I got my first bike just in February, ten years ago. It was a small Suzuki 200CC two-stroke, a second-hand that used to be a delivery bike with fifty-thousand kilo’s on the clock. Still – it was fun, and I enjoyed it. It was the start of a life-long love-affair with two-wheeled vehicles.
During the past ten years I have owned many bikes of various kinds, ranging from a 400CC Kawasaki ZXR superbike to an assortment of cheap scooters.
Currently I ride a Yamaha BWS100 scooter with an extended exhaust and a 125CC engine upgrade. As scooters go, it’s great. Faster than most with a pullaway speed that only the best bikes can match in fact (though of course it tops out at about 100kph while most of them can hit far over 200 even 300) it’s ideal for city traffic. It zips along, going through tight gaps and while it’s no speedbike, during the times I mostly ride I’m still generally among the fastest moving vehicles on the road – I don’t get stuck in traffic.
But today, I encountered something I had never seen before in my ten years of biking. Not once, ever. As I was coming down the R27 there was somebody on a gorgeous blue suzuki bike, I couldn’t see the exact model but by the size I’m guessing it was at least a 600CC. A speedbike and lovely one at that. For the first while we didn’t interact at all, he was faster than me of course but with the many red-lights on that road I basically never fell far behind.
When we stopped at the light by Woodbridge island though, I was next to him, and looked around to admire the bike… to my surprise instead of the usual responses along the like “yours is pretty nice too actually” or “awesome aint it” kind of gestures (or the cake-taking one a couple of weeks back from the hottie in the skin-tight leather on her mindblowing Harley who simply gave me one seriously suggestive wink when she aw me checking her bike out) … this guy was making a really angry face at me and shouting something.
Now I have no idea what he shouted, I had headphones in under my helmet. As it is, my phones are chosen not to block ambient so I can hear cars etc. – but frankly trying to make out something shouted from behind a helmet, through another helmet and Metallica’s Master of Puppets would strain anybody’s ears.
He gestured something angrily, I shook my head dismissively and ignored him and rode on as the light changed. After all, I didn’t know what his problem was but it wasn’t mine.
So on we rode, unfortunately our roads would turn out to overlap for quite some time yet, and throughout it all I not only kept up with him, but in fact was faster than him on several stretches because I could take gaps he can’t fit through. The more we road, the more he kept giving me rude gestures – I just kept on ignoring him and rode on. I suppose the ideal would have been to stop for a smoke and let him get away – but I was running a bit late so I had to push it a bit.
Finally as we approach the M5 via Paarden Island, he seemed to get really angry, finally the road was open enough for him to catch me up… then he cuts directly in front of me forcing me to do some rapid breaking, slaps me on the shoulder and rides off… I let him go ahead into the next stop-light cue, and as I was waiting behind him he kept turning around, shouting some or other rude insult, I just kept telling him “I can’t hear you”.
Finally we got on the M5 where the engine size actually matters and he rode away. I hit the next traffic light into Belmont drive seconds after him… but slowed down, letting him hit it green while I waited at the red, and made sure he was gone… this guy was dangerous.
I didn’t see him after that, and I’m glad of it. In ten years, I have never, ever before seen a biker being rude to another biker. Skill at riding, especially the kind that can keep a small bike close to a bike one under certain conditions have always been praised. Bikers on 1000CC machines have deliberately let me pass just so they could check out my little scooter. There is a fraternity among bikers, a brotherhood that, despite the movie image, has nothing to do with the size of your engine – it’s simply the recognition of a kindred spirit.
This guy, was the first exception to that rule I have ever encountered. Instead of the polite recognition of a fellow enthusiast of the hobby, here was outright condescension, rudeness, very dangerous behavior and anger… completely unprovoked. Was this some student-aged guy (since the road I take is mostly also the best bike-route from the west coast to the university this seems quite plausible) whose ego lies in his engine and who was simply infuriated that in the busy R27 traffic it meant nothing ?
Without boasting, he had a better bike but I was a much better rider -I got through traffic where he couldn’t and for most of the busy part of the road, I led. Was this what annoyed you ? Do you think that a scooter in front of your speedbike is an insult ? Should I feel insulted that when we hit the more open road of the M5 you left me behind like I was standing still ? I don’t – and if you did, well you’re an idiot.
Now letting yourself become upset by idiots is never a good idea… but this one pissed me off, not least because some of what he did could easily have seen us crashing into each other – but more importantly, this guy actually lived up to the bad image bikers so undeservedly hold with much of society. Instead of the funloving, friendly and fraternal bond that generally binds us – here was rudeness and testosterone-driven stupidity on two wheels.
The up-, or down-, side (depending on your choice of words) is that these guys never last long. They either learn a different way, or they crash and burn.
