Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Courtesy Wave

Even though this spring has begun to feel more like summer, I have enjoyed venturing out on my motorcycle lately. Other than the irritating sound of cicadas, this past Saturday was a gorgeous day in St. Louis with temps in the high 80's and plentiful sunshine. Besides experiencing driving in a completely different way from behind the wheel of an automobile, the neat thing about being on a motorcycle is the camaraderie with fellow riders. When passing another motorcycle going the opposite direction, it is customary to wave. This is usually done by extending your left arm out low and to the side. Now the thing I like about waving to another biker dude (or dude-ette) is that it makes you feel good and respected. The really neat thing is that for the most part it makes no difference what kind of bike you're on. For example, I ride a Harley, but guys on Honda's and sport bikes wave to me and I wave to them. It makes no difference. This doesn't happen in cars. When was the last time you waved to someone you didn't know, while driving in your car? (and I don't mean the one finger salute!) Motorcyclists are all brothers and sisters on the open road. So check us out, and if you don't have a motorcycle, look into it. With gas close to 4 bucks, it's nice getting 45 mpg and feeling excited about being on the open road instead of dreading the commute.

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