Motorcyclists Preparing For Warmer Weather

Paul Rogers, the owner of Brookside Motorcycle, knows about spring fever.

"Everybody's got spring-fever, everybody wants to get their motorcycle out, go out and enjoy the weather a little bit," said Rogers.

Rogers can't resist riding a bike on the first warm days of the season. But he is aware of the dangers of getting back on a bike.

"There have already been a couple of accidents this spring, one of them was a just real good friend of mine, somebody just wasn't watching, was on their cell phone and pulled out right in front of him. After the winter the drivers are not going to be in that mode to where they've been around motorcycles and they're used to it, because the bikes are mostly gone during the winter. One thing you do have to watch out for is all the sand on the road," said Rogers.

Put out during the winter months, sand can be a hazard to motorcyclists until cleaned up in spring.

Alan Beckert loves to ride his 1976 BMW on nice days, but is ever vigilant for hazards.

"Every time it gets above 50 I take it out, get the battery charged up. It's like flying, I try not to ride in the city too much, rather be out on the country roads. Seems awful dangerous in town, I see a lot of people on cell phones and smoking and talking and doing stuff they should not be doing in the cars and they're not paying attention," said Beckert.

After years on the road, Rogers has some advice for his fellow bikers.

"Be aware of the cars around you and always have an escape path. Try not to drive in somebody's blind spot, try to drive a little faster or a little slower than the flow of traffic. Just think if a car pulls up this way what would be my escape path?  If you can make eye contact through your helmet, through the rearview mirror to the driver, that's always good too," said Rogers.

Beckert has advice for the cars.

"Everyone out there needs to look out for these motorcycles. We're not real visible to a lot of people, but you've got to pay attention, we're there," said Beckert.

By Chris Howell, Video Journalist. Find more of his stories in our Web Exclusives section.