Brotherhood o' the bike.

There was a time long ago when riding your bike (bicycle) meant you were part of a very exclusive...or more accurately, a very rarefied....set of people. When I was a wee lad just waking up to all the wonderful, joyous, beautiful things associated with all things two wheeled, we all realized that there just weren't too many of us.

So, every time you would ride by another cyclist, you at least waved. In the early days (<1980) you would actually stop and talk. Because in Florida during the late 70s and early 80s you just didn't know when you would meet another brother o' the bike.

Time went on and I moved to California and I must have been such a Fred. I kept waving at every cyclist I saw. After about 30 min riding around Berkeley, I just got tired of waving because there were more cyclists that I could shake a stick at (and I am damn good at shaking sticks!).

Soon I realized that I was in a different world and on most rides, it would probably only be another 10-15min till I saw the next cyclist.

That was about 17 years ago and times have changed. Cyclists are almost a dime a dozen. I still wave or at least nod at every cyclist I see. I figure that it's the right thing to do. There are way too many snooty, elitist, "my carbon fiber super expensive bike is better than yours" yahoos who think they're too cool to wave at some gangly college kid having a good time on the bike because he's not riding a Cervelo. There are way too many of those people occupying the a-hole end of the spectrum and I feel it's my obligation to balance that out.

But I lament those old days where all cyclists were my friend.

But what is really interesting of late is I have found a new fraternity(maybe it's coed, too).

Since I have started riding motos, I have noticed that we all wave at each other. It's very distinctive. It's always the left hand and it's almost always the first two fingers of that hand pointed out low like you were pointing out a pot hole 4-5' to your left.

I was riding home from work the other day via Highland valley road and Hwy 67 and I was amazed on how consistent the moto-wave was. Even the CHP moto guys waved!

I wondered why this was. What is the connection that cyclist used to and Moto riders all feel?

I was listening to the radio about how Marines would be desperate to go back to that hellhole that is Iraq after suffering the most horrific injuries. Civilians stateside would be flabbergasted, bewildered and incredulous of why on Earth anyone would want to go back. Without fail the answer was: "My buddies are back there! I have to go back".

Having been in the service, I have an inkling of the connection that this battered, weary, scarred folks have: just an inkling, though.

Then it occurred to me. Cyclists are probably one of the most vulnerable folks on the road: We ride in and amongst 3000-5000lbs of steel, plastic and rubber driven by people who would rather finish their text message than actually pay attention to where they are going with little more than Lycra and 3-4oz of Styrofoam on our noggin'. Moto riders are similarly vulnerable except we are cooking along at 40-150mph: there is much more danger in that.

Albeit riding a bike or a moto are probably an order of magnitude or so safer than a Marine going door to door in the Anbar Province, we are still on the same continuum: for personal reasons we have made a life choice to put ourselves in danger on a daily basis. That risk of death and injury that is optional, that saddling up next to your own mortality and the grim reaper creates a bond.

Personally, if I had the choice of how I would want to leave this world I would choose standing between the reaper and those I love, defiantly saying "you gotta go through me, first!" In lieu of that it would be doing something I love. Much preferable than wasting away making my children's life miserable, draining their youth as they watch me waste away....a mere shell of the man I used to be.

I watched my parents go like that and the saddest thing was not that they passed. The saddest thing was that I knew of who these people were: Towering, defiant folk. People who bucked the trend, fought tooth and nail against the odds and then said "Bring it!"

The thing is, we have to wave at each other. Because that cyclist/moto-rider/marine we see has a non-trivial chance of meeting his/her doom around the next corner and the hindsight revelation that you should have said something to so-and-so before they were gone is far too common.

Motorcycle training...

...is a good thing.

I did my motorcycle training class this weekend and I have to say, if anyone rides a moto or is thinking of getting a moto: Take this class. It's a great class and I learned a huge amount.

Despite the fact that you get to waive the DMV skill test and you save money on your insurance, it's invaluable just for the opportunity to have 10 hours of intensive one-on-one coaching and instruction. The guys who run the Palomar College class are very good.

Anyway, enough plugging the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

The class was set up like this: Friday: 3 hours in class learning about how a motorcycle works and how to ride it.
Saturday: 5 hours of motorcycle trainging, another 3 hours of classroom time plus a knowledge test similar to the DMV test but without the long lines and disaffected DMV workers.
Sunday: Another 5 hours of motorcycle training and a skill test.

I drove to the Saturday sessions because I was late and the class went till 10pm and I did not want to ride on the freeway or ride that late at night. Based upon how freakin' tired I was by the time I was done with class, not riding to the class was a REALLY good idea.

Sunday, I slept in and then took my time riding (my moto) to class. I thought it would be fine. I would have some extra riding time and work on those newly acquired skills right after I learned them.

But here's the rub: Riding a moto is pretty demanding on your hands. Your left hand works the clutch and the right hand works the throttle and brake. It's pretty tiring if you are not used to it. Even with all the wrenching time and and using my hands all the time, My hands get pretty tired after about 30-45 of riding.

So, I started off on my ride to Palomar College in San Marcos where the training class was. I took a nice long route: I essentially did the SDBC ride route to the end of Stud Loop and made my way backwards on the Swami's route till Luecadia Blvd which turns into Olivenhain and then turns into Rancho Santa Fe and crosses to San Marcos Blvd. Nice ride but I am telling your my mits were sore.
I then began to realize that this riding to the ride wasn't such a good idea. I got pretty tired during the 5 hour training session and I had to down a couple of big diet cokes to get through. We sat around for a bit after the final skill evaluation (I got the 2nd best score BTW. I only did worse than a guy who's been racing motos all his life). Oh, they supply the motorcycle and I have to warn you, they are such beater bikes. I mean seriously. They all suuuuuper funky. They go, stop shift and turn and that's about it. They say: "if you can ride these bikes, you can ride anything".

So after doing all the final stuff and getting all the paperwork done, it was time to ride home. I was pretty excited to get on my moto after riding the POS bikes. The instructors liked my bike and the senior coach there (who has been riding motos almost as long as I have been alive: ALMOST 40 FRIKIN' YEARS!!!!!!!!) said my bike was a hoot to ride.

I was pretty stoked about everything in general and started to rid back home. I went back pretty much the way I came: Back to the Swami's route, then backwards on the SDBC route. Fun roads for bikes and motos. All was good: I was practicing my newly acquired skills and then about 40 mins into it as I crossed Carmel Valley Road, my left hand started complaining profusely about squeezing the clutch. I mean it was really painful.

Since I still only have my learners permit, I am not suppose to ride at night or on the freeways. But after a couple of stalls due to my left hand not responding like it was supposed to, I decided the safer thing to do was just get on the freeway and give my hand a rest.

So, onto the freeway I go! I got on the 805 at Mira Mesa and bolted home. I actually got my bike up near 90. Did you know there is a lot of wind (90mph to be excact! :) )when you are going 90mph on a bike? Who would have guessed????

Good thing I did that because my left hand needed that rest. When I got off at El Cajon I could tell my hands were feeling better. But I still only had about another 20 mins of traffic time in my hands.

Of course, I spend all day typing like mad and my hand are VERY tired right now. I need to go ride my road bike to recover from typing this post. OIY!!!!!

Rumble, rumble, rumble

That's the sound of a 90deg V-twin and it is good!

The sound makes the bike sound a lot bigger than it is. It kinda sounds like a Ducati with out the maintenance costs and the big price tag.

I retrived it on Sunday. The seller lived in Beverly Hills and so we met in Corona to do the deal. Sean Burke of SDVA Presidential fame was nice enough to ride it down for me. Though, I think he may have gotten a better deal out of this because when I got the key from him after riding it down, he had a reeeeeallllly big grin on his face.

I've got about 6 hours of riding on it so far and I am diggin' every minute of it.

Next stop: Motorcycle skills class this weekend.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble

Well, in less than 4 months I have logged about 2,300 miles on my moto and I have say that I am enjoying pretty much every minute of it. I'm getting comfortable with the SV and I have really developed an affinity for the distinctive power delivery of 90degree V-twin. I can hear them a mile away.

The 20 odd years of bike racing has really helped me acclimatize to riding a moto, but there is a downside to that. Initially, I was very cautious with the bike. However, now that I am pretty comfortable I am noticing that I am in a somewhat precarious state since the moto feels like my bike. I sometimes forget that I am on a 400lb bike instead of a 15lb one and it takes a lot more effort to make it do what I want. I am getting too comfortable for how much skill I have. I am starting to ride my moto as if I was on a racing bike and that's is dangerous.

I find that I am now on a somewhat shallow learning curve with normal riding on the street. Street riding is just too chaotic and dangerous to really push my skill limits. I am finding that I actually seek out stop and go traffic so I can practice my lane splitting.

The challenging bits that I encounter during my commuting are too few and far between. They sneak up on me and they are over before I realize it and I don't really learn that much from them, which is bad since I am doomed to repeat my mistakes and that can get you killed.

I am a little afraid since the low lever motor control part of me can't tell the difference between a motorcycle and a bicycle and I am getting lulled into a false sense of confidence.

A good friend of mine who has spent about the same amount of time being a motorcycle guy as I have spent as a bicycle guy encouraged me early on to take my moto to the track.

He said that it will rapidly increase my skill and make me a much safer rider.

Funny thing is that after hearing a conversation about riding motorcycles and going to the track, Suzy (my girlfriend) actually said she wanted me to go to the track since she's a little worry about me being out on a motorcycle.

Darn! I guess I am going to have to go to the track then. I hate when that happens.

So, I guess I am going to have to go buy some more leathers and stuff. You know how much I hate leather. (Everybody who knows me knows this is blatant factiousness: I love leather).

But the other thing that happening is my moto lust is kicking in. I was at the Peet's in Hillcrest and there was a bright shiny red Ducati in the parking lot. Suzy said my eyes started twinkling what I saw it.

Lusting after a Ducati isn't the bad thing, lusting after another bike after only 4 months of riding is.

I need to cool my jets and put some more time on the SV before I start thinking about a Ducati or any other bike, no less.


But look at this!!! This thing is fvcking beautiful!!! How can you not lust over it?

The other thing is a used 748 goes for about $6000-7000. I can do that. I have to resist though.