Petty rants and other childish musings

#1: Share the road
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You've got this glorious motorcycle. It's got more power than many cars. Not even halfway through the gear box and you're doing over a 100 mph. While a bit portly (it is a BMW), it'll lean way the hell over and rock through the curves on the feathery edge of the tires with your toes skimming the pavement. All without any fuss. Not only does this thoroughbred want to move and dance, it makes it easy. You bought it for all these reasons.

But that isn't you. Clad in that uniform of BMW riders everywhere - plastic suit with white helmet - you ride so slowly, cautiously, with so little passion, so passively, that you'd be safe naked. Road rash really isn't a big concern at a light jog. Down the middle of the road you go. If it's straight, you're below the speed limit. If the road has those delicious curves, down the middle of the road you go with nary a hint of lean.

If you'd glance in your mirror, you'd see me or one of my friends there. We just arrived. That means something. That means we're going faster than you. You don't move to the side, you don't wave us by. You just continue that slothlike shuffle down the middle of the road. Are you alive? I can't tell. The bike is moving, but you might not even be breathing. Curve after curve, there you are, not letting me by. I don't want to startle you. I don't want to unnerve a clearly delicate rider. I'm not the only bike piling up behind you. You must not have noticed me.

Or maybe you did. You know better than we do. This road is unsafe. Bikes shouldn't be leaned over, not like that. Speed kills. Fun kills. You're protecting us from ourselves.

Never mind. It'll take some speed to get by before that turn ahead.

-brraaapppp-

I glance back, using those mirrors you seemed to be ignoring, and I can see you shaking your head. You're alive!

Hauling ass takes a little work. That corner is coming fast. On the brakes, lean, on the gas. Another corner. Woohoo! This is riding. This is fun. The GS Adventure's centerstand touches down. I shift my weight. This is why I'm on this machine. I look back. Where'd you go?

I come up on a old honda. They immediately scoot over and wave me by. Same for the Harleys and most everything else I come upon. The BMW riders... they I have to pass hard whether they like it or not.

Next time. Share the road.

That was you?
Don't wanna!

knary said:

The GS Adventure's centerstand touches down.

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i just sent an email to rob.

Oh gawd, here we go again...

Did someone have a bad ride back to NE last weekend?



By the way, what's #2?

tessler said:

Oh gawd, here we go again...

Did someone have a bad ride back to NE last weekend?



By the way, what's #2?

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#2
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If you aren't stopped, and you aren't stretching, why are your feet off the pegs dangling just above the pavement? You're just making it harder for yourself, diminishing your control over the bike, and making the rest of us wonder if you're going to be a sad story in the newspaper about a rider losing control of their bike. If you think 5 mph is hard, just wait until you hit 60 on a decreasing radius corner. Go practice. Go take some classes. How you handle the bike at low speeds is a better indication of how you ride than you want it to be.

And get out of my way.

#3
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Dear Mr.Harley rider,
You and your hundreds of friends got together this past weekend on a piece of road I was also trying to traverse. If your machines idle so poorly that you must blip them constantly, please take them in for service. It was like being in a herd of mooing cattle pretending to be roaring dragons.

Also, when there is a slow lane and a passing lane, please consider moving over to the slow lane. It is illegal to pass on the right in some jurisdictions and your herd, more like spilled molasses more than a stampede, shouldn't force everyone to ride at your pace or ride illegally.

p.s. see #2.

knary said:

#2
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If you aren't stopped, and you aren't stretching, why are your feet off the pegs dangling just above the pavement? You're just making it harder for yourself, diminishing your control over the bike, and making the rest of us wonder if you're going to be a sad story in the newspaper about a rider losing control of their bike. If you think 5 mph is hard, just wait until you hit 60 on a decreasing radius corner. Go practice. Go take some classes. How you handle the bike at low speeds is a better indication of how you ride than you want it to be.

And get out of my way.

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Scott, I agree with you, 100%. I have these thoughts in my own mind as I ride too. I've also been completely 'out of it' mentally and have pulled over to let the rest of the world pass by at their own pace (I'm still a n00b too and know it).

But I dunno, it just seems like you're beating up on this mystery guy post facto for not riding to your liking, which seems to defy the whole "Ride your own ride" code. I'm certainly not being critical of your reasons, just sort of confused by their vehemence.

So, are you gonna buy a GSA now?

tessler said:

Scott, I agree with you, 100%. I have these thoughts in my own mind as I ride too. I've also been completely 'out of it' mentally and have pulled over to let the rest of the world pass by at their own pace (I'm still a n00b too and know it).

But I dunno, it just seems like you're beating up on this mystery guy post facto for not riding to your liking, which seems to defy the whole "Ride your own ride" code. I'm certainly not being critical of your reasons, just sort of confused by their vehemence.

So, are you gonna buy a GSA now?

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Ride your own ride. Don't make me ride your ride.

If someone can't control their bike at a walking pace, they're well on their way to being a statistic. That's not good for anyone.

Buying a performance machine for its performance and then riding it like your arthritic grandma drove her recliner is nothing short of bizarre. I passed a dozen or more K1200S's and K1200GT's as I banged up the interstate. They were going <i>below</i> the speed limit.

p.s. don't lose sight of the title of this thread.

Similar thing happened to me a couple of weeks back. Heading up 50 toward Tahoe, I come up behind an airhead following a car, both travelling at or little under the posted limit.

50 is mostly 2-lane where it follows the American River with a few passing lanes spaced throughout. Because the slow folks tend to find their accelerator as soon as a passing lane starts, and then lose it again as the passing lane ends, I've gotten into the habit of using every foot of lane available to get by as many as possible.

But this time, there's another bike between me and the car at the head of the line, so when we get to the passing lane, I paused for what I thought was adequate time for him to decide whether or not to pass (2 or 3 seconds). When he didn't go, I did, and as soon as I was pulling up beside the airhead, here he comes into the passing lane. There was just enough room to keep it in my lane as I sped by him.

I don't know if I pi$$ed him off or just woke him up, but he pretty much kept up for the next 40 miles.

So, if that airhead rider reads this, sorry, I thought you were waiting for me to go and saw me pull out. But then agian, I'll remind you to check your mirrors before changing lanes.

That's why I posted, you practically invited me in here with the title.

knary said:

Buying a performance machine for its performance and then riding it like your arthritic grandma drove her recliner is nothing short of bizarre. I passed a dozen or more K1200S's and K1200GT's as I banged up the interstate. They were going <i>below</i> the speed limit.

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i rather enjoy passing those guys on my old bike.

knary said:

p.s. don't lose sight of the title of this thread.

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I'm still laughing over this visual:

Clad in that uniform of BMW riders everywhere - plastic suit with white helmet - you ride so slowly, cautiously, with so little passion, so passively, that you'd be safe naked.

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ps: don't you mean don't lose site? or better still cite?

This (i.e. #1) has to be the best post of the year.

But luckily, most of my problems have been with riders on, uh, other makes.

This wasn't the guy you saw was it?

Sometimes I ride bad, really bad, and I try to not do it where I might scare the children and cause angina in the old folks. I am always watching...

Other times I like to putt along, pretending that the GS is an old airhead, picking up on the thud, thud, thud of the GS, except instead of the airhead, "thud thud, thud", it makes more of a "can can can"sound...

And when a young buck (or an old one for that matter) comes along behind me I let them go,

I had this occur in the roads behind the rally site on my way outta there. I could not resist one more play in the curves after my lunch on Sunday, and took off for what was supposed to be an hour jaunt then on to NAshville. I was on some snakey little road filled with S turns and rally markings all over the road done up in crayon telling of hidden hazards I think, I don't know; hell I don't even know what road I was on, other than I was heading due North in my head.

Anyway, I was watching my P's and Q's because of the large amount of black gravel on some of the turns, right on the apex of the turns; I was taking them slower than normal due to my top heavy load, and sort of ever so balding tires..

Two sports bikes crotch rocket style came up behind me, and I quickly let them around me, but I could tell by the look they gave me that they thought "there goes one of those old gramp BMWMOA guys in the white helmet and plastic yellow suit, what a jok?½" as I let them by.

I wished them well.

But I had my reasons. Having ate it a couple of times in gravel just like thses little black wash rocks, I was too far from home and solo riding to chance laying it down oin any of those turns. Thee and a half hours later on the main road coming into Nashville, I was topping three digits in places where it looked cool, racing a bit to get to my hotel in Nashville before dark, but also having fun staying out of reach of ANOTHER sports bike trying his damnedess to keep up with gramps on the GS, the wide sweeping turns in the twilight coming into the city. I had the power out of the curves to stay just out of his reach, surely frustrating to him on that 600cc...

#4
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"pleaded not guilty"
Really?
"<i>pleaded</i>"?
Do you get paid by the letter?
Is "pled" too pedestrian, too easy to say?

While we're at it, "lighted"? You're silly, mr.writer.

Could not agree more, that is why I stayed OFF all the published routes and took smaller and twistier roads.

I will defend the dangling feet though. After a few hours of shifting side to side while on the balls of my feet at 5-8 grand in 2nd and 3rd gear, I need to stretch to get ready for the next set of twisties, so dangle the legs I do.

BTW, no mention of the Pick-ut trucks with the dog sitting in the drivers lap and head out the window?

Agree on all three.

I occasionally lead a group (mixed brands) ride and am shocked by the lack of proficiency that exists in the riding community. During our breaks I attempt to impart some riding wisdom, and encourage people to take classes or get some track time.
Growing up we had a kid on our block that always got scared and screech when we would pass him riding bicycles, (that just made us want to do it all the more). Apparently he grew up and bought a beemer.

i daresay scott, your "target" audience probably doesn't use this forum much.