Winter Bikers

Winter Bikers

Perryville, MD

February 2017

It’s 8 o’clock at night, in the dead of winter. While it is seasonably warm at 58°, it’s still cold; the wind is blowing, the sun is down, the temperatures are dropping. I get out of my car and hurry to the convenience store. I want to warm up. But I stop suddenly because I see an old man, maybe around 75 years old, put on his motorcycle helmet and mount his motorcycle.

He can’t be riding his motorcycle this time of year. It’s too damn cold. So, I stop and ask, “isn’t it too damn cold to be riding a motorcycle in February. How cold is it must be for you not to ride your motorcycle?”

He pulls off his helmet and answers me, “I don’t ride it when it’s cold and it’s not cold enough yet for me not to ride it. I’ve been riding this bike all winter for 38 years now. If I wake up and it’s too cold that I won’t ride it but so far that hasn’t happened yet”.

Standing beside him is a stooped-over old lady who looks to be about 80. She’s holding her helmet. She wears a thin flannel coat. And I ask her, “what about you? When is it too cold for you to ride bike?”

 “Ha, ha. This ain’t nothing. It’s okay. It’s not too cold for me”, she responses in a frail voice.

 “Why”, I ask, “do you always sit behind him so he can block the wind for you”?

 “Yeah I guess so but it’s nothing. It ain’t bad”.

They both put their helmets back on, mount the bike and slowly take off into the cold, dark, windy night. I going to the convenience store to warm up.