Crash Lessons

 

A friend recently shared this article on his Facebook page. It's a great read and it pokes fun at motorcyclists a little bit. This is great because we all should laugh at our own expense once in a while.

Number 5 on the list actually struck a little bit of a chord with me. It basically states that when a biker says that they laid their bike down to avoid an accident, it's bullshit! They didn't avoid an accident, laying a bike down is an accident.

When I crashed my motorcycle, I "laid my bike down". What really happened was I grabbed my brake way to hard when a deer jumped in front of me, so I put the bike into a skid that I couldn't control, crashing it in he process. I did not purposely put the bike on the ground.

I know now that there are a lot of things I could have done better to avoid this accident and the blame should be placed squarely on me. I used to think that if I didn't brake so hard I would've hit the deer, but who knows if that would've been the case. All I know is that I ended up on the pavement due to nothing else but my excessive speed and improper braking. There is something positive that came from this, I think I'm a better rider now than I was back then. I'm definitely still not perfect and you probably aren't either, so please be careful riding on the streets!

"I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man." - Alexander Hamilton

25 Years of Metal and Motorcycles

 

I got my first motorcycle in 1991. It was in May and my school was having its annual carnival. My mom dropped me off at the school and I had a great time playing games and goofing off with my friends. One friend was having his birthday party right after the carnival, so I was going to walk to his house. To my surprise, my dad was waiting for me at the door when I was on my way out of the school.

I looked at him with a confused look and asked why he was there. His only reply was, "I bought you a motorcycle." I just about fainted! I had been dreaming of riding for years and had been staring longingly at all the older kids riding their motorcycles. I didn't want to go to my friend's party anymore! I wanted to get home to ride right away.

I ended up going to my friend's house because I didn't want to be rude (I'm sure my parents made me). This was the longest party I had ever been to...time just dragged on and on! I guess you could say that this is when my obsession with motorcycles began.

I bring this up, because 1991 is also the year my parents gave me something else. For Christmas, my mom gave me a cassette tape of Metallica (The Black Album). Prior to this, music was basically just background noise to me. This began my other obsession, Heavy Metal and music in general.

This all came to my mind because I just saw Metallica in concert for the first time and it brought me back to that eleven year old kid in 1991, discovering the things he loved. Through everything else that has happened in my life over the past 25 years, my sheer enthusiasm for Metallica and motorcycles hasn't changed. If you ask my wife, I'm probably still as mature as that eleven year old as well!

We are the one as we are all the same

fighting for one cause

Leather and metal are our uniforms

protecting what we are

Joining together to take on the world

with our heavy metal

Spreading the message to everyone here

come let yourself go

 

From "Metal Militia" by Metallica

Scrambler Love?

I'm a huge fan of the motorcycle manufacturers building retro "scrambler" bikes. Last year I strongly considered buying a Ducati Scrambler (see that story here). As much as I loved that bike, I think Triumph's version of the scrambler may be even better and BMW has a factory custom scrambler version of the R9T that might be my favorite.

 

 With my love of all these bikes, I was extremely interested in seeing Yamaha's version, the XSR900. When I finally saw a picture of this bike, my reaction was underwhelming. My exact quote was, "Meh." It's not an awful looking bike, but it really doesn't do it for me. This could change if I saw it in person, but as of now I'm not a fan.

 This makes a good point. Just because you like a certain type of motorcycle, it doesn't mean you have to like every single bike that falls in that category. This can be applied to styles, brands, years, or any subcategory you can think of. Like whatever motorcycle you want for whatever reason you want, but don't put yourself in a box when it comes to what type of biker you are.

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde

The Present

 

Last week I went on an evening motorcycle ride with my wife and a friend. It was an incredible ride! The weather was nearly perfect, traffic was minimal, and the scenery was outstanding. At one point, we stopped at another friend's house that is right on the shore of Lake Superior. While visiting, my friend took a photo of our bikes with his phone.

After our ride, I noticed that my friend had posted the picture on Instagram. I thought it was cool, so I liked the post and went on with my night.

The next day I noticed a comment on my friend's Instagram post. A follower of his commented that his photo looked like heaven. This made me take a closer look. The two bikes are in front of a bunch of trees and an outdoor sauna that has recently been restored. The photo perfectly captured a great moment. It really did look like heaven!

I started thinking that I need to be conscious of these great moments while they're happening, not just remembering them in the past. I believe that most people struggle to live in the present and not worry about other things. Let's realize that we are living the good times right now!

I'm not sharing my friend's photo on this post, as it's not mine to share. He's an outstanding photographer and I'd hate to take any credit away from him. I'm sharing photos of my kids because they are another reason I'm trying to focus on being in the present.

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift from God, which is why we call it the present." - Bil Keane



Unwinding Needed

There are two great stress reliefs that I utilize in my life, motorcycling and strength training (you could throw music into the mix also, but that's not really an activity). During the winter months I rely heavily on lifting weights to get me through as I am unable to ride. This time of year, I focus more on motorcycling to clear my head.

If you read the post from last week, you know that I've been away from home for work. It was a rather stressful week to say the least and I did not have my motorcycle to help me mentally. Also, with the long hours I was working, I would basically go straight to bed after work, leaving no time for lifting weights. I'm finally home today, but I have not been able to ride yet because I parked my bike at the office and drove a company car.

Let's just say that I'm currently chomping at the bit to get back on my bike! After work today, I'm going to finally ride my bike. I know for sure that a huge part of my stress will melt away and I'll be a better husband, father, worker, and overall person afterward. I can't wait!

Do you feel the same after riding?

"Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it." - Hans Selye