Then there's a second catch. I'm not crazy about swearing, drinking, posing or competing - so joining a Biker's club holds little attraction.
Oh, and here's the third catch. If I did like riding with the pack, I couldn't possibly keep up with them! In fact, I wouldn't even reach the destination on the same day! All I have right now is my little 125cc Honda e-Storm!
For those not in the know, it's a very cute little bike that's ideal for daily commuting and whipping in and out of city traffic; not to mention that it hardly consumes any gas. But a Bike, it is not. More like a training bike to learn how they work in traffic.
There's no problem buzzing about in town - in fact it's a dream. Goes quite fast enough to stay out of traffic's way. But it's too light for the freeways; not a bike for a road trip.
I bought it around the beginning of the year, with the ever-rising fuel price in mind (not to mention an ever-diminishing cash flow never out of mind), after not having ridden for about 15 or 16 years! If I'd had any reservations, they disappeared within the first days. Despite city traffic, that little bike injected a surge of LIFE back into my tired veins! The thrill of biking dropped years off me in an instant. Now, 8 months later, that enjoyment hasn't diminished in the slightest.
However, now that I'm used to it again, I must confess that I'm finding it frustrating. I YEARN to open it up on the freeways, on the open road! The last bike I rode was a 750cc Honda.
The difference between the two is that with my present bike, I check the cars approaching in my rear-view mirrors. On the 750cc, I checked the cars diminishing in the rear-view mirrors.
It can be difficult to describe the sense of freedom. In a car, you're surrounded by a metal frame, in your own protected space, viewing every other car as a threat. On a bike, you feel a part of everything around you. You're one with the countryside, uninhibited by a metal cage. Even the tarmac is real ... touchable. In fact, you're aware of every pothole, every crack, every characteristic of the road surface. You're aware of everything happening on the sides of the road, and even inside the cars. You HAVE to be that alert; but somehow it's not an effort. It just seems to happen naturally. Those attributes aren't affected by the size of the bike; the joys are universal.
Okay, so I can't watch the big game grazing in the bush as I cruise the Lowveld passes; but I can watch the little field mice scampering about on the verges while I wait at a traffic light! Do you notice them from your car?
I don't regret the decision to get a bike; it was one of my better decisions.
If you've heard bad things about motorists and bikes, treat the reports with discretion. I have found our Jo'burg drivers, apart from the few idiots you'll always find, to be extremely friendly and considerate. (Bikers, reciprocate!)
If you're thinking of getting a light bike for commuting, I'd recommend that you have a look at the Honda e-Storm. It's very well put together. Despite being a small bike, Honda seems to have used the big-bike technology as faithfully on this little chap. It looks really good compared to most of it's competitors, and it handles well. It's pricing is at the entry level, competing with the Asian brands. And joy of joys, it has an LED display to tell you which gear you're in! (That's the one thing that confuses the hell out of me!)
4 comments:
I feel a bit the same about having a bicycle. Now that I'm getting comfortable with traffic around me I sorta wish I had the ability to go a bit faster. On the other hand if I get a moped or motorbike I won't use the muscles I'm developing and things will go back to the way they were when all I did was drive.
But good on you for taking a different approach and conserving fuel. BTW, how do people in SA earn an income these days?
Hi Carl,
About a third of the population aren't earning an income. A major chunk of the balance labour in the formal and informal business segments and battle to support themselves and family who are amongst the first third. Their working lives can be hard, because employers use less and less people to do more and more, knowing that if they object, there are thousands in line waiting for those jobs.
However, there are still a large number of people who earn obscene salaries - and they are the face of this country that the government likes to portray - and the marketing and entertainment media like to focus on.
If I wasn't such a stickler for morality, I'd go into crime. There's very little risk involved here. You probably wouldn't get caught - and if you did, there are policemen to bribe and courts with such a backlog to process, that it might never get to court.
The infrastructure in this country is rotten to the core - and a lot of people are suffering.
Mike what you describe is not the South Africa I grew up in during the 70's and 80's. In fact it sounds very much like the South Africa PW Botha warned everyone about.
Hopefully in time things will improve and South Africa will rejoin the developed world where it belongs. I won't ask about your personal situation but I can see why so many South Africans are joining folk from India and other less wealthy countries in developing multiple blogs that give some form of income through posting or advertising.
You're right. Recovery doesn't seem to be on the horizon just yet, though, but we can hope.
I belong to that first third, I'm afraid. (The bank summonsed me today, actually!)
I enjoy blogging, but I don't seem to have cracked the money-making thing yet. Never made a cent from my blogs! I do it for the love of it right now.
Just recently I started writing articles for 'contentlancers' in the U.K. I really enjoy that and if one does enough of them, the money does make a difference. Actually, I think I'll do a post on that!
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