Motorcycle Riders
Have you ever assumed you knew something about a group of people that you later found out was wrong or misunderstood? I would like you to think about motorcycle riders.
What things come to mind when you think about motorcycle riders? Shows and movies suggest being a loner or a rebel, looking cool wearing a leather jacket, causing trouble, not showering, racing of the engine, wearing sunglasses and boots and gloves, and so on. In fact, one popular TV character (during my lifetime) was The Fonz from Happy Days. I thought The Fonz character was interesting and informing because he started with a definite criminal type persona and evolved into a relatable close friend.
Anyway, I want to focus on the attire of the typical motorcycle rider - leather jacket, leather gloves, sunglasses, leather boots, jeans and, hopefully, a helmet.
Let’s start with the leather boots. My wife and I took a motorcycle safety course when we were getting our licenses and one of the requirements was to wear boots to the class. When I asked why, the instructor told me that your ankles are relatively weak and when you stop you are balancing the entire weight of your motorcycle with your ankles (my motorcycle weighs about 800lb). Leather boots support and protect your ankles.
The jeans, leather jacket and gloves – I will combine in the story of our son getting his motorcycle license. He got a learners permit requiring riding with a licensed driver while he was in Grad School. The day he wanted to get his license, I got home from work and threw on a pair of shorts without my gloves and jumped on my motorcycle to take him to get his license. The person doing the obstacle course at the DMV pulled me aside and asked if he could give me some advice. He had been a motorcycle patrol officer and had seen many unfortunate accidents. He asked me to think about a bad case situation where I had to lay the motorcycle down (to avoid hitting someone or something or whatever). He said that my legs being unprotected by any material might be already receiving abrasions but worse than that I’d want my face not to be getting torn up by the pavement. My natural reaction would be to push my face up with my unprotected hand. Leather, while definitely cool looking, has the benefit of surviving an abrasive encounter longer protecting whatever it is covering.
Let’s consider the sunglasses. If you’ve ever driven a car in the summer on a long road trip, it won’t take you very long to make this connection. As one is riding down the road, one tries to avoid hitting anything but realizes bugs are unavoidable. I think of hitting bugs like that Whack-A-Mole game, except instead of you trying to whack the mole, you are getting hit by the bug and you really don’t know where it’s going to hit. Just like the windshield in your car, a motorcycle rider wears eye protection to prevent a bug (or rock or other debris) from hitting you in the eye.
That leaves the helmet. This is probably not a part of your tv/movie image of a motorcycle rider (but it should be) because of all the body parts I might miss if they were taken away from me, my head and more specifically my brain is the highest priority to avoid. I wear a helmet while riding for the same reason I wear a seatbelt in a car, it improves the chance of surviving an unfortunate accident.
Now that we’ve gone through all the motorcyclist accoutrements, can we expand this to anything else?
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” - Ephesians 6:10-20 ESV
The next time you see a motorcycle rider, (or really anyone that you make some judgement on based on their appearance), consider why they make look that way.
