By DAVE HAMRICK
Editor-at-large

If there is anything more graceful than a well-balanced, well-ridden motorcycle slaloming its way over winding mountain roads, it's 50 motorcycles leaning first left and then right with precision approaching that of a synchronized swim team.

The year 2000 thus far has proved to be a busy one for me. I haven't had a finger to scratch with on either hand.

But I managed to grab a long weekend and head for the mountains, and among the other pleasures such a getaway affords, north Georgia was blanketed with bikers of all descriptions.

It's been years since I owned a bike. My old Honda 500 gave up the ghost back in the `80s. After that, there were other fish to fry and I just haven't managed to get back in the saddle.

Watching the passing ballet as I drove the mountain roads this weekend reminded me how much I enjoyed biking.

Not that it's for everyone. If you worry that your loved ones who ride motorcycles are in greater danger than they would be in cars, you are absolutely right.

Mike Traynor, who was my motorcycle mentor back in the days when I used to ride (last I heard from him he was traveling the country organizing clones of the Ride for Kids charity ride), gave me a piece of advice that I'm sure saved my life more than once. “Never forget that when you are on your bike you are invisible to all the four-wheelers. I don't care if you're wearing red coveralls, are running flood lights and have a naked blonde on the handlebars, they don't see you.”

I soon learned he was right. My first bike was a tiny little 100CC thing, and I had the audacity to take it out on the expressway. I looked into that little circular rearview mirror and all I saw was an M. So I sat up and looked over my shoulder to read the rest of the word — Mac. I was about to join the rest of the bugs on this trucker's grill.

Over time, though, I learned that truckers usually didn't pose a problem, and often helped me out of jams. And bikers really love drafting behind the big rigs in cold weather.

It's mostly four-wheelers who see a blank spot in the traffic instead of the motorcyclist who actually is there. People just don't pay attention. I shudder to think what it's like now, with the proliferation of the cellular phone.

Of course, bikers can be their own worst enemies. Several younger ones, apparently unsatisfied with their lives here on earth, took advantage of their bikes' small size and extra acceleration to go zipping around me on curves this weekend. A couple even passed with cars coming the other direction, counting on me and the other driver to give extra room so they could squeeze through.

I've seen and heard of more than a few riders who were turned into hood ornaments doing stunts like that.

But I know most of you bikers out there aren't like that. You use your heads and follow safe rules of the road, you're courteous to other riders and four-wheelers alike, you go on all kinds of volunteer rides to raise money for charity, and you're pretty much a friendly bunch.

That's one of the things I miss. If you pay attention, you'll notice when you see two bikers pass each other they wave. No matter if the one rides a Harley and looks like a Hell's Angel and the other is on a rice burner (any motorcycle made in Japan) and wearing a three-piece suit, the wind in their faces and the bugs in their teeth are something they have in common.

You may see the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet, but you see it from inside an enclosure. On a bike, you smell it, too. There's nothing to compare with riding past a field of honeysuckles on a warm summer evening.

You feel every change in atmosphere, and if you don't go in for loud engines, you hear a lot as well. You get the whole experience.

I'm sure some of you bicycle enthusiasts out there are thinking that the experience is even more rewarding without the noise of the engine, and I'm sure you're right (though for many the “motor” in motorcycle is at least half of the fun). There are different types of attraction to both activities, and to each his own — or do both if you like.

On a beautiful day, on the road is a great place to be. Let's all try to get along and share it, shall we?

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