It was entirely my fault. I was riding stupid and trying to go fast. I should have just taken my time and paid more attention to my surroundings. I shouldn't have been tailgating the car in front of me and I definitely shouldn't have been staring at my mirror waiting for that group of sportbikes to pass me so I could zip out of my lane and take off. When I saw those red lights in front of me I panicked and laid on the brakes pretty hard. Everything was OK until the front end started jumping. WTF was that? Oh, I was on the white line and make the beast with two backs that black car is catching up to me awfully quick on my left. make the beast with two backs it, I'm gonna gun it. Should I stay where I am? I've got a clean shot. I don't wanna run the white line so I'm gonna move fully into the other lane. Punch it! Shit! I forgot to downshift! Holy shit! I can see a bumper on my left side!
I had noticed that I started getting too comfortable on the bike. Comfortable enough that I started being stupid. Weaving through traffic just to go 80 while everyone else was going 78 is just dumb. I knew it and yet I did it anyway. It started out as passing the slowpoke going 75 in the fast lane. Then I started using 2 lanes to pass that one car, sometimes 3. There's a gap. I can make it. Vrooom! Shit, that was kinda close... Oh well, I made it, forget about it.
No, don't forget about it. I shouldn't have done it and I shouldn't do it again but I found myself doing it more and more often. It's the freeway, not a game. When I was a kid I would stare at the traffic around me and imagine a motorcycle weaving through it like a maze. Sometimes I see myself plotting a course through the ever shifting maze of traffic now too. Most of the time I stop myself from taking that path but everyone once in a while I run it. It's not a game. Screwing up can get you killed. Ride serious. Ride safe. But have fun.
