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I had an experience today on the way home from work that reminded me how much more we riders have to pay attention.  I was cruising along a two-lane road that is riddled with such great things as open-range cows and potholes galore.  Add to that transportation of those with much lesser (off the grid) means like those hauling their potable water (with trucks too small and tanks too big) to there trailer in the desert w/o power in many cases. 

To make a long story only slightly longer, I saw the car some one hundred yards ahead of me swerve amidst a green cloud while passing by an on-coming pickup truck.  Well, the owner of the pickup dropped two full hay bales right into our lane….and kept going.  I find it difficult to believe that it went un-noticed given the weight of each hay bale.  Oh yeah, I also pulled onto the shoulder and flashed the guy.  He knew.

The car in front of me was actually a Ford Ranger and he hit the first hay bale with the front end of his truck.  I couldn’t help but think of this situation with the on-coming person being on a motorcycle.  Given the gas prices, a lot of people are commuting by two wheels including this road.

Ironically enough, a friend of mine was taken out by following a truck with hay bales on a highway.  One of them came off the truck, hit him, and totaled his bike.  He was banged up a little too, but again, the guy in the truck didn’t stop.

I am learning very quickly to trust nothing that is in front of me.  I’m not an alarmist, but over the last couple of years, I have become a little cynical about my surroundings.  Whether is the ass-hat from above, the open range cows walking out on the roads, or people simply being stupid, usually the guy on the bike loses.  Bad.