Motorcycle thoughts
Posted 09-18-2008 at 03:28 PM by Driftertank
These are a couple of blogs I originally posted on Myspace. I thought They really are a little more appropriate here.
--Sunday, April 22, 2007
The joy, the pleasure, the sadness...
I've been riding with some new people lately. Last weekend, Jake, Mo, Fabian, and myself went out for a nice jaunt. Everything went nicely until we hit the south wenas. I was leading, and made better time than anyone else, and, as is our rule, I stopped at the junction before changing routes. After a few minutes without seeing anyone else, however, I got worried and started heading back, hoping that the others had gotten lost, or found a different road. But soon enough, i came to a corner and found a bunch of people clustered by the side of the road, a bike on it's side in the ditch.
Long story short, Fabian went down when a car going the other direction encroached in his lane in a corner, forcing him into the ditch. He was unconscious, but breathing, warm, and had a good pulse. We left him as we found him until the ambulance arrived. He spent his weekend in the hospital. He cracked his hip, but not badly. His bike was beat up a bit, but still rideable. He'll be riding again soon.
The point is this: Those of us who choose to ride for the joy of riding, also must come to terms with the fact that we risk life and limb for the privelidge. No matter how good you get, how experienced, you can never fully take away the risk involved, never predict what's waiting for you around the next bend. Fabian kept saying, "I can't believe this happened to me," and, "It wasn't even my fault." I tried to tell him that you can't EVER believe that just because you don't ride stupid, you're immune from the unthinkable. When he went down, he was going less than 40mph, but he is still very lucky that he didn't become a statistic.
Motorcycling is one of the most liberating, pseudo-spiritual experiences available to mortal beings, but the potential cost is higher than many who engage in it realize. Fabian asked me, if it had been me bringing up the rear when that car crossed over, if I think I could have saved it. I told him maybe. Perhaps, with my experience and reflexes, I could have threaded the needle and kept it on the road. But then, maybe I would have stepped out and high-sided, or locked the front and washed out in front of the car. Bottom line is, Fabian wasn't the only lucky one last weekend. Every time we go out, all of us are lucky to make it home in one piece. That's why the mere act of riding is so life-affirming, and why, when we pass another cyclist on the road, we do that little wave. It's a mutual salute to a kindred spirit, a fellow warrior, braving the gauntlet the same as us.
Be safe.
--Saturday, May 05, 2007
People who are better than me
Went for a ride last monday. Met two guys in Packwood while I was eating lunch, One riding a BMW R110S, the other on a Moto Guzzi V11Sport. BS-ed awhile, then went our seperate ways.
I went West to Randle, then turned south towards Mt. St. Helens. NF-25 is a nasty, twisty, rough ribbon of poorly maintained pavement that takes you south around the vol to cougar. Being of the "slightly nuts" version, I loved cruising along in fourth gear, enjoying the view. Eventually, though, I reached a point where the road was basically impassable, and turned back down. After a few corners, I stumbled across the two guys I'd met in packwood, parked by the road and enjoying the view. I pulled up, chatted awhile, and then we all decided to head back down. Being the least experienced of us, I let them lead off, expecting a brisk but pleasant pace.
That thought went right out the window when the guy on the Bimmer pulled a snap-wheelie and tore away, the Guzzi in hot pursuit, and yours truly getting my hustle on to keep up. Long story short, the BMW rider left me for dead, and the Guzzi pilot had me pushing the limits of my comfort zone to keep up. I want to emphasize, however, that I never let the push to keep up take me outside my comfort zone. I lost sight of the Guzzi through a few blind switchbacks, unwilling to fully commit to an unfamiliar corner on a public road, but my bike's superior chassis, brakes, and stronger top-end let me rapidly eat up the distance on the turn entrances and exits.
When we reached Randle again, I thanked them for an awesome ride, and parted ways again. You see, riding with someone who pushes you just a little bit, helps you focus your mind and body, without drawing you to the point of scaring yourself, is a liberating, exhilirating experience. The trick is to recognize your own limits, and draw bakc before you get sucked in past the point of no return. That's what I try to teach the less experienced people I ride with, and that judgement ability, or lack thereof, is Why I'm so picky about who I ride with.
---Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The dance
When the road lies haphazardly over hill and dale,
Smooth and undulating as a maiden's hair-ribbon
Discarded hastily in throes of passion,
Then come we,
Humble goblins to dance and play.
Soaring through dips and bends,
As graceful acrobats prancing upon a wire.
Flesh and forgings blend
As mechanical contrivance melts away to become nerve and sinew.
Then, as one, we tickle the vary earth itself
Until her laughter joins with the howling of our steeds
In a raucous symphony of joy and fear.
And we are as spirits,
Freed of the sorrows of the flesh
Free to laugh and dance with the goddess forever.
Hope Y'all enjoy.
--Sunday, April 22, 2007
The joy, the pleasure, the sadness...
I've been riding with some new people lately. Last weekend, Jake, Mo, Fabian, and myself went out for a nice jaunt. Everything went nicely until we hit the south wenas. I was leading, and made better time than anyone else, and, as is our rule, I stopped at the junction before changing routes. After a few minutes without seeing anyone else, however, I got worried and started heading back, hoping that the others had gotten lost, or found a different road. But soon enough, i came to a corner and found a bunch of people clustered by the side of the road, a bike on it's side in the ditch.
Long story short, Fabian went down when a car going the other direction encroached in his lane in a corner, forcing him into the ditch. He was unconscious, but breathing, warm, and had a good pulse. We left him as we found him until the ambulance arrived. He spent his weekend in the hospital. He cracked his hip, but not badly. His bike was beat up a bit, but still rideable. He'll be riding again soon.
The point is this: Those of us who choose to ride for the joy of riding, also must come to terms with the fact that we risk life and limb for the privelidge. No matter how good you get, how experienced, you can never fully take away the risk involved, never predict what's waiting for you around the next bend. Fabian kept saying, "I can't believe this happened to me," and, "It wasn't even my fault." I tried to tell him that you can't EVER believe that just because you don't ride stupid, you're immune from the unthinkable. When he went down, he was going less than 40mph, but he is still very lucky that he didn't become a statistic.
Motorcycling is one of the most liberating, pseudo-spiritual experiences available to mortal beings, but the potential cost is higher than many who engage in it realize. Fabian asked me, if it had been me bringing up the rear when that car crossed over, if I think I could have saved it. I told him maybe. Perhaps, with my experience and reflexes, I could have threaded the needle and kept it on the road. But then, maybe I would have stepped out and high-sided, or locked the front and washed out in front of the car. Bottom line is, Fabian wasn't the only lucky one last weekend. Every time we go out, all of us are lucky to make it home in one piece. That's why the mere act of riding is so life-affirming, and why, when we pass another cyclist on the road, we do that little wave. It's a mutual salute to a kindred spirit, a fellow warrior, braving the gauntlet the same as us.
Be safe.
--Saturday, May 05, 2007
People who are better than me
Went for a ride last monday. Met two guys in Packwood while I was eating lunch, One riding a BMW R110S, the other on a Moto Guzzi V11Sport. BS-ed awhile, then went our seperate ways.
I went West to Randle, then turned south towards Mt. St. Helens. NF-25 is a nasty, twisty, rough ribbon of poorly maintained pavement that takes you south around the vol to cougar. Being of the "slightly nuts" version, I loved cruising along in fourth gear, enjoying the view. Eventually, though, I reached a point where the road was basically impassable, and turned back down. After a few corners, I stumbled across the two guys I'd met in packwood, parked by the road and enjoying the view. I pulled up, chatted awhile, and then we all decided to head back down. Being the least experienced of us, I let them lead off, expecting a brisk but pleasant pace.
That thought went right out the window when the guy on the Bimmer pulled a snap-wheelie and tore away, the Guzzi in hot pursuit, and yours truly getting my hustle on to keep up. Long story short, the BMW rider left me for dead, and the Guzzi pilot had me pushing the limits of my comfort zone to keep up. I want to emphasize, however, that I never let the push to keep up take me outside my comfort zone. I lost sight of the Guzzi through a few blind switchbacks, unwilling to fully commit to an unfamiliar corner on a public road, but my bike's superior chassis, brakes, and stronger top-end let me rapidly eat up the distance on the turn entrances and exits.
When we reached Randle again, I thanked them for an awesome ride, and parted ways again. You see, riding with someone who pushes you just a little bit, helps you focus your mind and body, without drawing you to the point of scaring yourself, is a liberating, exhilirating experience. The trick is to recognize your own limits, and draw bakc before you get sucked in past the point of no return. That's what I try to teach the less experienced people I ride with, and that judgement ability, or lack thereof, is Why I'm so picky about who I ride with.
---Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The dance
When the road lies haphazardly over hill and dale,
Smooth and undulating as a maiden's hair-ribbon
Discarded hastily in throes of passion,
Then come we,
Humble goblins to dance and play.
Soaring through dips and bends,
As graceful acrobats prancing upon a wire.
Flesh and forgings blend
As mechanical contrivance melts away to become nerve and sinew.
Then, as one, we tickle the vary earth itself
Until her laughter joins with the howling of our steeds
In a raucous symphony of joy and fear.
And we are as spirits,
Freed of the sorrows of the flesh
Free to laugh and dance with the goddess forever.
Hope Y'all enjoy.
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