Weeks ago I predicted that I'd be riding by the first week of April. Well, it's the last week of March and snow is in the forecast (a lot of snow). It appears that my prediction will not come true (believe it or not it's not the first time I've been wrong). This sucks!
I've literally been dreaming of riding for the past month and every time it seems that spring is really here, we get a snowstorm! I just traveled two hundred miles south for a short vacation and I ran into quite a few people on motorcycles, which only strengthened my remorse. The only thing that is keeping me from insanity is that I know that riding season is, at most, a month away.
So, if you're in the same situation as me, keep your head up. Remember these times when you're debating on riding when the weather may not be absolutely perfect in July or August. You'll find that you take greater advantage of free time during the riding season if you do this.
"When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong." - Jake Houseman in Dirty Dancing
If you read this post from last summer, you'll know that I have some experience with drivers not noticing me on my motorcycle. That's the first thing that came to mind when I read this article. The basic premise of the article is that a driver's brain doesn't always interpret what their eyes are seeing correctly. If a motorcycle traveling at a high rate of speed goes from outside a driver's vision into their line of sight in a matter of seconds, the driver's brain may not be able process this new visual stimulus, possibly causing an accident.
In the case from my past blog post, I rode up to a group of slow moving cars and decided to pass them. The car in front of me pulled into the left lane, basically running me off the road when I pulled out. After reading the article linked above, I think that she may not have noticed me even if she looked in her rear view mirror prior to deciding to pass. The possibility that this driver's mind tricked her into passing even if she looked directly at me approaching is pretty scary.
So, what can we as riders do to protect ourselves against driver's literally not registering that we are there? I guess it's best to always assume that no one can see you. Always slow down near intersections and beep your horn or rev your engine when you may be in a driver's blind spot. In my daily commute, I always drive by a certain intersection that I get a eerie feeling about. I always tend to slow way down when I come up to it as I've had a few close calls with people nearly pulling out in front of me. Always be aware of your surroundings and stay safe!
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Roger "Verbal" Kint from The Usual Suspects
If you Google search "motorcycle news" you'll quickly learn that motorcycles definitely are not mainstream yet. This morning I did that search and found that 7 of the 10 links in the first page were about accidents and deaths on motorcycles. Basically, what this shows is that when it comes to motorcycles, the biggest aspect the media likes to show is their inherent danger.
The very few times motorcycles are in the world news are usually describing the latest outlaw motorcycle club violence. I guess as a whole, the mainstream media views motorcyclists as criminals or at least reckless individuals. This may not be entirely true, but the evidence sure points us in that direction.
I don't think motorcycling is more dangerous than a lot of other hobbies. I once met a women who said she was petrified of motorcycles, but loved riding horses. I just smiled and nodded, but I really was confused. How could operating a machine that you can control be more dangerous than trusting an animal that has the strength to trample you to death?!! Sigh...to each their own, I guess.
"The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything. - Friedrich Nietzsche
It's the beginning of March, which also means it's time for the Daytona Bike Week. I've only been to Daytona once during Bike Week, but I came away with some pretty good stories.
It was 1999 and I was in my freshman year at university. My spring break perfectly aligned with Bike Week that year and I knew my dad was going, so I tagged along. March in the North is usually not hospitable to motorcycling and this year was no different, so we loaded my dad's bike into his van and drove to Florida. There wasn't any room for another bike, so I wasn't going to do any riding on this trip. The great thing about taking the van was that we also had a place to sleep, no hotel needed!
Now the embarrassing thing to me about the trip was the fact that I had to sit on the back of my dad's bike while we rode around Daytona (Nuts to Butts!). However, the great weather and being around that many motorcycles made up for any embarrassment. The greatest thing about Daytona is that motorcycles are allowed to ride on the beach.
While riding on the beach, bike traffic became pretty stop and go near a beachside bar. While we were stopped, I noticed a guy who I assumed was local sitting on the beach with a group of people. He was holding a cardboard sign that read, "show your tits." He was engaging in the stereotypical bike rally behavior of asking women to flash their bare chests.
An attractive women in a bikini walked up to this guy and he held the sign up above his head. She paused for a moment and said something to him. Next thing I saw was this man quickly pulling his penis out of his shorts and showing it to the lady. I assumed she told this guy that she'd show her breasts if he flashed something first. The woman had a look of shock on her face and quickly walked away without showing the man anything. His friends quickly berated the man for his failed attempt. Needless to say, I was pretty amused at the whole precession. My dad was too. The first thing he said was, "Did you see that?!!"
I think at least one trip to Daytona Bike Week would be interesting for anyone interested in motorcycles. If nothing else, maybe you'll come away with an interesting story like mine. My one bit of advice is to bring a lot of sunscreen, especially if you're as pale skinned as me. I left Florida with a pretty severe sunburn.
"Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow." - Anita Desai
Are you a fan of loud exhaust? This is a pretty controversial subject among different groups of riders. In general, the Harley and sportbike crowds love loud pipes, while the metric cruiser and touring people prefer stock exhaust (I said "in general" so don't get butt hurt if I misspoke for you specifically). Personally, I have very little issue with a loud motorcycle exhaust. As a matter of fact, many of my previous motorcycles had mufflers that would be considered illegal.
The issue of exhaust noise was brought to my attention recently when I was snowmobiling (see that story here). While riding the trails I met up with some conservation officers who were measuring the sound levels of a snowmobiler's aftermarket exhaust. After determining that the exhaust was louder than the law allowed, the officers wrote the man a ticket. This topic came up in a later conversation with the officers and they mentioned that the purpose of writing tickets that day was to appease the local land owners who were filing complaints about the abundance of loud snowmobiles. Something had to be done or the land owners would no longer allow the trail to pass through their property.
I have heard of instances of police officers pulling bikers over for loud exhaust and even checking mufflers for baffles, so I knew that there was some public outcry against loud motorcycles as well as snowmobiles. Then I read this article detailing a lawsuit for overly loud motorcycle exhausts. There is an aspect of this that scares me. This could become more than just an isolated lawsuit, it could happen in any area. I don't ever want to see a situation where motorcycling can be taken away from us.
I want to reiterate that I am not against loud exhaust, but I do believe a little common sense may be warranted. If you have an aftermarket exhaust, then use some restraint while riding through residential neighborhoods especially at night. Feel free to rev the shit out of your bike when your on the open road, a track, or some isolated area where no one will be bothered.
"Loud is a way of life." - Steven Adler
