So 've y' seen a Sanya?

Nodding Terms


You know, these bikers aren't all the ill-disciplined illegitamate children of bovine stock I gave them up to be - at least, depending on from which direction they approach.

From the rear, most sneak up on me knowing full well I can't hear above the box of nails being ground in the stone-polishing drum below my knees. Sure, I can generally catch them in the 5% of the mirrors that can see around my elbows, but that aside the general greeting from the rear is a good blat of their throttles and a short glimpse of their elegant derriers. Of course, insulting though this should be, my eternal loathing goes to those who can't be bothered to go over the white lines to make a proper over-take so I get a little cut-up in places. But then, who can blame them while I'm pootling about at just above the speed I'd expect from my old racing bike (cycle).


Some bikers are still slobs

From the front, you get 2 or 3 types. There are the pillion carriers who seem pretty wrapped up in keeping their lardy passengers in their place; they ignore me (once a quick pre-check of what I'm riding has taken place. Then you get the sensible motorcyclists who give a look of acknowledgement, but then they could just be avoiding eye contact with the next flying kit bag bee-lining toward their visors and I could be misinterpreting this for some gesture of good will. But then you get what appear to be a majority of sports bikers; hobbiests, certainly. These are the wankers I normally cuss at when they cut up the Alpha at the lights, but here in my cunning disguise as a novice biker without a clue of what I'm doing I get nods.


And some bikers are cool

I'm chuffed. When in Alpha mode I do anything I can quickly to despatch a learner driver, and I'm worse for those bloody driving school cars. So, for a hairy-arsed biker to give me a nod is quite touching. I mean, they can't be nodding their approval of the Sanya or the positioning of the L-plates: it must me? A fellow biker.

Rock on guys*, this is a part of the biking fraternity I never expected to come close to and I'm genuinely touched as a learner. Personally, if I saw me on a Sanya I'd prefer just to look the other way in case I felt anyone assosciated me with them.




*Guys equals all three sexes in my vocab. Respect to the green sports bike filtering past me out of Frimley with tight combat trousers today. Nice bike. Mind you don't catch a cold.

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