I have two ‘hobbies’ that have taken over my life these days: running and motorcycling. They are not for me simply hobbies; they are a lifestyle choice, although they don’t really go together very typically, do they? Speaking of being atypical, I witnessed two events this past weekend which highlight how people can act contrary to their expected character. This will provide me an opportunity to lecture. Sounds like fun? Read on…
On Saturday, my family and I made our annual pilgrimage to Sculpture By The Sea. This is a wonderful event! One walks from Tamarama Beach to Bondi Beach —along the beach, beside the water and along the cliff-face— enjoy the 100+ works of art magically and mysteriously placed along the way. The art blends into the environment such that the environment itself is part of the art piece. But I digress…
Anyway, as this is a public exhibit, the walk from Tamarama to Bondi is along a public walkway, shared normally with runners. With the thousands who, like my family and I, flock to this event, running the walkway is next to impossible. That did not, of course, stop local runners from attempting this idiocy. A couple of cyclists even attempted to push their way through!
We could attribute this ridiculous behaviour to locals annoyed at the invasion of their territory. Nevertheless, I could not help but be saddened at the damage being done to the cause of running-as-fun-and-exercise by these thoughtless runners trying to make a point. Go to another location! In fact, why not come over to Bankstown and run with the Westies? We’d be glad to have any extra runners during the November sculpture season.
Is that the kind of behaviour you’d expect from a runner? I would have thought not, given as I run with the oh-so-polite Westies. How about this: Would you expect a biker to stop and help a car driver? “That’s not gonna happen!” I can almost hear you thinking out loud, but you’d be wrong.
This past Sunday, I pulled up to a major intersection in Bankstown, enjoying the beautiful riding weather. The traffic light ahead of me turned green in favour of those turning across my path. Fair enough. I waited with the other cars ahead of me.
But then I noticed that the driver of the lead car was pushing his car across the intersection. Clearly, he must have stalled his vehicle and was trying to quickly get out of the way. His being in the way would not have gone well for him, as that would be the wrong intersection to stall in the middle of.
A motorcyclist was the lead vehicle of the traffic on the street this man was pushing his car into. Surprisingly, the biker got off his bike and helped to push the car out of the way. As I moved into the intersection, to go along my merry way, I thought of how unexpectedly nice that biker had been … well, not really unexpected to me because I know that bikers are good mates and help out when others are in trouble, even if those “others” are car drivers. I hoped that the stereotypes of the car drivers watching were changed for the good by the example of this biker.
We can never, and should never, judge a book by its cover, nor a biker by his leather, nor a runner by his sweat! Any one of us can be an a****** sometimes and we can also be downright good citizens when the opportunity arises. My bruthas! The second greatest commandment of God is “Love your neighbour as yourself”. So do us all a favour and be a good neighbour! In so doing, you will lift up the attitudes of others toward runners and toward bikers and may even draw closer to the heart of God.
