Yup, it’s springtime. Easter, flowers, pollen, etc. And squids. What are squids? Well, here’s an example from the Time.com website:
The rider hops on his racing motorcycle and gets on Interstate 95 from Hollywood Boulevard, south of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at 2 a.m. A mere six seconds later, he’s already doing 95 m.p.h., headed for Miami. About 10 seconds after that he’s at video-game velocity — 175 m.p.h., almost triple the speed limit — and the highway’s dashed lane markers are blurred solid. He slows down occasionally to pop wheelies before resuming his screaming pace.
A few miles away, down the road, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper sees him from an overpass and gives chase. Once the rider glimpses the trooper, he maxes out at a stupefying 186 m.p.h., before exiting I-95, taking a spill and getting caught. “Do you need fire-rescue before you go to jail?” Trooper Y. Segui asks him. “No, no I’m fine,” the rider says.
According to most motorcyclists, the term “squid” is an acronym for “Stupidly Quick, Underdressed, Imminently Dead.” Since the immature and irresponsible rider frequently crashes (see above), the unprotected condition of the person results in a squishy mess oozing out of an occasional helmet (sorry to be so graphic).
In the last two years in Florida, motorcycle crashes are up 6.5%. In the ten years since Florida repealed its mandatory helmet law, motorcycle deaths went from 22 in 1999 to 500 in 2008. The Time.com reporter spoke with Carrington Lloyd III, who owns Greater Yamaha in West Palm Beach, FL: “Lloyd still acknowledges the lure of the racing bike. And he says that if he sells 60 of the bikes in a month, he knows that 10 to 15 of those will be involved in a crash, with the owners coming in to his business for repairs — or worse, with new widows or other bereaved family members wanting to sell the ill-fated bikes for parts. ‘You’re buying that bike for that reason — somebody’s not coming in and buying a sports bike to go putt around town,’ he says.”
When I ride my motorcycle (the Kawasaki Ninja EX250 pictured above), I follow the acronym ATGATT. That stands for All The Gear, All The Time. Yes, on a hot and humid South Carolina day, I still where all my gear (jacket, full-face helmet, gloves, riding pants, boots). One website that has helped me with safety and motorcycling tips, as well as repair information, is www.ninja250.org. I highly recommend that everyone who rides a motorcycle to embrace becoming a “motorcyclist,” that is, a highly skilled craftsman (or woman) on the art and science of motorcycling. It’s a science because there are tried and true rules and laws that wise people follow. It’s an art because the more you practice the better you get and the higher your appreciation level is for the activity.
Everyone has a choice: squid or ATTGAT. One is a sign of irresponsibility and a short riding career, the other is a sign of a long term and rewarding sport/leisure activity or transportation option. Quoting the Fox News tag line, “We report, you decide.”
