Blog du Wren

Two-wheeled Kin

To me, scooters are in a class of their own. They aren't beefy and macho like motorcycles, and they aren't efficient, sporty, and popular like bicycles. If you ride either a motorcycle or a bicycle, it is like you are a member of an instant club. Fellow cyclists will give you a nod or warn you of a rabid dog 2 blocks up. Motorcyclist will share specs, stories, and conversations about the latest and greatest gear with you. As a scooterist, I wasn't expecting to be accepted by either group. Luckily, I was quite wrong.

Motorcyclist have this hi-sign that they give to other motorcyclist as they zip by one another. While I saw many variations on it, it usually consists of a left hand extended below the handle bars with a few fingers out. At first, I thought it was a sign telling me to slow down or something until Dave explained it all to me. Then, on this trip, I got into the habit and really grew to like this welcoming sign of camaraderie. Besides including me in their group with the hi-sign, motorcyclist I met on the road were invariable interested in my scooter and my trip.

On the other end of the 2-wheeled spectrum, bicyclists, whom I thought might lump me in with the motorcyclist category, always gave me a smile as I scooted by. It was almost as if they were saying, "I acknowledge that you too are an outsider on this road made for high speed behemoths." When there weren't bicyclists around, I would frequently use their lane to inverse pass the cars that had built up behind me.

Without a metal box to separate you from those that you met on the road, it only seemed natural to acknowledge them with a hi-sign or a nod. It lent an unexpected friendliness to my time on the road.

Monday June 4 2007

File under: travel, road trip

Toggle Comments (4)

comment?

on Mon 04th Jun, 2007 04:54 pm PDT Siri said:
Maybe in lil' ol' Anacortes (or along the CA coast) bicyclists have a sense of camaraderie. However, the 'cyclists around these parts are rude, constantly trying to "outbike" everyone
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on Mon 04th Jun, 2007 04:59 pm PDT Siri said:
(where was I?) and wearing those god-awful spandex unitards. My theory is the spandex cuts off blood supply to their brain (not to mention their undercarriage)
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on Wed 06th Jun, 2007 01:24 pm PDT cardboard said:
Oh yes, while siri is right about people trying to "outbike" each other is all part of the GOD status you attain riding a bike. Pedestrian rules can be used but dont need to be followed and the same goes for traffic rules...just watch your ass around blood sucking bike cops.
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on Sat 09th Jun, 2007 11:12 am PDT Siri said:
True dat!
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