The Fight for Fun

 

How do you know that you're really interested in something and not just unconsciously faking it? For some reason, the fear of being a poser always bothers me. It might be because I hung out with BMX guys and skaters growing up and the worst thing you could be to them was a poser. When I was in high school there weren't a whole lot of other guys that were into motorcycles, so I guess I gravitated toward these guys. They liked the same music I did and had generally the same "do your own thing" attitude.

I do some self-reflection about this from time to time (especially in winter) and wonder if I'm really into motorcycles or I fake it to be cool. Then I go on to my social media sites, where most of my friends are into bikes and other similar things. After reading a few posts and looking at a few pictures I realize how excited I am. It reinvigorates my interest in motorcycles and I find myself chomping at the bit to get out and ride, or to at least talk or write about bikes. I'm not faking it...I f@&$ing love this shit!!!

I guess my message is that you have to work to keep interest in your hobbies. Sometimes it’s easier to sit your ass on the couch and watch TV than getting out and having fun. Next time you find yourself feeling this way, grab a magazine or do a google search on your hobby. If this doesn't get you interested, maybe your hobby really isn't for you. There's nothing wrong with that, but instead of wasting your time doing something you really don't enjoy, find something that you do! You only have this one life to live and a lot of it is spent working, so make sure you really like your hobbies!

” Have you heard of this new thing called the internet? It's giving people new expectations. It's allowing them to become their own expert. Knowledge lies anxious at their fingertips. Gloss over the truth in your advertising and you'll quickly be dismissed as a poser.” – Roy H. Williams

 

Unidentified Flying Yamaha

Remember my Yamaha DT Enduro 100 (see here)? Here's another adventure involving that bike.

I was 13ish and a few of my friends and I decided to go camping. My buddy also had a dirt bike, a Yamaha RT 100, which actually used the same engine as my much older DT. We rode to a place about a half mile away from my friend's house. It was extremely sandy there, beach sand. I was very unfamiliar with riding on sand, so I was pretty timid. I rode in first gear while dragging my feet to stay stable. Of course, my friends laughed at and mocked me mercilessly for this (which they should've, everyone needs friends to break their balls once in a while).

After we made it to the campsite, we set up our tents and made a fire. At about dusk, we looked into the sky and saw a f&%$ing UFO! I'm not the type of guy that'll claim that this was an alien siting, but we saw an object that was flying and we couldn't identify it (Unidentified Flying Object). We made jokes about this, but underneath all our bravado we were pretty shaken up.

Fast forward a couple of hours, we heard tires squealing and guys yelling. The crazy friend in our bunch decided to yell back. All of a sudden, headlights were coming down the trail and we could hear revving engines coming closer. This was probably some older kids cruising around having a good time, but in our already heightened state of fear we thought our lives were in danger.

I ran over to my bike and in one quick motion I swung my leg over, put my foot on the kickstarter and kicked the bike started. My buddy hopped on the back with me and we were off! My friend with the RT was not having luck getting his bike started (so much for newer being better). I didn't wait around, I was gone! Suddenly riding on loose sand wasn't a problem! I was flying through it in fifth gear and full throttle. This is how I learned that speed is good when on sand (hell, speed is always good).

My buddy did end up starting his bike and he actually passed me (I guess newer bikes are better). We made it back to his house and slept on his floor. The next day we went back and of course nothing was messed with. Like I mentioned before, I’m sure it was just a bunch of older kids who heard us yell back at them and thought there was a party at our campsite. I still want to know what the hell the UFO was, though!

“If instead of saucers, UFOs looked more like breasts, I’ll bet there’d be a lot more people trying to take pictures of them.”  - Jarod Kintz

Hate the Wait

If you're anything like me, this is the time of year that everyone should try to avoid you. I know it's starting to warm up a bit, but winter has already taken its toll on me by the time March rolls around and I turn into the crabbiest S.O.B. in three counties. My wife will attest to this point adamantly. The only cure for this is being able to ride my motorcycle. To the rest of you who feel this way, my advice is to not take your bike out too soon!

If you live anywhere that gets plenty of snow and cold over the winter, please wait until the roads have been bare for a week(ish) and a nice rain has washed them a bit. With the constant melt and freeze this time of year, there's always lots of water on the roads that can turn to ice pretty quickly with a temperature drop. This can make your ride treacherous. There is also all the sand and salt that has been dumped on the roads for 3+ months making every corner a possible wipe out. You’re not going to be riding any time soon when you lay your bike down and break your wrist!

Every time I see a guy (or girl) riding on these roads I cringe (partially from jealousy, since I'm dying to ride too). Believe me, it takes every last bit of my patience and willpower to wait until the roads are better, but it's worth the wait. A ride is so much better when you don't have to fear wiping out at every turn. Be patient, riding season will be here before you know it!

“After you find out all the things that can go wrong, your life becomes less about living and more about waiting.” - Chuck Palahniuk, Choke

Harley Hell Ride

 

I bought my Harley in February of 2005, a 1993 Dyna Low Rider. I came across a deal that I couldn't pass up and I had been in the market for a Harley for a while. First thing I had to do was peel of each of the gaudy "Live to Ride, Ride to Live" stick on badges that the previous owner had covered it with. Then I ordered some short shocks to lower it and found an awesome seat to replace the stock one.

In March, I traveled about 200 miles south to my buddy's place. He's a Harley technician and had some parts lying around to use (different handlebars and risers). We installed all the "new" parts and the bike was ready to go!

They had an uncommonly warm March that year, so we were able to ride right away. We met up with a couple of his local friends to ride with. I'm thinking that since these were Harley guys I'd be in for a nice leisurely ride. Was I wrong!

First of all, we pull up and I see these two behemoths. I'm not talking fat guys, they looked like young Arnold Schwarzenegger! We exchanged hellos and were on our way. Right off the bat, be were blasting down the road at about 90 mph! This was only my second ride on this bike, so I wasn't entirely familiar with the way it handled, but I tried to keep up.

Then we came up on a very twisty back road. This is the type of road I dream of when I ride my Ducati, but this bike was not really set up to take these curves at any speed. Again, I tried my best to keep up.

Another thing I haven't mentioned is that my girlfriend was on the back during all of this! She was (still is) a bit of a daredevil and she trusted me, so she was having a blast! I, however was sweating bullets. Then we came on the really tight curves. The frame was dragging on these corners (not the footpegs or the pipes, the frame!! Shorter shocks may have been a bad idea). Finally at a stop sign, my friend turned around and said, "We should be riding f@&$ing crotchrockets!" I couldn't have agreed more.

So, when our ride was over, we stopped at a local watering hole. I came to find out that both of the guys we were riding with were former motorcycle racers and they were very familiar with that stretch of road. I'm pretty sure the gained some respect for my friend and I, since we were able to keep up with them. Well, they might've thought we were idiots for even trying, but we'll stick with the first story!

“It’s better to be dead and cool, than alive and uncool.” – Harley Davidson from Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man