Being a "Biker"

You know, it's funny... I never considered myself to be a "biker" and I still don't. I love motorcycles and always have. My balls are the same size as most other guys' are I'm sure.

Here in the Seattle area it rains a fair amount, but not like other places in the U.S. When it rains here it's like "slow motion" rain. Sometimes it's just drizzle and sometimes it's just sorta "falling".

First of all, let me preface my blurb by saying that I work from 6am to 2:30pm. That means that I leave home at 5:30-ish (also known as Oh-dark-thirty). When you walk outside at that time of day, you can't really tell what the weather is going to do because it's still dark. Because of that, I use online weather forecasts. I never rely on just one--I usually use at least two and average them out and look for commonalities.

Wednesday of this week I rode to work (I rode before that too, but this is when the weather came into play). The forecasts called for showers throughout the day. BFD. To me, "showers" means that whenever a dark cloud happens to be full enough, it will dump for a bit. That doesn't mean rain all day. When I rode in that morning, I got all sorts of comments from folks. Things like:

"Whoa, you are hardcore, buddy"
"I was gonna ride my bike in today but it was supposed to rain."
"What are you, crazy?"

I don't get it. Okay... I get a little of it: That last comment was mostly geared toward the fact that my rear tire is about shot (more like bald in the middle) and I don't use a windshield. Throughout the day it did rain off and on. But when I left work it was fine just as I knew (hoped) it would be. Had it not--Oh well.

Today it was the same thing though, but for a different reason. The forecast was for a sunny day. Here in western Washington in late October, if it's going to be clear and sunny during the day, it's going to be clear and COLD during the night. Bottom line. So I was going to not ride to work because it was so cold in the morning? No way! How the hell else do you enjoy a beautiful ride home in the crisp fall sun after work if you don't ride to work?

This morning was definitely cold. When I walked outside, it wasn't just "frost" on the car windows--It was ICE. The bank sign I later rode by in town said 30 degrees. No problem--I had on my extra layer and my "head sock" and my chin/neck warmer.

Among today's comments after I rode in:

"Fuuuck, you're hardcore man."
"Eskimo biker."
"You da man."

Okay, I admit... It's cool to get comments like that and I enjoy it. Who wouldn't? But just because I don't like to let Mother Nature tell me when it's okay to ride? Nah. Okay, I may be crazy sometimes--Riding on that rear tire for example. I didn't look at it as dangerous--After all, it has good tread on the sides for cornering. I looked at it like it was just more fishtailing throttle fun I could have on the straightaways!

Some may call me a biker, but I don't see it that way.

I'm just an enthusiast.