Some, are easy to understand. The "I used to ride ... " followed by some questions about the trip.
But often it's just people. They see you, especially when you're on your own, and they want to chat with you.
Here, in Rainbow, I got to talk to a guy who was fly fishing with his grand-son. Nice guy, I honestly don't even remember that much about what else we talked about, but just the fact that it was great to talk to him.
And as I wrote this, it occurred to me that I should really try to make a little project out of the people I meet. Like a portrait project. Because today, I have only my memories, which are going to fade over time.
The reason I even mentioned the above interaction, is because 3 years ago (or is it 4 now?) I stopped at the same store and had a nice chat with a guy who rides an SV650 in California. At least, he did then. And there are many other places we've stopped and met people who were great.
Even after some 'quicker' passes, they are typically friendly. This year I passed a couple in a Miata (who were going too damn slow) and they happened to pull into the lookout Jerry and I had stopped at some time later.
Actually it was right after we took this photo
And they came up, smiling, and said "man you flew past us". Turns out, she just got started riding a 250 Honda Rebel but he sticks to driving his Miata. We had a nice chat. It reminded both Jerry and I of the woman who came up to us after we had a somewhat spirited ride up Windy Ride and said "I know what you were doing with your knees on the ground, I watch motorcycle racing on TV". Which I have to admit, was a pretty cool thing to hear.
The truth is, most people are just nicer than you might give them credit for. Especially in small doses ... and as long as you wave 'thanks' to them after you pass them and maybe start with "Hope I didn't scare you back there ... " ;)
Or maybe they are just living vicariously through you for just a few minutes, perhaps wishing it was them out there on the bike.
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