Flat tyre? No worries mate, I've got just the thing....
One of the things I enjoy most about motorcycling is the sense of camaraderie that comes with it. We are often told that kiwis are a friendly lot, but that doesn’t mean that we automatically trust one another and go out of our way to help others every single time the opportunity arises. Put a motorcycle in the picture and everything changes.
I have experienced the generosity of fellow bikers several times, often when it was least expected. A few years back Squiggles and I were touring the East Cape on a ZZR250 and a TL1000, taking our time and with no set plans. We arrived in Mt Maunganui late in the evening only to be told that there was absolutely no space in any of the campgrounds. Exhausted and ravenous, I was at the end of my tether when a man on a Ducati pulled over and asked if we were ok. We were complete strangers and had it not been for our sets of wheels would probably have remained such. He had seen us checking out the information centre and the campground and didn’t hesitate to offer us space on his lawn to pitch a tent. In fact, when we arrived at his place and it was already dark he went one further, putting us up in his spare room. Had he pulled up in a Holden rather than atop his Italian steed it is quite likely that Scott Watson bells would have gone off in our heads and we would have declined, but the bike was the clincher: bikers trust bikers.
Motorcyclists often see themselves as a breed apart anyway. When mothers and colleagues and friends all speak disapprovingly of your machine and insist on labelling you a ‘temporary citizen’, there is comfort to be had in the company of those who understand the bug. Within biking circles the ideal of trusting someone until you are given reason to do otherwise still prevails. Motorcycling also attracts people from all walks of life and coupled with the sense of community this makes many unlikely friendships possible. There are not many situations where lawyers, students and labourers can all come together and chat like equals.
Last night I was reminded of this fact again. I was on my way home when I spotted the unmistakable shape of a street magic being pushed along the pavement. Ordinarily I would not stop in the dark on my own to help a strange man. There are reasons people don’t hitchhike in NZ anymore and much as we would all love to think we live in a blissful Utopian society, safety is a concern. The fact he was on a bike trumped any reservations so I did a U turn and offered him a lift. The mighty AX100 did me proud, turning its pillion power overdrive onto full and we ended up having a good chat about two strokes, BMWs and the best way to manoeuvre a large motorcycle into the back seat of a station wagon. I haven’t broken down for a while now, so my turn is probably coming up and this was a good chance to ‘play it forward’ and save a fellow biker several hamburgers worth of calories (it would have been a very long walk).
Some people would say it is completely irrational to trust a person solely on the basis of their personal transportation choice. To a degree they are probably right and there will always be bad eggs. I still think it is a positive thing that some people still have faith in other human beings. The motorcycling community is a beacon of hope, a place where people still trust others and genuinely want to help each other out. While it would be going too far to suggest that giving everyone a motorcycle would create instant world peace, it is important to appreciate what we have got and to keep on doing those U-turns to ask ‘are you OK’.
