A quart of milk and a gallon of water. Foods that didn't need cooking and a bottle of Vitamins. Then my wife added the last bit, she grabbed a Meatloaf from the Deli. (Yes they do have things like this in the delis in some stores.) At the checkout we made sure things were seperated. Our bottle of water and sandwich were in one bag while the rest was in other bags. My wife then went up to the Customer Support Counter and bought a $100.00 Gift Card for the store. This was added to the large bag. As we walked out we looked for and found the guy standing off to the side. We walked up to him and handed him the bags then turned and walked away. As we rode by a couple of minutes later we saw them sitting there digging into the meatloaf with smiles on thier faces. When they saw us they waved.
A couple of miles down the road we pulledd into a gas station to feed the beast. As we were filling the tank a couple of riders pulled in on their bikes. These guys were on their nice clean bikes wearing T-Shirts and Shorts. They climbed off and filled up as they commented about us wearing leathers and helmets. They trash talked my ride as much as they trash talked what we were wearing. (Both my bike and my leathers were older than they were.) Then they ran into a problem. One of their bikes wouldn't start. They got on their phones and blatted at people as I watched. Then I walked over and took a look at the guys bike. The wire had come free from one of his plugs. In ten seconds I had fixed his ride. I Pulled the clutch and hit the starter and the bike started right up. The guy just stood there looking at me in shock as I strolled back to my bike. As I pulled on my helmet I looked at the guy and gave him a bit of advice. "If you aren't smarter than your ride you shouldn't be on it." Okay so I was being cruel but this guy had been trash talkng everyone around there and I was a bit pissed.
When we get home we park the bike and stroll inside chuckling about what we had seen. Then it hit me. There were people out there afraid of bikers and we had actually helped some of the people responsible for this feeling. At first I was upset about this then it dawned on me. I thought about it and realized the difference and understood something a biker had told me a long time ago. There are bikers and there are riders.
The difference is the mentality. A rider is someone who believes in the image. They ride in good weather and show off their ride. The biker is the one who keeps riding when things go south. The rider is the person who rumbles past a person in need and the biker is the one who stops and helps out because he's been there. The rider is the one who acts all tough and feels the need to prove it, the biker is the one who backs down and just keeps riding. The rider is the one who talks about his ride yet conforms to fit in. The biker is the one who looks different with his long hair or shaved head and doesn't care what others think because he knows who he is.
Me I'm a biker and damned proud of it. I'm the one who will be found sleeping on the side of the road. I'm the one who will be found helping someone else in the pouring rain. I'm the one who will donate toys and money then fade away without giving his name. I'm the one who will spend time at the shelter handing out food without expecting to get paid, and I'm the one who will step up to the plate when you need help. Then again I'm the one made to look like vermin because I have tats or piercings. I'm the one made to look like an outlaw because of a few, and I'm the one who is looked down upon because I dare to be different.
Cat
