Today I had to go to the shop with my motorcycle to make an appointment to have some work done on it. While I was waiting my turn to announce all that ailed my bike I struck up a conversation with a large man waiting close by carrying a skull cap (for those who don't know, that's one of those useless bowls that passes for a helmet). He was looking into the area where the mechanics were busily doing all manner of tasks with two wheeled beauties so I assumed he was waiting for the work on his bike to be finished off. He soon revealed that he moved here from Ontario, no longer had a motorcycle and now rode a 49cc scooter. We chatted for several minutes about riding, asshole drivers, and insurance companies...the standard for all riders who will only know each other for a few minutes. After he was called into the shop by the mechanics and I got my own 650cc motorcycle (pictured) an appointment for a new rear tire my thoughts were drawn to an assumption I face daily. One I made in reverse not 10 minutes before. Being female means that many of the men in the motorcycle industry will automatically think that I ride a scooter. Unfortunately I do have something against scooter riders, one of my biggest problems with them is that they have no idea what they're doing on the road or how seriously they should be taking it. This mostly stems from the fact that riders of small scooters do not need to get a separate license to operate their vehicle like motorcyclists have to. Motorcyclists also tend to educate themselves and the majority have taken riding lessons or courses from trained professionals because the fact is, riding is completely different from driving and most of the drivers on the road are out to kill you. Oh it's true, you may not think so, but they are, and they don't even know it because chances are they never saw you in the first place. Anyway, this is all beside the point. I can't stand the condescension I face from guys who don't think I can handle my bike or won't tell me about anything mechanical because they don't think I'll understand. Today I assumed that a big guy with half a helmet was probably riding a large cruiser and was proven wrong. I don't know if he'd have been insulted (not likely, scooter riders are always trying to get motorcycle rider approval) but I should still try to not jump to conclusions. What really amused me about the whole thing was that if the salesmen in the shop looked over and saw us talking out of their earshot I'm sure they thought that he was on a bike and I was on a scooter. Not so my friend, he was the pussy and I had the balls.
Posts
