Ironically, the best way to stay completely attuned to your roadside surroundings is to remove the safety helmet and just listen.
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It is not, however, optimal to close your eyes to better attune yourself to the subtle reverberations. Especially on the 25-to-70 collector at around 5:15 PM.
Regards,
Ric
tw: advice from former motorcycle riders is not always available, unless by Ouija board.
Good to see the word-generation AI getting back in tune.
And if you lean way, way over to keep your ear to the road, you too can grow up to be a famouse American movie actor like Gary Busey…
Sigur Ros is in Boston tuesday night, so the helmet is off for that.
Jeff, do you ride (or does anyone else here)?
I just got my motorbike permit this year and hope to be on the road this spring.
One need not ride to ride, Vladimir.
Confucius said that. And Ron Jeremy stole it and made it famous.
If some moustachioed hog stole my line, I’d sure let the “fists of unimaginable speed” loose on ‘em.
Like a nudist, buddhist parachutist.
To ride is a state of mind, achievable by fat people with chauffeurs. It’s a matter of impressing onesself upon the Universe, rather than the inverse, and the loud pipes and Nazi memorabilia are crutches for those who aren’t confident that the very wainscoting leans ever so slightly inward to be closer when they speak.
Regards,
Ric
Ironically, does anyone know why you can be ticketed for wearing a helmet in your car? It interferes with your hearing and field of vision…
Of course when you’re out on the open and on two wheels those become trivialities.
And Vladmir…I ride about 20K a year with a national MC. Also have both moustache and hog.
Vladimir – I ride (1982 BMW R100).
TW: “Cars”. Snrk!
BTW, Vlad, need a bike? I’ve got one for sale. (’99 BMW F650).
TW: “Medical.” Man, that thing is en fuego today.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single kick.
To paraphrase Haley Joel Osment: “I see organ donors.”
I hope it’s not on the road in the sense of shedding excess velocity through an ablative technique.
And yes, I swiped that from Neal Stephenson. Deal.
The armadillo can’t even hear on the road without cringing.
Pressing your ear to the road works, too. Just remember to stop first. Leaving a long bloody streak behind you is generally contra-indicated.
Vlad,
I ride…95 Wide Glide…what are you riding/planning to ride?
WR95
Woohoo! I’m in!
Tell that to Gary Busey. Poor soul ain’t been right since his head hit a curb… not that he was right before, that is.
Farmer Joe, Ric, Wind…
My gal rides a Suzuki SV650, but I’ve never ridden. I’m going to take the course in the spring to get training.
I’m a lightweight and the sportbikes are what seem right for my body type and inexperience. The new Triumph Daytona looks nice as does the Yamaha YZF 600R. I don’t know much about bikes yet.
I’d love to buy a BMW off you Farmer Joe, so we should at least get in touch, if not for the possibility of riding together later in the year.
I’m off to a concert, so global dhimmitude will take a backseat for the next few hours.
Rock out.
Ric:
“and the loud pipes…are crutches”
Loud pipes save lives! I can’t count the number of times that a slip of the clutch and a burp on the throttle kept some dumb cager from running me off the road.
Vlad: Take the classes, and practice, practice, practice. Stay out of blind spots, and always expect that the dumb bastard in the car won’t see you, even (especially?) if they make eye contact with you. Also, there’s a series of DVDs titled “Ride Like a Pro” that teach extremely useful skills and low-speed riding techniques that you’ll use every day. I first watched them after I’d been riding over a decade, and they still made me a better rider.
For the record: 2006 Shadow 1100, with STRAIGHT PIPES!
Loud pipes save lives!
Then everyone should have them. I’m thinking about straight-piping my Honda Accord. To be truly effective, though: side-pipes on a 427 Cobra. I wish; that’d be ultra-safe.
I actually wouldn’t object to them quite so much if, for example, the loud pipes could be toned down in the stretch between my neighborhood entrance and my neighbor’s garage.
<object to them quite so much if, for example, the loud pipes could be toned down in the stretch between my neighborhood entrance and my neighbor’s garage. </blockquote>
Shame on your neighbor for cruisin’ through the ‘hood at higher than necessary revs! I’m content to burble along at low rpm…we bikers have a bad enough rep as it is without adding pissed off neighbors to the mix.
SW: hospital. Hey! That’s not funny.
Harley drivers who can refrain from blipping the throttle every five seconds or so are few and far between in this neck of the woods. And with straight pipes, a minor blip is really loud. I’ve considered the mother of all straight pipes in retribution, but that’d make me pariah.
I’m referring to a straight-piped RX-7, of course. Unbelievable racket, that. Lots of ragged upper-register stuff.
Thanks for the tip Tom. Funny thing happened to me today while rummaging through the books at Bld. #19… I found a new copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintainance for 4 bucks..in hardcover no less.
Vroooooom
Seconded, Windrider. Bikers who do that kind of crap in residential neighborhoods are pricks. I usaually drive out of my garage just above idle, and coast when I can. Once I hit the highway though, all bets are off.