motorcyclemeditation.com

Two people late for a meeting today, turns out they’d been stuck in traffic, held up for an air ambulance, they in the front with a clear view of proceedings, in fact, saw the accident. A motorcyclist going between lanes, fast, a car swerving, the motorcycle braking, sliding, going beneath the car, the car behind going over the rider.

A tale to judder the soul. Wonder if I should give up motorcycling, you can ride well for an awful lot of the time, but this kind of stuff only needs to happen once.

Last Sunday, coming back from Kew, coming up to the tangle of junctions where the A1 joins the North Circular, wonder how smart I was there. Most of the traffic knowing which way they want, keeping up speed, plus a bit more to make the lights. But not everyone. So the flow like fast water over rocks, the direction clear but with eddies and currents.

On the motorcycle, brisk in second gear, eyes steady and unblinking on the car in front. Needing to change lanes. Safety consisting of clean lines and keeping exactly with the traffic rhythm. Staying in lane until the line clear and obvious, the requisite gap also moving to rhythm, and room to spare for a safety margin. Failing which, don’t force it, keep going, take the wrong road, sort it out after. But the right conditions emerging, as they invariably seem to, no problem.

That night, my sweet one, just mentioning, had to close my eyes and pray whilst going through that junction, a bit dangerous wasn’t it.

Well, no, actually. And yet, and yet. Was it completely and utterly failsafe? A definitive answer not within the human gift. And an incalculably high price for just a tiny miscalculation.

Coming home from today’s meeting, motorcycle insouciant beneath. Passing the same spot where they said the accident was, wincing at the thought.

But ultimately it’s a choice. On the one hand life lived as fully and intelligently as you can. On the other, spooked by possibilities. Either way, you put up with the consequences. Eyes wide open.

C’mon motorcycle, let’s get on with it.