Many years ago, on a cold December night, a crusty old biker
was returning from a trip to Mexico with his saddlebags filled with toys
and other assorted trinkets for the kids at a group home near where he
worked.
As he rode along that night thinking how lucky he had
been in life, having a loving riding partner that understood his need to
roam the highways and to his trusty old pan that hadn’t let him down
once in the many years they had shared the road together.
Well
about 40 miles north of the border, in the high desert, lurked a small
group of notorious little critters known as road gremlins. You know, the
ones who always leave little obstacles like, one shoe, boards, and
pieces of old tires on the road, and also dig those dreaded potholes for
bikers to run over and crash, thus giving the road gremlins a chance to
rejoice over their acts of evil.
Well, as the lone wolf of a
biker rounded a curve that moonlit night, the gremlins ambushed him,
causing him to crash to the asphalt and skid before coming to a stop
next to one of his saddlebags that had broken free. As he lay there,
unable to move, the road gremlins made their way towards him. Well, this
biker, not being one to give up, started throwing things at the
gremlins as they approached him. Finally, with nothing else to throw but
a bell, he started ringing it in hopes to scare off the dirty little
gremlins.
About a half a mile away, camped in the desert, were
two bikers sitting around the campfire talking about their day’s ride,
and the freedom of the wind blowing in their faces as they rode across
this vast country. In the stillness of the night air they heard what
sounded to them like church bells ringing, and upon investigating, found
the old biker lying along the roadside with the gremlins about to get
him. Needless to say, being part of the biker brotherhood, they preceded
to ward off the gremlins until the last ran off into the night.
Being
grateful to the two bikers, the old road dog offered to pay them for
their help, but as all true bikers do, they refused to accept any type
of payment from him. Not being one to let a good deed go unnoticed, the
old biker cut two pieces of leather from his saddlebags tassels and tied
a bell to each one. He then placed them on each of the biker’s
motorcycles, as near to the ground as possible. The tired, old road
warrior then told the two travelers that with those bells placed on
their bikes, they would be protected from the road gremlins and that if
ever in trouble, just ring the bell and a fellow biker will come to
their aid.
So, whenever you see a biker with a bell, you know
that he has been blessed with the most important thing in
life—friendship from a fellow biker.
Many
of us have heard the story about Evil Road Spirits. They are little
gremlins that live on your bike. They love to ride, and they’re also
responsible for most of your bike’s problems. Sometimes your turn
signals refuse to work; your battery goes dead, the clutch needs
adjustment, or any of several hundred things that can go wrong. These
problems are caused by Evil Road Spirits.
Evil Road Spirits can’t
live in the presence of the bell, because they get trapped in the
hollow of the bell. Among other things, their hearing is supersensitive,
so the constant ringing of the bell and the confined space drives them
insane. They lose their grip and eventually fall to the roadway. Have
you ever wondered how potholes are formed? The bell has served its
purpose.
If you pick up a Guardian® Bell of your own, the magic
will work, but if your bell is given to you, the power is doubled, and
you know that somewhere you have a special friend helping to look after
you.
So, if you have a friend who doesn’t have a bell, why not
give them one? It’s a nice feeling for the recipient to know you care.
The bell, plus a good preventive maintenance program by the bikes owner,
will help eliminate Evil Road Spirits. Polishing the Guardian® Bell
It
has been a tradition among some of us for a long time to attach a brass
bell to our left swing arm, to remember our brothers and sisters who
have gone down riding.
It’s a small thing, but the reason a brass
bell is chosen is that, as we ride, it gets dirty and tarnished. Every
time we get down to wash and polish it, we are reminded of friends lost,
and our thoughts turn to the meaning of being in the wind.
As we
ride and hear the bell ring, we know that our brothers and sisters are
riding with us, and how easy it would be to join them with a single
mistake.
And maybe, just maybe, the next time a situation comes
up; they will be there to help us...as long as we remember them by
polishing the bell.
Comments
I have been looking for proper etiquette on the bells. Would having one on a side by side be appropriate? Thank you for any help.
Yet, there’s no denying it: Unless you plan to ride exclusively around the Southern United States, you’ll face some chilly winters. And even before it...
