Leaving work riding Jezebel, I saw a chrome monster about two car-lengths ahead of me. Dude was decked out in chaps, boots, leather jacket, fingerless gloves, and no helmet. His monster burping out nuisance at 120db or more. Organ donor. Dressed to the nines, no helmet.
I'm cursing my luck to be behind him, having to listen to his bike. Part of me wanted to pull up next to him and say, "You're bike doesn't sound right, like it's only running on two cylinders or something" Part of me was thankful for the minivan that served as a sound deadening wall between him and me. I stayed in place behind the van.
We all sat and waited for the light to change. I listened as his monster revved up, it got louder and louder, I kept expecting movement and got none.
Oops, he forgot to put it in gear. He shifted with a clunk and pulled away, loud sound like before, this time with actual movement.
"Works better when you put it in gear, Einstein."
We've all done it, or at least, I've done it, revved it up trying to pull away from a stop, not realizing it had popped into neutral. I don't usually mock folks who do it.
Except when they're deafening me with their little no-forward-motion twist of the throttle.
Thankfully he pulled into the nearest bar and left me alone, to carve the winding streets alone and homeward bound in relative peace.
I'm usually not contemptuous toward other riders. Ride your own ride and all that; I leave them alone and they leave me alone.
But the whole scene -- from his carefully coiffed hair, to his helmet-less head, to his showboat on the bar-hopping tour -- just annoyed me today for some reason.
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