Born to be wild

Riding my bike at speeds which make my eyes water, even through a pair of spectacles.

Scraping part of my bike on the road as I bank to turn (I’d love to see the sparks fly for myself)

Going airborne at speed breakers.

Pulling burnouts in the second and sometimes even the third gears (That’s almost 80-90 Kmph).

Weaving through traffic at almost double their speeds.

Twitching of the bike’s rear end as I throttle up.

Flying over potholes.

Riding stably even past the edge of the road.

Screeching to a halt each time I stop.

Red-lining my bike before shifting gears.

Sitting at red lights listening to the sonorous exhaust note.

These are just a few things that bring an ear to ear grin on my face. And most of them I experience on a daily basis. I love riding, riding hard. And am I a maniac? You many ask. No, I am not. I just love speed. Everybody has a certain limit to which they can push themselves. Push yourself too the limit, and you experience extreme pleasure. Push beyond this limit, and anxiety kicks in. It is just that my anxiety gradient is a little less then an average person’s, and I have to push myself harder to seek thrills. But riding hard doesn’t always mean riding unsafe. I think I am a rather considerate rider.

I slow down at intersections.

I never jump a light.

I never blow my horn near hospitals/schools.

I mostly overtake from the right.

I judiciously use my dipper.

I usually don’t cut people off.

I always use my indicator, even for changing lanes.

I usually slow down, when people try to race me.

I mostly wear a helmet.

Speaking of safety, quite a few people I know wear knee pads, elbow pads, armour and/or leather jackets, Kevlar/leather gloves, ankle supporting boots, along with their helmets, when they ride. I wear a denim jacket, and some times even a pair of fingerless gloves. If my mum sees me riding, wearing knee pads and all, she is gonna flip out. An astrologer recently told my Dad that I was in danger of having a vehicle related accident soon (I don’t really believe in astrologers, but I hear this guy’s good... really good), so what do I do??? I slow down would be your assumption. But no, I actually speed up. For the past one month I have ridden my bike on the edge. I ride so hard that at the end of everyday my body hurts. I have gotten so used to slipping and skidding that it no longer makes my heart jump into my mouth. And the only fear I have is no longer being able to fear, fear itself. Point proven: The astrologer was wrong. There was no accident. And now because of monetary reasons I intend to slow down (The average of my bike has fallen to nearly 22 Km/lit). So here’s to lesser thrills and safer riding.

Godspeed