Being invisible

Any motorcyclist will tell you this but it took experience for me to really understand and come to terms with this phenomenon. I am invisible. 


My invisibility is not random. It's also not an every day affliction. It only affects me when I am riding my motorcycle. It's true. A car driver can be behind me for many miles, pass right by me, and yet not see me when he/she decides to switch lanes. Like it happened this week on my way back from New Orleans. Good thing there was enough shoulder at that particular section of road. If we had been on the Atchafalaya Basin bridge, I would have become a Rorschach test on the concrete barrier.


As much enjoyment as I get from riding, it is now always tempered by the certainty that every time I throw a leg over the saddle, I have to become hyper-aware of everyone else around me. Does it take the enjoyment out of riding? No. But it does make me aware that, regardless of who is at fault, I will be the one hurt in an accident. Therefore, I order for me to have as many riding days as possible through my lifetime, I absolutely must make sure I do not remain invisible. Easier said than done.


Over the past year, with the invisibility issue lurking in my mind, I've been looking at motorcycles in terms of safety and have noticed that the coolest-looking bikes are invariably in dark colors. Let's be honest: a canary yellow cruiser is just not that appealing and will not sell as well as the jet-black model.


Another problem I've seen is that motorcycle apparel comes in colors to rival an invisibility cloak. Black seems to be the standard. Yes, bright colors are available. But I rarely see anything other than black in stores. Also, I bought my gear before I became aware of the invisibility affliction. I have mostly black gear, which matches my black bike.


Well, after giving this matter much thought, I've come up with several options:

1. continue wearing black, until a distracted driver abruptly re-colors my wardrobe to include a large portion of deep red
2. take out a loan to buy a new, canary yellow bike and all new, neon-bright gear
3. stop riding my motorcycle.... HAHAHAHA!!!!! Yeah, I know that's not really an option.
4. wear a bright, kapok-orange or neon-yellow safety vest over my jacket and add reflective tape to every available surface on my helmet and bike and looked like a geek

Well, coolness be darned! I'll take number 4... Until I save enough for a new Suzuki V-Strom 650. The 2012 model comes in a very visible orange! I wonder if I can get the helmet to match...