I was at the gas station filling up my motorcycle when a young guy on a sports bike pulled in to do the same. He obviously notices me (motorcyclists see other motorcyclists like we have built in tracking systems) but doesn’t give me a head nod or any other recognition sign. He goes in to the gas station to pay and when he comes back out looks right past me. OK, so I’m riding a big ol’cruiser and he’s on a pocket rocket, but to my way of thinking we’re both out riding our bikes, “where’s the love?”
Oh well, what ever. I get on my bike and work my way over to 270 heading up to Frederick for a quick ride. I haven’t gone but a few miles up the road when I realize something odd is coming up in the left lane. Here goes mr. pocket rocket, standing up on his rear pegs with the front wheel of his bike a good 4 feet off the ground. Yup the show off was going down the highway at 70-75 mph doing a wheelie. So he goes on past me and I’m riding my ride, shaking my head at his little show, when he decides to bring everything back to earth – and that’s when it all goes bad.
Something happened when the front wheel touched the road surface, maybe the tire wasn’t lined up perfect, I don’t know, but what I saw was the front end violently wobbling and then the whole bike shaking. In an instant the bike flipped itself onto it’s far side creating what’s termed a “high side” fall for the rider. The rider was tossed to the ground in front of the bike with the bike then running back over him. Needless to say there was general pandemonium on 270 as everyone locked up their brakes trying to avoid hitting the downed biker.
So what if you were me in this story? What would be your initial reaction? Are you thinking, “what an idiot – that’s what you deserved”, or….? Do you have compassion and care how badly he’s injured or if he’s even still alive?
If you reminisce about your more youthful endeavors, how many hair brained, lame things did you do? How many of them can you look back on now shaking your head in wonder that you’re still around to tell a “story”?
BTW – this is just partially a true story (right up the last paragraph). When the guy really did bring the bike back down he proceeded to rocket across all 4 lanes of traffic and shot up an off ramp doing about 80 mph. And yes my thoughts were more along the lines of, “what a jack a$$”, “where’s a cop when you need one”, and even “I’d have laughed if you’d laid it down.”
Yeah, Mercy is one of the spiritual gifts that needs improvement.
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