Bald Mountain Pass, in Utah
One thing I can guarantee you will not see in Sturgis, SD, this week is the biker wave.
Like most other bikers, I have good feelings toward the tradition of one motorcyclist waving at -- or saluting, as some people describe it -- other motorcyclists, in acknowledgement of the affinity we share.
But there are limits, and in Sturgis and the surrounding region things are currently way beyond any reasonable limits. When practically the only vehicles you see anywhere around you are motorcycles, and there are thousands of them, no one is going to wave. It's simply not possible.
That's an easy call. It's a much tougher call when you're out on the road as we were all last week in areas where the roads are choice and the bikers flock. At what point do you decide to risk seeming unfriendly and just give up the wave?
We rode the Beartooth and if you have not been there you owe it to yourself to go. We were not alone. I have no doubt there were more motorcycles than cars on the Beartooth. Down on the other side, in Red Lodge, MT, our motel faced out onto the main drag. You would have thought it was a motorcycle parade the way the bikes flowed steadily up and down the street.
Plus, in the areas of Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado where we were, at the time we were there, there were plenty of people obviously headed to Sturgis. Are you really going to wave at them all?!
We tried, at first. Heck, we were fresh out on the road and at a time like that you have all the exuberance and enthusiasm that comes with the start of a bike trip. And we kept it up for quite a while. But as the days passed I found myself less and less enthused about acknowledging the other bikers, and I started noticing that they seemed less and less enthused about acknowledging us.
So leave it at this. If I didn't acknowledge someone who passed us and you were annoyed and thought we were snooty, I'm sorry. That wasn't it at all. It was just overload. And to anyone who passed us by without saluting, no problem, bro. Believe me, I understand.
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Comments
Well said. Sometimes a wave isn't returned simply because the other rider can't.
Ditto Patty. I've had _exactly_ those same feelings myself.
Did anyone read that editorial in Motorcyclist? Cycle World maybe? Author's point: the wave is bogus and meaningless. We should knock it off.
I disagree.
I was in Red Lodge about 3 weeks ago, for the Iron Horse Rodeo, and waving got redundant, but as we left and went thru Yellowstone, it became more and more important, especially when you consider how lucky we are to be doing what we are, where we are !
Valid point. Just got back from Sturgis myself and while there were a few who waved, the majority did not. As the crowds increased, the waves decreased.
The wave made a lot of sense at one time, but with the number of cyclists on the road today, it's just too much of a distraction. Our eyes and attention should be on the road and our hands should be on the bar. A nod makes a lot more sense. I cringe when I think of new riders zipping along at 60 mph and wanting to join the cool folks by sticking a hand out in the wind every few seconds.
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