How bikers greet, ride and remember their friends

Nobody taught you this. It is just the custom. In some countries it is an outstretched hand, in others two fingers, but the meaning is the same: "I see you, we are on the same road."

Motorcyclists have many such small rules. If someone is standing on the shoulder with a broken motorcycle and a phone in hand, riding past feels awkward. People stop and ask if help is needed. Many hang a small bell on the motorcycle. They say it drives off the evil spirits of the road that cling to the frame. You do not have to believe it, but the bell rings, and riding with it is somehow more cheerful.

There are big traditions too. In spring the season opens with a group ride, and in autumn it closes the same way. Clubs gather for yearly meets, put up tents, grill meat and argue about whose motorcycle is louder. Clubs have their own patches and colours, and they wear them with pride, but by the rules: you do not put on someone else's patch.

The most moving rides are the ones held in memory of friends and well-known racers. The column moves slowly, the lights are on even in the daytime, and at the end everyone stands quietly by the memorial. Alongside them are charity rides: on those days bikers collect money or gifts for children and hospitals, and sometimes they simply give rides to kids who do not have enough joy in their lives.

That is how this unusual family lives: without loud words, with a raised hand on the road and a cup of hot tea at the stop.