POSSE MANAGEMENT WELCOMES YOU TO TJHAYNES.COM

Following Joe Sanders

A Riders Story

               While conducting research for my latest Read Easy-Ride Hard book about motorcycle riding, I found myself slowly traversing a stretch known as the River Road, in Comal County, Texas. Located just north of San Antonio, this winding two lane follows the shoreline of the Guadalupe River so closely that heavy rains occasionally render it impassable.   Even on the clearest of days this paved pathway discourages speeds above thirty miles per hour.  It is so scenic and lazy that memories of the very busy commercial highways that frame it to the east and west are forgotten along with most of life's other  challenges.  This day, the sky was clear, and thanks to my surrounding, so was my mind. I had made the familiar transition, from just passing through, to becoming part of my surrounding. My thoughts wondered freely as I felt the air, smelled the river and my eyes soaked in the details of the world around me. As every rider knows, you can't control what pops into your head during those times. On this day, I wandered who would build such a road. I promised myself I would find out and later did a little studying. What I discovered blew my mind.

               Before I tell what I learned, you should know that I have been riding motorcycles since I was a young boy. I have also been a member of The American Legion for thirty-eight years. As you might expect, when the American Legion started a group called The American Legion Riders, I joined.  True to the tradition of the organization, our group spends thousands of hours each year supporting our military, veterans and their families as well as untold hundreds of community projects. When my local group  happens to have a free week end, they often head out to the Hill Country together, often traveling the back roads of Comal County, including the River Road. We all feel a special connection to the area. But I admit I didn't realize how connected we were until I started researching the origin of those roads.

               After a relatively fruitless search of government records, I stumbled on a book titled "Hill Country Back Roads: Showing the Way in Comal County by Laurie E. Janiski. In it she tells the story of her grandfather Joe Sanders, his love of adventure and extraordinary sense of individual obligation to his community. A veteran of WWI, he loved the challenge of driving in Comal County-it was a true adventure back then. Most roads were nothing more than worn dirt paths and there were no signs or maps. A cold patch tire repair kit was standard equipment. One day while on one of his regular exploring adventures, which often included giving directions to lost travelers, an idea popped into his head. Maybe road signs would help prevent people from getting lost. As a laborer, he did not have personal wealth to finance his idea, so he turned to his friends in American Legion Comal Post 179 and their Auxiliary for help.

               Under Joe's leadership, they began making and placing road signs on all the back roads in Comal County, including the River Road. It was no small task as most of the area was on rock formations, discouraging the placement of sign posts. Joe also researched and created the first map of the county's roads, which was published by American Legion Post 179 in 1933. Since vandalism and weather would take a toll on their homemade signs, Legionnaire/citizen Joe Sanders took it upon himself to repair or replace damaged signs. He also kept maps up to date, which The American Legion continued to publish. This was not a business venture, it was a volunteer community service and Joe Sanders kept doing it for over three decades, until government entities finally took over responsibility.

               Imagine spending your days off, hand making signs, traveling roads (many of which were not paved), blasting rock and digging post holes-for thirty years; Just so others could find their way around the county.  Except for his granddaughters book, and recognition as a Past Commander of Comal American Legion Post 179, you won't find his name in history. You can't google him and find great patriotic speeches. There are no statues in his honor. Yet he was a true leader. The kind that made America great, one community at a time. Like the contributions of so many others, his story is one of quiet service. He did not seek fame or fortune, content to become a single strand in the fabric of our nation. His story is so tightly woven with others in our history that we can easily lose sight of it.

Ironically, in a free nation like ours, even if we forget the giver, the gift remains. It's simply relegated to the unholy status of entitlement. But, it's not healthy to take anything for granted while riding a motorcycle. So if you want to ride the River Road in Comal County, Texas, I recommend you wear the emblem of The American Legion and follow Joe Sanders. I guarantee you won't get lost.  /tj

WOOPS- I DIDN’T SEE YOU

We have all made mistakes while driving. So when we encounter those woops moments we tend to wave at each other and move on. Some mistakes, like drunk driving or running a red light are not forgivable and we wouldn’t think of waving at each other in those circumstances. Most of the time it’s pretty easy to figure out the difference between a woops mistake and a real bad one so knowing when to wave isn’t that difficult. But there seems to be a communication problem between motorcyclists and car drivers on cell phones.

Motorcycle riders see car drivers on cell phones make mistakes every day. They see the same expression of surprise the moment they discover they have wandered into a rider’s path. Sometimes their lips move- “I’ll call you back“- if the driver is shocked enough to hang up. Others just keep talking and take both hands off the wheel so they can do the right thing and give a desperately friendly wave as if to say- Woops sorry.

The car driver always speeds away thinking they have appropriately waved off the encounter, but the truth is they made matters worse, Not only did they almost kill the motorcyclist, they insulted them too. Those are not woops moments to a rider.

I am not writing this for those of you who believe social contact is required to keep vehicles in motion. Your obsession for self makes it unlikely you will adjust your habits because of my words. You probably don’t have time to wave anyway.  Most likely, you will require fines or a significant emotional event to change your ways.  

I am writing to the other drivers. You know who you are. You let other people in when traffic is backed up and wouldn’t consider tailgating or weaving in and out of traffic at seventy miles an hour. You know a yellow light means slow down and can probably count the number of traffic tickets you’ve received in your life on one hand. You are a lot like me.

You know texting or talking on the phone while driving is dangerous, so you don’t do it-much.  It wouldn’t bother you if the government passed a law that banned such things. You almost wish they would, but on the other hand you really don’t like it when government tells you what to do. Me neither.

Here’s the problem. No. Here’s our problem. Our families and friends are dying because of our benign neglect. Thanks to us there is now an entire generation on the road that believes texting and talking on cell phones in traffic at full highway speed is normal-that the driving mistakes they make are just woops moments.  I know what you’re thinking- it’s not my fault. Yes it is.

We are waiting for government to tell us not to do what we already know is wrong. The problem for motorcycle riders is that this deadly threat transcends politics, personalities, vehicle engineering, highway safety planning, or any other manageable factor. The challenge is with the physical and mental limitations of humans.

On a clear day, with no visual obstructions an alert car driver may be able to see a motorcycle rider. They probably won’t be able to judge the motorcycle’s speed or how far away it is, but they will know something is out there. You see, our eyes and minds are trained to look for other cars and trucks not small things. We are reminded of that every time we see a dead animal on the road.

Unlike animals crossing our path, it is possible to see motorcycles if we aren’t distracted. But under normal conditions there is other traffic and our vision is impaired by blind spots built into our vehicles. Nature also provides fog, rain, glaring sun, dark nights, dust and wind to the mix. Add construction zones with all the activity, pot holes, falling rocks, and a sundry of other hazards and there is little chance we will ever drive without distractions. Add texting or talking on a cell phone and there is no chance at all- none-zip-zero- that we will see every motorcycle.

It’s not that motorcycle riding isn’t already dangerous. Of course it is. Riders know they assume a certain amount of risk when they ride on two wheels. They know that they don’t have bumpers and side panels to protect them. But I had a friend tell me lately that since I choose to ride, it was my fault if I got hurt. That’s like telling someone who carries a wallet it’s their fault if they get robbed. Smart motorcyclists know how to limit their risk. They also know that the danger of riding isn’t all bad. Most riders will explain the adrenaline motorcycle riding produces keeps them alert and makes them feel aware and a part of their surroundings. Frequently, students I have coached as new riders return to tell me they are surprised that they not only learned to ride a motorcycle, they became better car drivers.

Car driving is dangerous too and becoming more so, because we are bored with the experience. It wasn’t always that way, but advertisers understand how we’ve changed. That’s why commercials with songs like See the U.S.A in a Chevrolet have been replaced by the scenes and sounds of crashing dummies. We no longer drive cars to discover the world around us, but to escape it. Our view of cars has evolved from transportation to transport-al la Star Trek. Since we can’t yet get from here to there as fast as they do in the movies, we create distractions to pass the time. We know these distractions are dangerous, but hey-now that we know the crash rating of our vehicles- its okay.

Therein lays a rub between motorcycle riders and car drivers. Boredom and distractions are not luxuries motorcyclists can afford; their own or others on the road. Despite the advertising, they know if a car driver hits them, it won’t matter what the vehicle’s crash rating is. Vehicle safety features are designed to save people inside the car, not the motorcycle rider they hit. So when a car driver makes the decision to text or carry on a phone conversation while on the road, they are either not thinking about motorcycle riders, or don’t care. It doesn’t matter which, the results are the same.

I have asked a lot of people, some of them experts, for ideas on how to get people to volunteer to quit using cell phones while driving. The answer is almost always the same- “It ain’t going to happen.” They are probably right. But I refuse to take the easy way out and be sucked into the life of a cynic. I care about other people, especially motorcyclists, so I’m not going to wait for the government to force me to do what I know is right. It may not be popular and it certainly won’t be easy, but starting today I will never use a cell phone while driving a car again. Care to join me?

If your answer is yes, you probably remember when there was a phone booth on almost every corner. They are gone now, but the space is still there. Why not use it? Why not teach our children and grandchildren to use it, instead of teaching them to drive dangerously wrong? It could save their lives.

If you are among those who think it is worth the risk or you just don’t care, keep doing what you’re doing. After all, despite your selfish ways, this is still a free country. But let’s get one thing straight. Your driving mistakes while on a cell phone are not woops moments. Quit insulting motorcycle riders with those stupid little friendly waves. You are not our friend, it’s not okay and you are an idiot. Woops.

tj