I want to let you in on a little secret. I am a law breaker. I know, I know. You find that hard to believe. I take full responsibility for my actions. By the time you read this article I will hopefully have left my life of crime to become a somewhat respectable member of society again.
You want details? Let me begin by telling you that I love riding my motorcycle. There is a sense of freedom you only get from traveling the back roads of Mississippi on a motorcycle. You get to smell the fresh cut grass, see the beauty of nature, and feast on a number of tasty insects (next month’s article: Motorcycle riding and a high protein diet, a winning combination). A huge challenge is watching for drivers who are not watching for you. The greatest challenge, however, is getting your motorcycle driver’s license in the first place. I don’t have mine.
We all have heard of or experienced the long line of people at the DMV awaiting their written test for their license. Renewing your license in person can be just as tedious. Those poor people helping you look your best for your DL photo have a lot to do in a short amount of time. By the end of the day they must be exhausted. As tough as these things are, getting a motorcycle endorsement is downright ludicrous. Follow this line of logic:
To get my motorcycle license I must take a written test. The study guide for this test is in the back of the regular manual. If you have one of these books you will notice an incredible number of distracting typos that I must wade through. My daughter failed her first exam for her learners permit because she spent more time correcting the book than she did studying it. After studying I am ready for the exam. After passing this exam I can immediately take the driving test. This is the difficult part. How do I get the bike to the DMV to be seen riding it? I cannot legally ride the bike there because I do not have my license yet. I can push it the whole way (not likely). I can get a licensed driver to bring it there for me (as long as he or she is willing to wait with me for two hours). Or I can bring it on a trailer. Then I must ride my motorcycle for the officer to observe. My question is; how do I learn to ride in the first place? If I get on the bike to learn before passing the written test, I am breaking the law. I could always choose to use my newly acquired permit and then come back in a few months and wait two hours again. The law or my neck, which one would you want to break? (Don’t answer that!)
Life on a bike – it’s worth the challenges. You should join me – legally of course.
