I Saw Capt. America Today. . .No Biggie
This one is for all my comic book nerds. I saw The Capt today. No big deal. I'ts only like the coolest thing ever. He was just cruising around like a boss on his motor bike.
With that said, I can't stress enough to all my friends who ride that safety is so important. The Captain was taking a few unnecessary risks. Nothing major but things I definitely used to do when I rode. Sudden bursts of acceleration, running yellow lights when you had plenty of time to stop, and lane swerving are pretty common.
The fact is, on a bike all of those things are fun. Nothing was cooler than cruising then suddenly hitting the gas and feeling the wind blow by. The acceleration on bikes is insane and a definite rush. Lane swerving is fun because there's a lot of lane to play with and not much bike. There's also a reason why I don't ride anymore.
I was quite the daredevil. One of my favorite things to do was to mess with drivers on the road. Don't get me wrong, I was never mean or abusive to drivers. I liked to make people laugh. For example, I would ride by them with my shirt only around my neck and my arms extended out so I looked like Superman with his cape flapping in the wind. "The Ghost B*tch" was probably my favorite though. That's where I would get up enough speed to coast past a car then hop on the back seat with my arms around an imaginary person in the front seat. Needless to say, people definitely looked twice.
That was until, a friend of mine wrecked my bike. He wasn't doing anything stupid. He was just taking it for a quick spin when someone pulled out in front of him and changed his life forever. At only 40 mph, he flipped over the car and was unable to walk for 3 months. He lost his job, almost lost his house, and he will never walk normally again. That could have easily been me. It's just not worth it. Dying is one thing, but being severely disabled and living with that the rest of your life just didn't seem worth it for me. The risk out weighed the fun. That "fun" sudden boost in acceleration I loved so much, right before someone pulls out in front of me, would have equaled a life in a wheelchair easily. Nothing can end "Young, Wild, and Free" quicker than a motorcycle accident.
I knew that as long as I rode, the temptation would always be too much to resist. Doing risky things on a bike is just too much fun. That's why I don't have one anymore.
Ride safely my friends.