Closely Observed Riders

A beautiful spring afternoon in Key West and there I was with the car, picking up a dog for a friend and with nowhere particular to be, so I pulled out the camera on South Roosevelt Boulevard:The great avalanche of Harleys is only rarely interrupted by the odd Honda Goldwing or a gaggle of "serious cruisers" riding BMW motorcycles equipped as though they were on an Andean expedition. Sometimes people rumble into town on three wheelers:Of course it wouldn't be Key West without a few scooters and owing to the fact that I had positioned myself on South Roosevelt most of them were rentals as far as I could tell:Scooter rentals come in gaggles too:At least this lot wasn't honking their horns in the usual obnoxious manner. Youngsters like to look cool on their rides:Others ride with their Dads and they wear helmets:The only other helmet I saw that afternoon was covering this gent's noggin, who appeared to be seeking out the Khyber Pass in his colonial topee, rather than simply taking a constitutional under the Florida sun:This dude was wearing a cool beanie as he passed Rescue Three on the inside:I know a lot of people get their knickers in a twist over All The Gear All The Time, especially new riders, but in Florida anyone 21 years of age or older who has medical insurance can ride without a helmet so lots of people puttering around town do their thing helmet free:This guy was riding his sport bike most nonchalantly with only one hand, probably because he is human and finds the crouched riding position of a sport bike tiring. It amazes new riders that motorcycles can be ridden with one hand only. But there you are, helmet-less one handed and enjoying the afternoon, and I don't want to hear it from the peanut gallery thank you. Snow bound Canadians need to remember we can only afford to bailout banks in the US. Single payer health care is too expensive, so we recover from motorcycle wrecks with bake sales and bankruptcy:Well they are riding bicycles, it's true, but bicycle helmets are rare as hen's teeth in Key West, usually only seen on visitors. I have no idea why.I have been reading about the excessively long winter with snow and all that stuff. Personally I have no idea why there isn't a line out the door of people heading south with resumes in hand, but I am told some people enjoy different seasons. I do too, pretty soon we'll be in rainy season which transmogrifies into hurricane season and then into snowbird season and so on. Instead of wondering if you can ride on snow you could be chatting up a neighbor on the seawall overlooking the Straits of Florida:Or riding your scooter in shirt sleeves:Or hauling your wife around in shirt sleeves:And yes I know there are sandals visible on some feet in the picture. I remember reading on a scooter forum once about someone considering a trip to key West but she decided not to come because she thought she would look stupid dressed up in ATGATT (all the gear etc...) which is silly because no one cares what you wear. I even end up on Duval Street after my commute sometimes in my jacket and helmet and stuff and so what?There are other ways of getting around that can be classified as unsafe. Running your boat aground is a pain and can be expensive. How this flush decked sailboat drifted into the shallows I don't know- a sleepy captain or a dragging anchor are likely culprits- but the owner of the casino boat at that has broken loose repeatedly around the harbor may get landed with an $84,000 fine to pay for the removal of his errant boat. This boat may be lucky if there's a high enough tide making an expensive tow unnecessary:If you're a risk taker you can trying getting around on foot but that didn't work for me too well when I tripped and scabbed my knee a few weeks ago and which only now has almost healed...Failing that there are electric cars, the cute kind:Or the more mundane, if slightly more dignified kind of electric car: I was contemplating the beauty of the water glistening in the Straits of Florida when my reverie was rudely interrupted by more people having fun, and they too were helmetless I might add:Just like this guy still cruising his sport bike......or this woman with that magnificent back drop:Better that than bottled up and bored in a car:I guess that fact that I was driving the Nissan made me a little sensitive to all the people out having fun on two wheels.