The Motorcyle Wave and Humanity.

There I am, driving to Belfast. A screaming kid in the back, exhausted, sleep deprived and in and all around foul mood. Two motorcyclists are on my ass - which is annoying because I can’t really see them if I stopped short…so, I’m annoyed. 

Then, like a beam of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy day…I see it. One of the ONLY things that will bring a smile to my face when in a funk - the wave. The obligatory and seemingly class overriding wave between oncoming motorcyclists.*

For me, this wave is like a faint glimpse of the humanity that I believe still exists in us all. It’s a seemingly random act that is happening between big burly Harley bikes (they give the best wave…the lean down low like you are adjusting your boot peace sign wave) and vintage bikes (like my husband’s). The make/model of the bike doesn’t matter nor does the rider - burly, skinny, dorky, no helmet, helmet and full bike gear…doesn’t matter. Somehow, the wave overcomes it all. It says “we might be different, but if you broke down, I’d help you” or “we’d probably hate one another but since you have the balls to ride a bike like me…you’re cool.”

All in all, it just makes me smile to know that there is something that might override all the shit that we face in society. All the assholes that won’t give you the time of day because they feel that they may or may not be better than you - all the people who wouldn’t hold the door for you if you had a handful of groceries, let you cut in front in line if you had a screaming baby in your arms, or help you change a flat tire on the side of the road.

It forces me to remember that I also need to do good things - for no reward or thanks. For no expectation that karma will come back around. Just because we are all people stuck here together and we should be good to one another.

Just because.

(*I’ve been told that some goldwing driving motorcyclists DON’T do the wave…but also that, as a woman on a bike, I could pull one out of them - which I intend to do on my bike.)