LIVE TO RIDE, RIDE TO LIVE

The Biking Community Recently Lost one of its Own, and It Caused a Stir.

LIVE TO RIDE; RIDE TO LIVE

The biking community recently lost one of its own, and it caused a stir. Before anything else, rest in power, Shakzy. I deliberately waited before writing this. I didn’t want grief to turn into clout-chasing theatrics or performative outrage. I follow quite a number of bikers across my social media platforms, but to my surprise, I didn’t know or follow Shakzy before his passing. It was only after the heart breaking news that I visited his page, and it was immediately clear he was one of those chill guys just doing his thing, living his life. There were multiple videos of the crash circulating online, which I feel should have been controlled from the start, but I won’t dwell on that. What truly hurt was scrolling through the comments. A man loses his life, and instead of empathy, many responses were cruel, some even implying that he deserved it simply because he rode a bike.

Source: iStock Photos

I won’t say this incident made me realise anything new; rather, it reminded me of the negativity outsiders direct at the biking community. We’re often labelled reckless, careless, drug peddlers, or people who don’t value their lives. Are a few guilty of some of these things? Yes, but they are far from the majority.

LIVE TO RIDE

I’ve been fortunate to interact with many bikers on a personal level, and as an aspiring biker myself, I can confidently say that most riders are regular people. People with 9–5 jobs, people running businesses, people showing up for life Monday through Friday. Then, when the weekend comes, they ride not to escape life, but to detox from it.

Source: InLandTown

Accidents happen in every lifestyle. We see those involving cars, athletes, celebrities and yet rarely do we blame the entire community involved. What happened to Shakzy was merely a freak accident, you can look that up. Motor vehicle accidents claim lives every day, but I don't hear people say stop driving or riding in cars. So why is it different when the victim is a biker? Shakzy was a skilled rider, I mean he rode a BMW S1000RR and those aren’t bikes you simply “wake up and ride.” Something went wrong, unfortunately and unlike airplanes, there are no black boxes on bikes to tell us exactly what happened afterward.

Source: Pexels Photo

That night, cold and quiet, I asked myself a question I’d never asked so directly before: Why do I still want to ride after seeing this?

RIDE TO LIVE

Despite all the negativity surrounding biking, the answer came to me clearly, FREEDOM. Freedom might sound vague, so let me explain. For me, freedom looks like a brutally busy week in the Emergency Room saving lives, running on little sleep and feeling burnt out. Then Saturday morning comes. I gear up, ride solo or with a group, clear my head, and mentally prepare myself for the week ahead. For many riders, this is reality. That sense of freedom takes different forms. It could be an accountant dealing with difficult clients all week, a lawyer drowning in court cases, or a businessman recovering from losses. After equally stressful weeks, freedom looks like a ride within or beyond their city, with the wind in their face and problems slowly fading under the sound of the engine.

Source: CS-Stance

Some people spend weekends engaging in frivolous activities, while we ride. Yet somehow, we’re labelled the bad guys. One of my idols, Paul Walker, once said, “If one day speed kills me, don’t cry because I was smiling.” It’s not about glorifying death, it’s about choosing a life that feels alive. I believe Shakzy passed doing something he loved. We all pray for long life, but many people walk this earth as part of the living dead cast. Bikers, however, are awake, present, intentional, and fully living. At the end of the day, the message is simple; the negativity around the biking community needs to stop. If you have nothing kind to say, silence will do and at the very least, pray for us. Biking is more than an adrenaline rush. For many, it’s therapy. May the soul of Shakzy, Onifoto and all fallen riders, rest in perfect peace. Amen

Source: RideApart

Writer – Adeniran Ebunmide (TurboNerdz)