|
| Lopez Island | Orcas Island | Visitor's Guide |
            
        
|
|
"ROAD TRIPS" by THE OLD SQUID |
|
Email this page to a friend Previous columnsThe Manly Art of the Oil Change The Shroud of Sport Tourin |
|
"Road Trips" by The Old Squid
The Gorilla on the Road
A few years ago, a University enlisted students in a study to test their powers of observation. Students were given a check sheet and told to watch a video and record certain types of interaction between two people. While they were doing this, seemingly at random, different people walked by in the background on the video. One was an attractive woman in a red dress, a man in a hat, and even a man in a gorilla costume. After the conclusion of the video they were asked if they saw a man in a hat. Almost none did. The woman in the red dress? Only a few. The man in the gorilla suit? Less than 40%!!! I think of this study as we roll into the busiest travel time of the year because on the highway, when I'm on my motorcycle, I AM that man in the gorilla suit. We see what we are looking for and most drivers are not looking for motorcycles. Especially during these winter holidays when weather may hamper vision anyway and we are distracted by thoughts of children, parents, and gifts. As you read my account of what happened to me last spring, make a conscious effort to watch out for motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians so that we all can enjoy safe and happy holidays.
Last spring, I headed down to Portland Oregon for a couple of nights with friends. Weather was cool but dry and I was on the BMW K1100LT. I was in moderately heavy traffic, moving about 85! Go 80 and you'll get run down on I-5 now. Sometimes the traffic would thin a bit and speeds in the left lane would push 90 to 95 indicated on the Beemers fairly accurate speedo. Once, a guy in an Infiniti SUV full of kids blew by me so fast, I paced him to see what speed he was cruising at. It turned out that he was doing 105! He had California plates so I'll assumed he was in a hurry to get home. I followed for awhile. The beemer is happy at triple digit cruise speeds but I-5 is not the autobahn and the other drivers are not disciplined Euro drivers. Case in point: I'm about 40 miles north of the Oregon border, in the left lane (of three). I'm doing 85 and I'm overtaking a Ford Taurus doing 80 in the middle lane. As I start to pass, I position my thumb over the horn button and my fingers on the brake lever. This is just survival instinct. I don't even think about it anymore. Sure enough, just as my wheel was even with the driver, SON OF A BITCH! He starts to pull over on me. I start to move left and lay on the horn. Let me say this clearly now: BMW K-BIKE HORNS ROCK!!! They sound like the air horns on an 18 wheeler. Mr. Taurus yanks his wheel hard right and I hear tires howling!! Then more tires locking up. I look in the mirror and he's doing 360's thru traffic and the next thing I know, he disappears off the embankment in a cloud of dust. Holy s**t! I wanted him to stay in his lane, not throw himself off the road! I do an emergency stop off to the left up against the median strip, put the kickstand down, grab my cell-phone and play dodge-em with traffic to run across the road. I could see the dust hovering 100 yards back but no car so I had visions of a roll over. As I got closer, I saw that the car was upright and that the driver was getting out and seemed to be OK. I didn't know how he would react and suddenly, I had second thoughts about approaching him thinking he might be angry but I decided it was too late to turn back. He was OK though badly shaken. He was also profusely apologetic about almost hitting/killing me. I told him I was sorry that I startled him so bad and asked him if his car was OK. It was but the bank was too steep to drive out so he called a tow truck. A State Police officer arrived and seeing that there was no contact and that our stories all matched, she decided that no violations occurred so she told me to head out! She didn't even want my name. She was going to stay with the driver till the tow arrived and also to make sure he wasn't too shaky to drive. While all this was going on, one...count 'em, one other car stopped. An older woman who wanted to make sure we were all right. She had been right behind the Taurus when it spun out and backed our stories to the policeman. No one else even slowed! You could be dying out there and most people would drive right on by. Many years ago, a friend of mine got tired of waiting for me to get off work. He was parked at a corner on his bike so he tipped it over against the curb and he laid down in the grass by the side of the road as if he'd had an accident and was out cold. Yes, we were young and stupid to do this. Same result, no one stopped for many minutes. Finally he heard one car slow to a stop and then a woman's imperious voice state "No! just drive on Henry. They all get what they deserve." That was so discouraging that he quit playing possum and just sat and sadly waited for me to show up. One of the things the driver of the Taurus said was that he just "didn't see the bike" even though he looked before changing lanes. He was concerned that he'd scared the hell, out of me. I responded that "No, I wasn't scared" and that what he did happened so often that I took it in stride. And I meant it. And that's a scary thought. I don't ride the freeway that often but I've had pullovers happen once or twice a year for the past five years now. This is not good. Those of you who commute daily must have this happen quite often. Sometimes it's people talking on cell phones and this must be made illegal! Write your state reps. Sometimes it's aggression and I don't know the answer to this. I'm probably wrong, but I always think I can out run or outmaneuver the a**holes if they're ragin'. I have many years of experience but what about other beginning riders like my youngest son? Driving should not - must not, devolve into a Darwinian contest with only the quick and the dead left on the freeway. On the ferry trip home, I talked with a friend who'd had to dodge an angry kid in a van three times before he got away from him in traffic. This was triggered by my buddy honking when the kid tried to cut in front of him during heavy traffic in the Everett area of I-5 north. He was on a Honda Valkyrie motorcycle with his wife on back. I don't know what the answer is but I know in the future, I will avoid freeway driving as much as possible. This summer, I'll allow more time and take the back roads if I can. Even at its best, the trip to Portland, down and back, was fast and tense. Anyone who's ever ridden with me knows I don't mind high speeds on a clear road but bumper to bumper at 85 to 95 is no fun on a bike. As for those BMW horns, I am getting another set and mounting them on my Honda Blackbird motorcycle too. |
|
|
SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 ABOUT US | ADVERTISING INFO | CONTACT INFORMATION |
|
|
