Biking

I love biking but heard something yesterday that highlighted the dangers of it. More of that later.

I think its the feeling of being in the open whilst travelling at fast speeds combined with the element of danger (for the same reason).

I also love the feeling of jumping on the bike and heading out with no destination in mind and seeing where I end up. I know I can do this in a car as well but its just not the same feeling of freedom.

Last year after I was made redundant, I took off on the bike for day-trips to different parts of Scotland. In practice this generally meant Perthshire – a place a really love.

The boring parts were having to be on the motorway to get near my destination, but once within 20 miles or so it was onto A and B roads and that where the fun starts. Gliding round corners, the odd burst of speed to overtake, thats where the fun is. That and the feeling of the air rushing by you and the feel of the sun beating down on you.

I did think there was something missing though, but couldn't put my finger on it.

I found out what this was when I was sitting outside the Loch Tummel Inn one fine afternoon enjoying the view and the local hospitality. A young biker appeared and sat next to me and we had a great chat about biking in Scotland and the area in general.

When he was leaving he put on his iPod and then his helmet and at that point I realised what was missing from my biking experience – music!

Now I do the same, and the feeling is complete!

Of course there are also bad points to biking – getting caught in a downpour and the road turning into a river. At that point you have to slow down or even stop as its not worth the risk. Pedestrians are another nuisance. They dont pay attention to the highway code and often run across the road without looking...Grrrr

The twice I have come off the bike were linked to those events.

The first was when the road was soaked and I was on a roundabout. I was going round to the '9 o'clock' exit (three-quarters of the way round) and as I got to my exit a tweaked the throttle to bring me back upright and the back wheel simply slid away.

I remember thinking 'hold onto the bike and spin round' as I there was a car right behind me. I lay there on the road looking up at the car which had thankfully stopped, with the lady who was driving cramming both hands into her mouth and a look of shock on her face.

Fortunately I was unhurt but the brand-new chrome exhaust I had just fitted was scrapped!!!

I was a wee bit shaky after that for a couple of weeks then settled down again.

This was on my Yamaha 250cc Virago – a lovely bike.

Recently I bought another Yamaha but this time a 535cc bike with a wee bit more power :-)

As was recounted on Facebook recently, I was filtering down the outside of a line of stationary traffic when some kids ran out in front of me. Ibraked, skidded and came off but thankfully missed all of the kids. Left me with a very sore left side though!

Yesterday.

Yesterday I heard about a friend of mine and colleague who was out on her bike at the weekend. It appears she was riding correctly when a boy - being chased by the police - ran across the road. She is in hospital and has head and leg injuries and we are all waiting to see how she is. Fingers crossed for a full and speedy recovery for both my friend and the boy.