full speed and pagan

[extemporanea]

I had to be on campus again this morning (late orientation, bleah), and on the way back home was overtaken on the freeway by three motorbikes, those shiny insectoid ones with the high snarling engine note, their riders all in black and heraldic colours, with armoured knees and elbows. I changed lanes to let them past, and watched them recede into

Comments

[anonymous]

While it's true that even with proper gear (full helmet, Kevlar clothing, etc.) a motorcycle leaves you more vulnerable and thus more susceptible to injury, in some ways they're actually safer than cars: you have more maneuverability to get out of the way of a crisis (something in the road, someone slamming on their brakes) than in a car. Ken tells the story of a fellow biker who was at a stoplight behind several cars. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw a car coming up behind him way too fast. He was able to split lanes between the cars and get away before the car slammed into the car that had been in front of him--if he hadn't been able to move, he would have been sandwich filling. If he'd been in a car, he would've been rear-ended.

Of course, the most important factor is the ability of the rider...

Cheers, Dayle