I went to the Pomona BMW dealer to drop off my F650GS to get the front fork seal serviced over the weekend. My brother accompanied me on the short stint and through our conversation while at the dealership the topic of the motorcycle wave came up. I wrote a bit about the motorcycle wave a few posts back but I thought I'd mention about this new anecdote here because I found it rather amusing.
My brother works at the NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) in Pasadena, California and commutes daily to work on his BMW F800GS motorcycle. One day while going to work he noticed another two-wheeled motorist coming from the opposite direction probably also commuting to work. The thing that was striking about this fellow was that he was in full gear and riding a scooter. Not only do my brother and I believe in "all the gear, all the time" (ATGAT) but we understand and greatly sympathize with those who take the time to don the hot and sometimes uncomfortable protection gear before hitting the road. So as he was passing by my brother waved the peace sign. The guy just stared straight ahead ignoring him and probably wondering, "What the..."
The next day, he saw the same fellow and flashed the friendly "V" sign again. This time he just looked. Probably curious if my brother was waving to him. It went on this way for about a month then one day he finally understood and enthusiastically wave back with his peace sign. He's finally understood the fraternity of two-wheelers! He didn't think he was part of the motorcycle crowd but he always was, ever since he decided to ride!
Truth is, by being friendly with other motorist we could create a safer environment with fewer road rages and accidents, something that we forget when we're in cars where we are locked away in our own little cages, our little worlds.
So the next time you're on the road and someone give you the peace sign just remember: "peace and be safe."
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