Payback for Mindless Cager Mayhem

[Blackbird]

Irrespective of the rights or wrongs of your actions, you put yourself at risk by getting so close. The fact that you are beating yourself up though is a great sign and you'll turn into a top rider at this rate. Most cage drivers wouldn't beat themselves up because they consider themselves to have an adequate skill set for life. Most bikers, including your good self realise that they never stop learning. You'll do just fine

[terbang]

I too hate stupid drivers that do that sort of thing. And there have been times when I have seriously lost my rag as well. Though as allready mentioned, not so much lately as I'm now an old fart. A lot of the time its because their brain isn't in gear or they're texting or lots of other dumbass inattention stuff they do. They develop bad habits that remain unchecked (hint hint you rozzers out there) and don't even realise they are a hazard. Having to avoid them is just part of riding a bike on the road. Retaliation only draws their attention in a manner that bikers cannot really afford. You or anyone elses retaliatory actions, whilst satisfying at the time, may only result in some other fellow biker finding his pride and joy flattened in a carpark.

[Lou Girardin]

I only disagree with posting your admission on here. You should just bask in the (anonymous) satisfaction of doing it.

[Aitch]

Either he doesn't realise that you did that damage, assumes that someone coined his car in a car park somewhere, and so doesn't moderate his driving, OR he is well aware that a guy on a bike scraped his car and now he hates everyone on two wheels with a passion....sounds like a good definition of a lose/lose scenario to me.
What would I have done? I'd have let him go past, or if there was enough clear road ahead poured on a little more throttle and left him in my dust.

[andrea]

What !
You paid for parking at the airport.... tut tut.
One never pays out there, when on a bike.

Whether it be domestic or international.

oh fark that i hate paying for parking, ive learnt my lesson on that one, next time i pick my sister or friends up from domestic im going to park where my brother works. hmmm but then theres the thought of dragging her luggage all the way to the car and .... oh fark that im just not going to pick her up ever it'll save my money "YEAHHHH!!!" hmm and my back from picking up her stuff etc grrr they done that to me last time the bitch, hmm come to think of it she's coming up this week

[andrea]

there was a pilot instructor from ardmore who used to ride up to the cars and knock off their side mirrors and take off, i forgot what his name was my friend was telling me hmm i think he lived over westside

[gijoe1313]

Well, how a day changes one's viewpoint on life.

This morning at 7.45 I dropped my dad off to an important colonscopy examination in Gillies Ave. He wouldn't have made that appointment if he was visiting my cold corpse (possibly mutilated) out North somewhere. I had mum in the car and after we left dad, we had brekky at Greenlane McD's (yeah, I know that stuff would kill me faster then a 4WD driving over my helmet would). She talked about little things. Things I wouldn't ever hear again if I was in a coma. I liked how I was irritated by her small talk.

I drove my mum and dad back home after dad's op. How that ride felt so sweet to know that they weren't being driven up in tears to a morgue somewhere.

I left dad at home and drove mum to my younger brother's home to visit my 18 month old nephew. The sun was a lot warmer, bird calls more clearer, every breath I took was sweeter.

When I walked in the door ahead of mum, my nephew had a funny look on his face when he saw me ... it seemed to say "you did something foolish yesterday didn't you?", then he forgave me and ran over and grabbed me around the legs...I almost cried. Spent the next hour playing with him.

That wouldn't have happened if I was in an operation getting limbs amputated, flesh stitched back, tubes inserted, bolts, pins, rods screwed into place.

I helped out in the shop the whole day after my nephew's visit. Mum was making her usual small talk with our workers. I didn't feel put out at all - working during my holiday to help the parents out. Something had changed. I appreciated how I was given an almighty second chance to sort out my behaviour and reactions.

Plenty of police about today outside the shop. Two on the beat. Three on patrol - got me to thinking about my responsibilities as a citizen and human being.

Got home twice to check up on how dad was doing. He was asleep. I looked long and hard at him. He has grey hair, wrinkles and a potbelly - yet, he would have been healthier then me, and suffered something no parent wants to face : outliving their children, if things had been slightly different in that small passage of stupid time when I did something they would have been ashamed to know.

He asked me when I got home half an hour ago "how was my little grandson?" - it took all I could to suppress a sob. I would hate to see my dad open a door to a knock (from heaven or hell or whatever metaphysical plane I'm looking from and going "shite") and my mum running up behind him... and getting the news from a boy in blue (who has the unfortunate duty to tell about my passing because of my stupid passing idiocy).

That cuts me to the quick. This whole day has cut me deeply. I'm a grown man, yet I feel like a little boy who's done something incredibly bad and still waiting for the wrath of heaven to open up on him.

I've learnt more in these two days then I have done in the last two years or more. Thanks for the consideration and thoughtful comments riders have posted here and to me. Its definitely given me a clarion wake up call.

Pride comes first, humility learnt next - and the lesson learnt needs to be remembered. I suffered from pride, humility has humbled me and I will keep learning the craft to being a better biker.

I was going to quit riding this morning. Park the bike into a storage shed, and get on with my life. Then I changed my mind. What happened? Well I don't believe in coincidences, arriving in the mail today from UK was my Hornet membership. I pulled it open and there was that zing of excitement again when oodles of stuff fell out of it. I fell in love with biking again but this time, screaming in my head was "If you love it, ride it so you can keep loving it for a long,long time".

Lesson learnt. Big time. I'm starting again from Step 1 which begins with "Ride Safely" and I'm sure it will keep stating each step from there with "Ride Safely".

Tomorrow I'm firing up the Hornet again and I'll start anew...safely.

[andrea]

lesson learnt good stuff, actually you should taken a lil time to chill out and let your anger settle before you set off again last time.
green rep coming your way