We've all encountered the self-centered, egotistical person who only wants to talk about themselves. They can expound ad infinitum about their latest exploits and accomplishments. They love to brag in great detail about the things that are important to them. They also have an uncanny ability to quickly redirect the conversation back to themselves if someone tries to change the subject.

If they are challenged about their domination of the discussion, they often shrug it off with an attitude that implies, 'It is all about me. Deal with it.' I even overheard one guy tell his date (first date I assume) 'I'm tired of talking about me; let's talk about you. What do you think about me?' I would expect such boorish behavior rarely results in getting a second date.

"The 'It's all about me' attitude is just the perfect attitude for riding

While an 'It's all about me' attitude may not go well in personal relationships, it's just the perfect attitude for riding. Riding a motorcycle is very much a 'me' thing. We can't ride with any level of comfort because someone else wants us to ride. We can only ride well if we're doing it because we want to ride. But the 'me' attitude also applies to how we ride in traffic.

There so many things that we encounter as we ride that are beyond our control. We have no power over the condition of the road or what we might find on it. We are not in command of what others do on the road. And it's clear we have no jurisdiction over the weather.

That's why we have to keep ourselves dry and comfortable in the rain and cool, yet protected, in warmer temperatures. We need to take care of ourselves so we don't get dehydrated or suffer from hypothermia or heat exhaustion. We have to make sure we're well rested so we can stay sharp and alert while riding.

We must constantly evaluate our riding environment to ensure we see stray objects on the road. Scanning ahead allows us to recognize curves, hills and intersections well in advance as well as problems with the road surface itself. We need to do this because it's all about us and we want to keep us upright and moving forward.

We also have to realize that we can't control other drivers any more than we can the weather or road conditions. Because the actions of others in traffic can greatly affect our ride, we must ride with a 'me' attitude. Identifying what drivers might do and how we'll handle it to keep ourselves safe is all about 'us.' We have to focus on what we can do to ensure we have an enjoyable ride.

Keeping ourselves alert to our continuously changing environment and thinking about what we are going to do to reduce the risks we face is very much a 'me' thing. Positioning ourselves on the road so that we can see and be seen is another means of protecting ourselves.

The 'me' attitude of riding isn't about how important we are and trying to push others around. It is all about caring for ourselves and doing everything we can to keep us alive and well so we can enjoy another ride. Riding is all about me.

Ride Smart! Ride Safe!