WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

A few weeks back, I was at a gathering, and as it was not my usual crowd, I was happy to hang back and just take in the room. Almost all my friends have some sort of motorcycle connection – but this night we were the strangers in the room, enjoying friends of friends.

Most of the people there had broken off into little cliques, as folks usually do, and the different conversations were being had. Amongst all these, I heard some “moto-chatter,” and like most humans do, when they hear something in which they are interested, my ears perked up, and I took in some of their conversation.

When words like motorcycle, riding, and the like filter through a crowded room, it makes you take notice and listen in. I am not sure if these fellows even rode, though they seem to have cut-and-dried opinions on riding. Two all too familiar phrases were stated.

"He had to lay it down," and "Everyone who rides crashes eventually.”

Everyone? Really?

Although I truly wanted to throw in my opinion on these statements, I remarkably kept my thoughts to myself, and those who know me might be well stunned at that. Still, what about what these guys were saying - "He had to lay it down," and "Everyone who rides crashes eventually."

Why? Let’s look at these individually.

Laying a bike down means that you have given up. Once you “Lay it Down” there is no going back, no miraculous Marc Marquez save to be had, no snatching away a rider from the icy hand of fate. Just impact, pavement, friction, and Newton's Third Law.

There once was an incident, on the other side of the road and the world, in New Zealand. We were waiting patiently for the one-way Homer Tunnel at the bottom of Milford Sound to turn our way. It was a soggy and very slick day.

While there, we were talking with a couple of groups from two large tour vans, from two different tour companies. Nice enough folks just out on a "Holiday" as they and Drew Barrymore would say. We got word that the tunnel would be changing direction, and everyone got in their vans and we on our bikes.

The Homer is not the longest, but its 1.2 kilometers had to be dug through solid rock, and that took 19 years to do this back in the day.

Long time, but they did it by hand, and a World War got involved and SNAFUed it all up for a bit. It is wet, dark, and slippery, even on the best days, and the weather on one side might not be the same on the other.

Coming out into the bright light, the two vans sped ahead, and we followed. Shira at point, I behind. There was a park on the right, and one van slowed and put on a right signal and began to turn, just as the other, with a young and douchey driver at the wheel, decided to make a pass on the lead van.

They both got tangled up and slid sideways across the road, right in front of Shira. Everything slowed down in my eyes as I saw the roadway closing up in front of her and, with no room to stop, she aimed for the small bit of daylight on the far right of the New Zealand roadway. She could do it, I thought she would, but the slick road and her tires disagreed, and she low-sided onto the macadam, and under the back of one of the vans. Her bike was following behind her, and stopped only by the machine wedging under the bumper. She was okay, but certainly gave sailors a run for their money with the words that came out of her mouth this day.

The point is that she did not lay it down, and she did her best to pilot her way to a happy ending.

There is no good "I had to lay it down" scenario.

Ever. Once you do, you are through.

Then there was this turn of words… “Everyone who rides crashes eventually.”

Really? Why? 

Sure, things will happen, but that doesn’t mean they have to.

Most crashes happen for a reason. Lack of skill. Lack of concentration. Other factors may come into play. But diligence, and riding in the moment, with thought, and situational awareness can and will make the difference. Know your bike. Try not to be just a body piloting the bike, but strive to be one with it. Think of your braking points and exit strategy in the twisties. Be aware of the surrounding traffic, weather conditions, and time of day – as 2 o'clock on a sunny Tuesday afternoon will not be the same as 5:30 on a showery Friday on the same road.

The numbers say that things will keep happening but, with constant awareness, practice, and forethought, maybe we can help lessen the statistics for everyone.