Life on two wheels is awesome!
You meet some of the best people on the planet when riding motorbikes.
And of course many of them will become great friends who you can trust with your life.
Which is pretty handy.
You never know when that may actually happen.
Unfortunately there is a very small minority of prize idiots out there too.
I have been incredibly lucky to only ride with a few over many years.
Although I like to stay positive in these videos, it is time to have a whinge... lol.
I used to go adventure riding with this guy.
He seemed a bit rough around the edges, but an okay sort of bloke.
The first hint of trouble?
We are on a remote track and I get a puncture.
He says "Bummer, I'll ride to the top of that mountain and wait for you there."
The problem?
I only have two small tyre levers.
I say "yYu know it will be a lot faster if you give me a hand."
No. He's not interested.
It seemed like a weird attitude as everyone I have ridden with just pitches in when there's trouble.
Oh well.
A few rides later, I'm riding over the crest of the hill into
a sudden series of muddy ruts and I smash my lower leg badly.
This guy completely goes to pieces.
H is next to useless.
There's no blood, but he just can't look at my bendy leg.
I try to get him to hold the leg while I make a splint with branches and vines.
I have to keep yelling at him because he won't look and hold the legs straight,
causing a load of pain.
Again, fair enough...
often guys who look tough do go to pieces when accidents happen.
But the warning bells are starting to go off in my mind.
And the fact that I spend most of my time listening to him talk about himself endlessly.
It's five months before i can ride again.
And of course i barely hear from him.
Even though I thought we were quite good riding buddies at least.
So we organized my first post-injury ride and I ride all the way across town to meet him.
But he's not home.
Now this is before the age of cell phones so I wait.
And wait.
And eventually I just return home again.
I ring him the next day.
What happened?
"Oh I changed my mind and did something else."
Uh, why didn't you let me know?
"I figured you would just go riding by yourself anyway."
Seriously you couldn't be bothered letting me know?!
So i tell him repeatedly i'm not happy with this
and he just says F... off and slams the phone down.
End of the story?
Well not quite.
Amost a year later he suddenly rings and says 'hey do you still own the Kawasaki KLX650?'
No I've sold it.
And he says "oh bummer, I was just selling some parts.
I thought i could sell them to you. Oh well see you later".
So there's no chat.
No catching up.
No 'how are you?'
Just a self-centered dickhead out to use people.
Okay. It's a pretty negative story.
But i think the positive message is...
don't tolerate egocentric fools in your life.
It is tedious at best.
And at worst you could have a real emergency when riding.
And this is the sort of guy who could seriously let you down.
What about you?
Ever ridden with guys like this?
Ever been let down in a serious situation?
Did they ever change their attitude?
Or did you just give them the boot?
Keen to hear your stories, guys.
Bring them on!