Motorcycle Gang
Spring is pushing through Seoul’s wintry chill with more and more persistence. Yesterday, I squeegeed off the plastic chairs on our balcony and enjoyed the mild afternoon with my feet up on the railing. Adam took the heavy foam hand-warmers off of the motorcycle handles, and today we rode comfortably through the city to our various voice-over jobs with the wind in our faces.
Riding a motorcycle in the city is a much different animal from riding up in the countryside where we lived last Spring. Mind you, I’m not driving, just riding, but it’s like a high-action video game or maybe a roller coaster.
Motorcycles (”Auto-bi” in Konglish) and scooters are to Seoul what I hear bicycles are to New York City. Delivery men and messengers whip and weave between the car traffic with freedom and ease. 20-somethings in their vespa-esque scooters coast by with Stevie Wonder blaring from the dash, weaving up onto the side-walk to skirt a car turning in front of them. Scraggly old men, “Ajushis”, with knee pads, reinforced leather armor, and road-worn stallions lug silver cases of food-delivery as they drive one-handed and coast through red-lights. Other Ajushis, more weathered yet, speed along perilously close to the curb with only a force-field of invincibility keeping them from grazing the cars lined up millimeters away– while the rear of their bikes are rigged with crates piled a meter high with odds and ends bound to be delivered somewhere (on time, to be sure).
In short, Seoul’s traffic laws apparently do not apply to those on two wheels. The thing I enjoy the most about riding with Adam is the feeling that I’m in a motorcycle gang. In heavy traffic, all of these two-wheeled riff-raff emerge from backed-up traffic to wait in front at every red light, together. Then, as the light turns, we take off down the empty road ahead, leaving the cars and their gridlock in our dust.
It sounds dangerous, and it is. But Adam has been driving very well, keeping alert and defensive, knowing in the back of his mind that everyone on the road is trying to kill him. And, of course, he’s picked up a lot of driving skills from the Ajushis.
-Jessica
