Written by a fellow biker, freedom fighter and wise friend..... Dear Exhibitionist Rider, It is a beautiful early August day as I write you this letter. Riders are out in numbers enjoying this weather, as I myself will be but I wanted to take a moment to share some good news and some bad news. First a little good news; as a man ages he has a number of woes he must face. The good news for you is you will never have to worry about such things as prostrate exams or low T counts. You will forever have the body of a 26 year old and even gray hair will not be an issue because you’re dead. Yes, that’s the bad news. Because you chose irresponsible riding practices over consideration of your safety and the safety of those sharing the road that last attempt at riding down a curved two lane highway on one wheel at 70 miles per hour cost you your life. It was in fact your LAST attempt. There is more good news though. Your three year old daughter is young enough her grieving period and missing her daddy will pass quickly. You also will not have to worry about paying for her wedding because that duty will fall to the man your wife chooses to raise her. He will be the one teaching her to ride a bike, protecting her from the monster under the bed and kissing all those boo boo’s. Even better news is your six month old son is still fascinated by his own feet so he barely registers a difference in his daily routine. Both of your children will see pictures of you in the future but you won’t even cause them a moment of grief because they won’t remember you ever existed. So no need to worry about any lasting effects from your final act of defiance of fate or the odds you played and lost. Your parents on the other hand are not faring as well as your children or your wife. Husbands can be replaced and step-fathers will fill the void you left but if you ask any parent what it’s like to outlive their children they will say the same thing; there is no greater pain! Not to worry they will learn to cope despite the empty place you left in their hearts. Sadly your final act of arrogance scarred another family and left them with a pain that has changed their lives forever. Fate is not always cruel. The father driving the truck you hit head on was the only member of their family who actually saw what was about to happen and the impact itself. His wife only had time to register the horror on her husband’s face. Unlike him, she did not see your body explode along with your Suzuki. Thankfully their small children were occupied in the backseat of their pickup truck and were unaware until after you hit them. Of course they all had to endure the four hours at the accident scene required to document your gory decision and collect the pieces of your body from among the wreckage of your motorcycle. There is more good news for you. You will not spend the rest of your life being tortured by the vision of your death. You will also not be haunted every day by the “what if’s” that could have changed fate for all of you. No, the nightmare of your death will fall to the father of the pickup truck who will forever wonder what if he had chosen to leave home a little earlier or linger a bit longer at the last fuel stop. What if he had given in to his three year old daughter and stopped for that ice cream? Could he have kept his family safe from your decision to give in to a childish notion of grandeur? You see while the skill so many admire in the new age exhibitionist riders is dazzling it is also only spectacular and to be respected in the proper venues. It is neither appropriate nor impressive when it is used as an attention gaining means of thumbing your nose at others. No stunt double stepped in to fake the final moments of your life. You will not magically reappear in a sequel and you will also not be immortalized as a great riding hero. Quite the contrary little brother the words idiot and fool are being attached to your name when this act of arrogance on your part is discussed. You are dead and that is forever. Riders come in many forms. We strive for safer travel not just safer crashes. In this case there is more good news for you. That helmet you were raised to believe would protect you from all evil did in fact protect your head beautifully. Except for the damage to your neck where it was ripped from your shoulders your head was unharmed. The newspaper didn’t report that fact only that you were indeed “helmeted”. Unfortunately there was not enough of your body left intact for an open coffin but that viewing thing is a bit morbid anyway. You see all that expensive riding gear that looked so flashy while you barreled to your death may have been great for preventing a little road rash but it served no purpose when you hit a full size pickup truck at 70 miles per hour head on. For those fighting to preserve the right to enjoy the freedom motorcycling represents another blow was dealt against them. The average person does not separate riders into groups. A 50 year old Harley rider is no different than a 26 year old Suzuki sport bike rider in their eyes. That means your act of stupidity was a black mark against all. There is good news in this though too. Those promoting the removal of motorcycles from ALL public thoroughfares as has been done in various locations in Europe have held you up as their super hero. You’ve added to the numbers they tout in our Capitals as being the reason motorcycles have no place on the roads. They may not remember your name or know anything about the life you threw away but they will insure your death hurts more than just those directly involved in that final act of arrogance. My ride is here so I must sign off now. We don’t get weather like this often in August. I don’t plan to miss a moment more of the wind in my face or waste even another second wondering what if anything could have been done to wake you up before this happened. My prayer is your death may serve as a reminder of just how short life can be and maybe others will think before they too throw it away. Sincerely, The woman who gets to ride another day
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 16:43:24 +0000
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