One Week as a Biker

One year after graduating high school my dad was planning a road trip on his bike to Florida.  I was in my second semester of college and was taking all my courses online. I knew my dad was planning a road trip, he did this a lot.  Most of the time it was him and my mom going, but this time my mom couldn't get the days off from work.  The day before he left he asked me if I wanted to go.  I loved going on bike rides, and had never been to Florida before so I was really excited.  However, my only reason not to go was fear.  I had seen and heard of enough bike accident to have not just respect but also fear of riding.  I love the occasional bike rides but knew the odds of using a bike as the only method of transportation for a full week and then coming home safely were not on my side.  In the end I decided to go with him, and it was a decision I'll never forget.

It was the middle of February so we hauled the bike to Florida with a truck and trailer.  Upon reaching Florida we dropped off the truck and trailer, and took off on the bike.  It was 55 degrees out so we were both wearing leather jackets and chaps along with warmer clothing underneath.  It is amazing how cold Florida can be when your riding a bike down the interstate.  For the first couple days I was out of place in my biker outfit.  I was used to high school and college where all the girls tried to look their best.  My windblown pony tails and chaps just weren't the in-thing in high school.  What I began to notice though wasn't quite what I had expected.  People were generally nicer to bikers.  During the whole trip no one was rude, no cutting in line, no road rage, no nothing.  People generally just tended to give you some space and leave you alone.  This was a nice change compared to the more hectic everyday life when I was just an average person wearing "average clothes" I also discovered that bikers tend to have a lot more family than most. 

What I mean by family is "The biker family" i.e. other riders.  I knew of this from the occasional bike rides that I went on back home.  When you see another biker on the road you wave, when you see one when you are stopped somewhere getting gas it is a common occurrence to strike up a conversation, or as some bikers sometimes just like to be left alone with just their bike and the road a simple nod will do.  But when push comes to shove bikers are like the modern day 'musketeers," all for one and one for all.  When you are a biker there is a feeling of belonging and biker patriotism everywhere.  If you have an accident on a bike all the other bikers stop and do what they can to help.  It's not like being the average person in a car when it breaks down.  When your in a car and it breaks down hundreds of cars pass you, but you'll be lucky if one stops to see if they can help. 

Being a biker for a week taught me so many things that I could probably write a book on it.  For now at least I'll spread it out into several hubs. Check back later for more.