Motorcycling courageously

April 8, 8:04 PMDC Motorcycle Travel ExaminerMark Poesch

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Rescue riders.  Wheelie-riding sport-bikers.  High-jumping motocross or 200 MPH MotoGP racers. 

All, types of courage, or foolishness, depending on your perspective.  But, the type of courageous motorcycling I'm talking about is of a different sort.

Motorcycling is an ego-driven venture. Whether it's our quest for freedom and the open road, the need for speed, group riding or solo, motorcyclists are living life on the edge and know it.  Some revel in it.  The trick for any rider is to find a healthy balance between that drive to live on the edge, and the sensibility to step back from the edge before it’s too late.

In my recent articles about wearing motorcycle helmets, I’ve argued for personal responsibility over government intervention.  However, when it comes to group riding, my preference for individual freedom gives way to a preference for effective leadership.

Through a mentorship program I joined last year, I was inspired to consider the nature of leadership, and to share my thoughts and experiences with my mentee.  In considering the questions “What is leadership?” and “What do I need to do to become a leader?” I realized that we all have opportunities for leadership, regardless of our station in life or our role in the workplace:

Individually, we have an opportunity to take a leadership role in our own lives.  We define our vision for our lives, our goals, and the priorities that we will focus on to achieve our vision.  Not all of us recognize this opportunity for leadership, or take advantage of it as effectively as we might, but it exists nonetheless.

Within a family or a company, the expectations for leadership are clearer.  But there are often opportunities to take on leadership roles that are not explicitly defined, or are only recognized after-the-fact.

And, within groups there are always opportunities for taking a leadership role….

It is in the context of group riding that I see “motorcycling courageously” as being most important, a context where taking on a leadership role can mean the difference between life and death.

• Who among us has the courage to tell a buddy to lay off that "one more beer" before hitting the road, or has stopped a buddy from riding after drinking too much?

• Who has the courage to wear their helmet when the rest of the group is going without?

• Who among us hasn’t comforted themselves in their silence by arguing “we’re all adults, it’s their personal choice” when they see a rider without helmet, jacket, gloves, or wearing shorts or flip-flops?

• Who has the courage to tell another rider they're not ready to join the group ride, that it would be better for them to sit this one out?

• Who has the courage to slow down when the group is riding too fast?

• Who has the courage to tell the group to slow down, or increase their separation, or both?

• Who has the courage to step up as a leader and keep a buddy out of jail, or the hospital?

• Who has the courage to save a life?

I can answer yes to a couple of these.  But I've also failed to step up on a couple as well.

When the choice comes to you, what will you do?