Gun's Quote:
"It’s taken years, but part of my own personal growth has involved deciding that I can learn something from even the most annoying person."
-Auliq Ice
It was dark outside. I opened the garage door, gear on, bike in Neutral, and gently walked her outside. I carefully went over all of the details of the bike that they teach you in the MSF: Blip the throttle to make sure it isn't stuck, check your brakes, air pressure and lights, etc. Eventually, after spending far too much time looking at my bike and making sure everything was just how it was supposed to be, I finally jumped on it, started it, and went through the friction zone exercises to get used to the clutch and shifting.
This is one of those times I wish I had a Ring doorbell. It would be hilarious to watch myself today; imagine a guy walking around his motorcycle in full gear, twisting knobs, checking tire pressure, and timidly pushing it back and forward trying to figure out how to not fall over. It would have had to have been hilarious.
Eventually, I pulled out of the driveway. I rode down the street to a tee intersection, came to full stop, put both feet down, and waddled her 180° around. Then I rode back up the street to the next intersection and did the exact same thing. Eventually, I stopped waddling and figured out how to do a 180° turn on the Ninja. Of course, I did so in the MSF, but every bike is different, and you do have to get coordinated to it, especially when you are just starting out and trying to figure out your own coordination, too.
After about 30 minutes and three dozen laps up and down the street, practicing throttle control, friction zone, shifting, progressive breaking and U-turns, I notice my neighbor four doors down walk out of her house and approach the street. I got the "Death Stare." Oh boy, here we go...
Karen (Not her real name): Excuse me!
Me: Hello! How are you tonight?
Karen: Is there a reason why you are driving up behind my car?
Me: ...(The car is parked in the street, about 25 feet away from where I'm doing a U-Turn...) Um, no, ma'am, I'm just practicing riding my motorcycle. This is the first time I've ever ridden it and I'm just going up and down the street to practice turning and to get used to it.
Karen: Oh. Well, I've been having problems with people trying to break into my car and my dog has been barking like crazy because he sees you getting close to the car. I'm trying to decide if I need to call the police.
Me: ...Yeah, I'm just turning around up at the end of the street and driving up and down.
Karen: Well, could you please take it to the next block over so that you'll stop scaring the hell out of my dog?
Me: ...I can be done tonight.
Karen: Thank you so much!
Me: Have a good night.
Sharing this story in KC Sportbike Society and with my co-workers generated a fair amount of animosity towards my neighbor. I was reminded that absolutely nothing I did was illegal and that I had every legal right to ride up and down a public street. People volunteered to join me on my street the very next night to ride with me just to spite my neighbor.
I declined the offers.
My friends were right. I did nothing wrong. No laws were broken. I just had a neighbor that was annoyed. I don't know why. Maybe she was having a bad day. Maybe her car really was broken into. Maybe she was just tired of a yelping dog. Did it really matter?
Social media has presented our society with the ability for every one of us to be "outraged" by our interpretation of our rights being violated. Is that really the case?
To be sure, human history is replete with examples of horrific violations of human rights and the people who are responsible for them. Hitler. Pol Pot. Stalin. My neighbor, Karen, is not one of them.
There is absolutely no rhyme or reason why I should seek any type of retribution against somebody who was concerned about why I was riding up and down the street. I don't have her perspective. Maybe she genuinely was worried that I was checking houses and cars to see if they were locked or unlocked. Maybe she thought I was on drugs. Maybe my bike noise just bothered her too much.
Is it so hard to respect the simple request of another human being? The answer is no. My rights weren't violated, I did nothing wrong; I was asked to stop doing something that was annoying somebody else, regardless of it's legal status. That's it.
To be transparent, I was mad at Karen. I just wanted to practice riding. I was excited. The adrenaline was pumping. However, after looking back, I had the opportunity to practice virtue: Patience, Kindness and Courtesy.
They were some of the first virtues I would start to actively practice by riding a motorcycle.
There would be more.
...And that's why it's a Gun's Quote!!
