The Joy Of Youth

Blog Date - 21 August 2012

I was riding last night through a town when I looked in my mirrors to see two young lads on scooters behind me.  They were both on shiny new looking scooters, judging by the buzz from the motors they were 50cc machines and judging by the size of them they must have only been 16.  I think I'm getting old, they looked no older than 12, they were still small and skinny, they were still to fill out and finish growing.  It seems as time rolls by that more and more people look young.  I don't like kids, never have, not even when I was a kid myself.  Still...much as I dislike spotty oiks I try to look on the positive side, this may be the next generation of bikers, I have to force myself to recall I was once a spotty oik ripping around on my little ring-a-ding Honda H100. 

These 2 have a death wish though.  I'm keeping to 30mph as we're in a busy built up area, these lads are buzzing on my hind quarters no more than 2 or 3 feet behind.  This makes me very nervous, I don't want one of them clipping me causing us all to end in a crumpled heap in the middle of the road.  As the road straightens the first one makes his long, slow, painful and scary overtaking maneuver.  His scoot is limited to about 30mph so he has barely enough pace to pass.  As he does he looks nervously and excitedly at me, again and again.  Before he's completed his pass he skims across my front wheel. 

Ahead the lights are on red and a queue of traffic awaits.  The second rider, just as small and similarly dressed in jumper, tracksuit pants, trainers and with his helmet strap flapping in the wind passes as I slow down for the lights.  They stop in front of me and excitedly look around and at me.  I grumble inside my helmet, loud enough for them to hear, "What a pair of plonkers you two are".  Now I'm an average size chap though I could not fight my way out of a paper bag, but when these 2 children threaten me with violence I have to laugh.

The lights change and they go straight ahead, my journey takes me to the left.  Problem solved.  At least I thought so until I glance in the mirrors to see one of them u-turn in the middle of the traffic light junction to make his pursuit!  I'm on my big manly...125...I could just accelerate to say 35mph and leave him behind, but that would be against the law.  I don't think PC Plod will accept "I was speeding to get away from a small person who wants to beat me up..."  I keep my 30mph and over the next mile he manages to catch me up.  Again as he hangs off my back end I'm concerned he'll clip me.  I approach my next junction.

I gas the 125 and leave him again, it's not far to the bike club where I'm heading.  As I roll into the car park I desperately will him to see me and follow me in.  I imagine his face when he turns in to be confronted by 10 large bikes and many more bikers.  No such bleeding luck, I hear his little motor buzz past he's not seen me turn. 

They're young.  I don't remember being that dangerous, aggresive or stupid when I was that age, but that may be rose tinted glasses.  My gut instinct is to call all young people morons, to cry that people should not be allowed on the road until they're 30 and to coral anyone under the age of 21 into a work camp.  This of course is ridiculous, I may not have been quite as silly but I know I had my moments and mistakes.  I know the experience I have on bikes is bourne out of 22 years of riding that started when I was 18 and still full of excited vigor and a desire to be the fastest thing on the planet.  I just hope that these 2 young men don't have to learn the hard way.  Good luck to them I say.

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