The engine has moved into the realm where airbox volume and exhaust pipe length conspire to create a perfect storm and revs build magically. I am not sure what sounds angrier, the motor or the wind around my helmet. I’m a little startled to see how close the sun dappled pavement is, hanging slightly off the bike and looking at onrushing Wilton Road between the clutch lever and the rearview mirror.
We’re well into, “please step to the front of my vehicle and place your hands on the hood” speeds. Perhaps closing on triple the speed limit, but I am unsure of how it’s posted here. The bike comes upright. I concentrate on keeping my breathing even and steady, to stave off any panic that might come. My mind is, blissfully, given over to my body.
High on the ridge the road opens onto a straight boarded by meadow. I back off the throttle because there’s no sense in carrying any more speed between corners. In the high summer the light it is bright enough to bleach everything. The tans and greens of early August fuse into muted pallet joined at the hip with cicadas and the smell of bar-b-q.
For no good reason except the bike is fully upright, I drop two downshifts and let the motor pile against itself. The rear wheel hops and chatters until I squeeze the front brake. When wheel and engine speeds match and the rear hooks back up. Its sloppy technique, but I allow myself the pleasure of it.
The left turn is now at hand. The rider in front of me blinks off the long straight on onto Damant Road, which follows a brook of the same name into the valley. He rides like Hailwood, bolt upright on the bike, all long graceful arcs. I have no idea how it works for him, but it must.
I can’t see much into the corner, as the road there is deeply overhung with trees. The bright light of the open makes it look black to my eyes; but the front end is compressed and I am already off the side of the bike holding it upright by pushing the grip forward. I snap it into the turn.
Damant falls sharply away from the ridge, and the transition is abrupt. The whole bike goes light, with the suspension topped out. Everything is weightless midcorner at the exact moment I am shifting my body to the other side for the right hander fast approaching. My eyes come into focus, adjusting to the deep shade under the canopy, the bike touches down and we are away, like sparrows.
Later, that evening I am more than a little drunk and riders are gathered by a fire. I hear some conjecture about why the moon looks so big on the horizon and listen to their explanations. To my addled brain, none sounds right and offer this: “It’s because when you look at the moon on the horizon it’s distorted by the curve of the atmosphere, which acts as a lens.” I am drunk enough to listen to myself talk as if I someone else were speaking and I think, “sounds pretty good!” To my surprise I hear myself add, “but my mother, who is Italian-God bless her, would tell you “because it’s beautiful.”” And, just then, I know which answer is right.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Olga's Story Part 1
We’re at a sidewalk table in front of Sam’s Café, the three of us, as usual. It’s warm, almost still hot. Our three black chairs, and a fourth vacant, surround the small metal table a little too crowded against the weekenders here that come to our main street on afternoons like these.
Luke is in fine fettle, and I shoot Barry a quick sly smile. Luke pantomimes the position of the motorcycles with his hands; held like knives in the air, leaning this way and that. He’s showing how earlier we had come against the chain of Harley riders just before approaching the best section of the mountain pass.
He’s becoming more excited now, the pressure of the whole situation: the potential for oncoming traffic to ruin things, how it all must go just right, judging their lean and hoping they would run wide so we could cut inside them and continue our morning unabated run by their rolling roadblock.
Having only two hands but explaining the location of many things in space Luke is pointing into the air all around him, recreating our run up the mountain in a small invisible world hovering above the empty fourth chair between us and the tourists on the street.
Luke and Barry and I have become older men than we once were, but somehow wear the role of middle aged men costumes. Luke has recently taken to waxed cotton gear and looking, somehow, “weathered”.
I look beyond them, not really hearing the story anymore, now watching he broad pink light reflect off the stained glass of the cathedral. Still, Luke is good at this physical story telling. I can see the whole road this morning as he has painted it in the air. I can feel the tension in his body, setting up the long chain of bikers for the pass. His hands whirr becoming the knife edged leaning motorcycles, then his hands are on the throttle and clutch, then pointing out obstacles or drawing curves for these ephemeral bikes to motor though.
He rubs his fingers together to show us sand, or covers the back of his palm his other hand for leaves. We are mesmerized. Even though both Barry and I were there this morning here we are there again, heroes nostalgic for a recent past and reliving it now.
At last, Luke gets to the pass, he pantomimes the three bikers lining up and running impossibly wide in the right hand sweeping turn. Barry and I both smile as he show us by creating a broad blocking arc with his left arm, as if to hug a round friend, he traces a quick arc inside this with his right hand. Us, streaking by heroically!
He rises from his chair, lips sputtering lips in pantomime motorcycle sound and hands on the bar, his left showing the upshifts as we shoot past. Now we’re running hot into the next corners, things are falling apart. Luke continues to point it objects in the air his hands and us as motorcycles knifing though the imagined landscape.
He hooks of foot around the empty chair he has risen from and, either in a moment of brilliance or clumsiness hurls it into the stream of sidewalk tourists before him. It clatters creating space for him to continue his story unabated and now frantic.
We had been frustrated, trapped behind the bikers, and now rushed headlong into the pass. Luke reaches out with cupped hands into the arc of tourists the chair has created and says quietly to them “a rabbit, you see, a little bunny, in the road” the tourists are immediately taken in. He’s now got a fake British accent, “my mates and I were going too fast on our motorbikes this morning, when at rabbit should appear on the road” and explains the pile up. Barry running a great distance on his front wheel, me into the woods, him slewing wildly and the silence thereafter.
The Harley riders, dispatched with great pomp moments before now parade past us serenely. The police await, fruitlessly, around the next bend
Luke, satisfied with his story rights his chair and sits down. The tourist, so taken in moments ago are a bit slow to leave. Nobody says anything for a moment or two. Barry lights a cigarette, the gap created by Luke’s antic closes up and the tourist continue in their stream to where ever they go. We look at out bikes parked at the curb.
After a time I say, “let me tell you boys a story as unlikely as it is true, of an old woman, a great love and a motorcycle” I close my eyes and again find myself in Olga Sleutin’s world. For a moment I just sit eyes closed there on the street with my friends, but in her cold room this springtime, on the third floor, above the garden.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Street Fighting Man
In the late 1990s I lived in California, in San Francisco. For a few weeks when I first arrived I became a bicycle messenger. I did my time on the Sansome wall, I worked for Aero, the biggest company that had the lowest rung in the social pecking order of San Francisco couriers.
During the years that I lived in SF and traveled in Latin America, I didn’t own motorcycles, but I never stopped thinking about them. Along side us bike couriers were the motorcycle couriers. We eyed each other suspiciously, but shared space. We were athletic; they were, well, different.
We all charged. Everyone made all their money between the hours of 9:30 -11:30 with another rush between 1 and 3:30. During these hours there were packages to deliver and we all made haste. What this amounted to was a loosely controlled race within the city every single day. Do well today, and your dispatcher, the person that assigns you packages will give you choice runs tomorrow. Every day, every day, the momentum builds. Have a bad week? It shows up in your paycheck next week and you get fewer packages. Living at the poverty line this has real meaning. Eat to ride, ride to eat is not a slogan but a life for couriers.
All this meant that I rode crazy. We all did, but so did the motorcyclists. There have been plenty of times and places in my life where I have realized I was in over my head, involved with people whom I had no business rubbing shoulders with, involved in a dangerous and sometimes illegal activity. I once became so enraged I kicked the rear view mirror off a car in traffic. I was satisfied to see it hang from it's control wires.
I've heard it said that San Francisco has more emergency room admissions for per motorcycle registration than any other major metropolitan area in the United State. I can believe this.
Maybe you've hear of Ziegiest, the famous motorcycle bar in San Francisco. Ziegiest of the flower of motorcycle courier "style". The reason for the quotation marks is that like so much of motorcycling many people ape the lives of few. Harley guys dress in motorcycle gang "style", BMW guys dress as if they were leaving for Africa at any moment, ricers dress up as Valentino Rossie. It's a fantasy world unrivaled even by little girls combing the manes of their plastic ponies.
To me there is something beautiful about a 7 year old CBR with damaged body work that a Triumph Speed Triple just isn't going to capture. At some point, out of necessity or weariness or due to lack of funds most couriers just gave up. They stopped perpetuating the fiction that motorcycles don't fall over. "Street Fighter" motorcycles, like the Speed Triple, are supposedly derived from this world.
Crashing is a real thing, I did it myself at the track recently. Even in that controlled environment it was pretty frightening. I can't imagine it on a crowded street with buses and curbing and pedestrians. I wanted to erase the memory of it quickly and removed every mark left on the bike, replacing levers with scuffs that in no way impaired function.
In another time and place I realized the beauty of marks. There were times when I would drink in the sight of knackered CX500s and rolled FZRs. There were as loved as working dogs, or as despised by them. Either way, they were tools.
As someone that considers himself an aficionado of motorcycles I am aware that I was observing a rare species. Like a botanist clinging to the side of a waterfall in South America viewing, for a few moments, a rare bromeliad I was witness to a rolling concourse of inelegance that spontaneously assembled every day.
I was close enough to these guys to bum cigarettes off of them. They were not friends but not strangers either. So, I look at this derived "style" and think of the price paid by willing and unwilling participants that threw CBRs down crowded San Fransisco streets. So when you see a Speed Triple, close your eyes and know what cool is.
During the years that I lived in SF and traveled in Latin America, I didn’t own motorcycles, but I never stopped thinking about them. Along side us bike couriers were the motorcycle couriers. We eyed each other suspiciously, but shared space. We were athletic; they were, well, different.
We all charged. Everyone made all their money between the hours of 9:30 -11:30 with another rush between 1 and 3:30. During these hours there were packages to deliver and we all made haste. What this amounted to was a loosely controlled race within the city every single day. Do well today, and your dispatcher, the person that assigns you packages will give you choice runs tomorrow. Every day, every day, the momentum builds. Have a bad week? It shows up in your paycheck next week and you get fewer packages. Living at the poverty line this has real meaning. Eat to ride, ride to eat is not a slogan but a life for couriers.
All this meant that I rode crazy. We all did, but so did the motorcyclists. There have been plenty of times and places in my life where I have realized I was in over my head, involved with people whom I had no business rubbing shoulders with, involved in a dangerous and sometimes illegal activity. I once became so enraged I kicked the rear view mirror off a car in traffic. I was satisfied to see it hang from it's control wires.
I've heard it said that San Francisco has more emergency room admissions for per motorcycle registration than any other major metropolitan area in the United State. I can believe this.
Maybe you've hear of Ziegiest, the famous motorcycle bar in San Francisco. Ziegiest of the flower of motorcycle courier "style". The reason for the quotation marks is that like so much of motorcycling many people ape the lives of few. Harley guys dress in motorcycle gang "style", BMW guys dress as if they were leaving for Africa at any moment, ricers dress up as Valentino Rossie. It's a fantasy world unrivaled even by little girls combing the manes of their plastic ponies.
To me there is something beautiful about a 7 year old CBR with damaged body work that a Triumph Speed Triple just isn't going to capture. At some point, out of necessity or weariness or due to lack of funds most couriers just gave up. They stopped perpetuating the fiction that motorcycles don't fall over. "Street Fighter" motorcycles, like the Speed Triple, are supposedly derived from this world.
Crashing is a real thing, I did it myself at the track recently. Even in that controlled environment it was pretty frightening. I can't imagine it on a crowded street with buses and curbing and pedestrians. I wanted to erase the memory of it quickly and removed every mark left on the bike, replacing levers with scuffs that in no way impaired function.
In another time and place I realized the beauty of marks. There were times when I would drink in the sight of knackered CX500s and rolled FZRs. There were as loved as working dogs, or as despised by them. Either way, they were tools.
As someone that considers himself an aficionado of motorcycles I am aware that I was observing a rare species. Like a botanist clinging to the side of a waterfall in South America viewing, for a few moments, a rare bromeliad I was witness to a rolling concourse of inelegance that spontaneously assembled every day.
I was close enough to these guys to bum cigarettes off of them. They were not friends but not strangers either. So, I look at this derived "style" and think of the price paid by willing and unwilling participants that threw CBRs down crowded San Fransisco streets. So when you see a Speed Triple, close your eyes and know what cool is.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sojourn at Midcoast
I have been visiting Maine on vacation since I was a mere lad myself. My family always stopped at the Showroom to impress upon myself and siblings that was I not diligent in school and law abiding it could come to pass that I would be forced to make chunky furniture or thumb wrestling rings sized for giants. I would do this, I was told, under the tutelage of men who had never read an issue of Harper’s, the sort of men who might wear white as late as Columbus Day. Needless to say I was scared, mostly, straight.
On this most recent visit I was troubled to see a great deal of Harley Davidson themed art within the Showroom. Most striking was a life sized depiction of David Mann’s “Neptune”. For those not in the know this painting, and the subsequent rendering in basswood and maple, depicts a triumphant Neptune astride a shovelhead Harley chopper. His pillion is an amply busted mermaid, Neptune clutches trident.
In spite of his Greco-Roman origins Nepture is apparently a Nordic giant with a gym membership. Given the number of clues (mermaid, trident, and title of the work) Mann still decided to depict Neptune with a gangland style tattoo, his own name in gothic font arching over his navel. One simply recalls Magritte, sighs, and recites “Ceci n’est pas un pipe”.
apparatus nomen est meus nomen (The Machine’s name is my name)
There were several other pieces of motorcycle “art” scattered throughout the display. Most of these depicted are various pre-Evolution Harlys. Many of the displays were either identified as pan, shovel, or knucklehead engines. These engines are considered “righteous.” Their lack of oil-tight seals presupposes mechanical aptitude. Images of skinned knuckles and dirt-encrusted nails spring to mind. These are “greaser” bikes, whose ownership precludes professional employ. These motors are emblematic of the loser, the persons at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. In choosing these motors one stands against “success.”
Most brainwashing and hazing rituals begin by inducing a person to commit a terrible act, such as a crime. Said inductee is then given a series of coping mechanisms that allow the eventual rationalization of the act as being “worth it” because it allows inclusion into a select group. These coping mechanisms are the ritual behaviors of the “faithful” the Harley rider.
Typically, the faithful have a rich panoply of insignia and symbols to remind themselves of inclusion. These bikes represent “outlaw” values. They include such hypermasculine traits as domination of women, use of violence to solve problems, or the general disregard for any form of social norms or cultural values.
In my estimation the “heritage” and “tradition” they refer to is a time before the repeal of Jim Crowe laws and before the women’s liberation movement. It is a period where white men ruled, at least in the limited canon of Harley literature.
Harley Davidson tacitly embraces motorcycle gang culture with its HOG chapters and their gang-like three panel patches. It’s convenient for Harley to commodify regressive values when their customer base, white men, is under siege. A shifting work and value system no longer values “traditional” male roles of domination (e.g., males as heads of households) or work (the exportation of skilled physical labor).
Nazi symbols have always been associated with 1% gangs. Culturally, highly visible racism is most prevalent at the bottom of the social stratum. Current HD culture turns racism minimally socially palatable with the Prussian Cross. I suggest the Prussian Cross, (the West Coast Choppers logo) is a substitute swastika for those lacking the gall to display the true artifact.
The cross itself is derived from a family of encircled or rotating cross icons that are widely used to identify white racists within the US prison systems. As an example, the Klu Klux Clan is a clumsy translation of “circle cross family.” In essence, the cross becomes a secret language that tacitly communicates racism and every cruiser catalog is filled with items recast as Prussian Crosses.
For purposes of disclosure, I am of Prussian descent. My grandfather, Vadislaw, immigrated to the United State from what was then Prussia. I am aware of the complex nature of symbols, and this symbol in particular. I am referencing this symbol within, only, the criminal subculture and the larger use of the symbol by the Harley community at large to communicate select values.
a typicus prosperitas parumper frater (A symbol of prosperity for our brothers)
It’s impossible to imagine that the inmate is unaware, even if not liminally, of the array of values communicated by the pre Evolution, should we say creationist or intelligently designed (HA!) Harley.
Another piece of art at the Thomaston Showroom was a wood burning of a bear riding a chopper under pennant bearing the motto “Maine.” Choppers are difficult to ride and bears are poorly suited to controlling motorcycles. How like the inmate, then, is this Maine bear, his life out of control as Ursus americanus astride a stretched panhead? This, my brothers, is a cry for help. To aid, we must come.
How much better to direct the inmates of the Maine State Prisons to create modern BMW motorcycle themed art? The stolid BMW motorcycle is invocative of reliability, financial security and upward social mobility. How much better to invoke the tidy shaft drive (when properly shimmed) of the non-Rotex BMW in comparison to the poorly machined cases of the “intelligently designed” Harley.
What better service could we extend to the wayward than to offer our own mounts (except I own a Suzuki) as paragons of reliability? They might, then, turn to lives of incremental advance where after several decades they could apply for a credit application which might allow them to purchase a quality pre-owned BMW.
Moreover we could swell our own ranks, in some distant future, with newly minted converts to the cause of European motorcycling (excluding English and Italian motorcycles). Consider my personal appeal to take these rapscallions to heart and consider the misspent lives, the impoverished and kitschy woodwork and mayhem and appeal to the Maine State Prison showroom when next you traverse Thomaston aboard your mighty K or R bike.
Beemers, lend me your ears, and your motorcycle.
Please forgive my temerity in the broach of such a broad topic within a necessarily narrow framework. Indeed I have swung open many doors merely to gesture down the hallway. I am remiss by means of omission. In my meager defense I invoke the oft repeated aphorism “illic es tantum tot centipedes vos can duco sicco obvius silva” or “there are only so many centipedes you can count out in the woods.”
Roadcrafter v. Darien Review
Vance had always been a post-apocalyptic kind of guy. His favorite movies were Escape From New York and Logan's Run. He didn't like his neighbors and they didn't like him. The unmown lawn, the jury rigged solar panels and propane tanks just didn't sit well in Northampton. Vance wasn't surprised to find his neighbor Sally dead on her doorstep or her husband Teddy slumped behind the wheel of his car. In fact, up and down the street he noticed several cars that appeared to be crashed into telephone poles, trees, and houses. It looked like the inevitable had happened. He was, at last, a post-apocalyptic guy in a post-apocalyptic world. Naturally, Vance hopped on his bike slipped into his Aerostich Roadcrafter and headed towards the supermarket.
Vance was surprised to see Barry at the supermarket when he arrived. Everywhere along the way it'd been the same - bodies, crashed cars just like he'd always imagined. "Why'd you set the Stop and Shop on fire, Barry?" Vance intoned. "I didn't, it was burning when I got here. Anyhow, there's a Shaw's supermarket over the mountain in Pittsfield," Barry said as he leaned against his bike in his Aerostich Darien.
The morning was starting to heat up now, and the fire wasn't helping things. Barry slipped off his jacket (the Darien is a two piece) while they considered the route to Pittsfield. Vance, still astride his mount, unzipped the Roadcrafter, and even though it slipped on and off easily it was still a bit too much to take off for this short amount of time.
Barry's jacket and pants were both thinner and better ventilated than the Roadcrafter, so he felt cooler. This didn't really bother Vance, since he could wear very light street clothing under his Roadcrafter. Just then Vance noticed a group of bikers, The Mean Monsters, a local 1% gang. Shots rang out.
Vance pulled his Smith and Wesson .40 and returned fire. The Roadcrafter had ample pockets for an even larger piece than his giant S&W. The close fit of the Roadcrafter allowed the heavy gun to be carried comfortably, close to the body. Vance was surprised to see Barry pull out a Walther .22 caliber handgun. He didn't think Barry was the sort to carry, but he was glad he did.
After the Monsters went off looking for easier prey he asked Barry what gave. "Well, I stopped by Valley Sporting Goods this morning and threw a rock through their window. I looked at the guns and didn't know what to take. The lighter .22 just felt better in the Darien." Vance smiled thinking of his big gun but Barry knew that he'd deployed the lighter Walther faster and had gotten off more accurate shots due to less recoil. "In the end, it's not the size of the load, it's all about placement," thought Barry.
Both Barry and Vance wanted to get out of town. They motored fast through the wrecked cars. Vance was able to pull ahead since he felt confident in the more protective Roadcrafter. The Roadcrafter's overall shape is better suited to an aggressive street riding position than the Darien.
As they got onto the mountain the going got slower and the Darien began to shine. Barry enjoyed standing and hunting through the rocky terrain. The main road had been totally cut off by a huge pile up and Vance and Barry had to pick their way along forest roads and sometimes even trails. The Darien was better suited to standing and trail riding.
They decided to camp for the night; it was late and it was cool. Overall Barry was more comfortable in his suit making camp than Vance in his 'crafter. The two piece Darien was just easier to move around in and the padding was easily removed. Barry was pleased with the Darien for this application. He even managed to shoot a rabbit for dinner with his Walther, which Vance's .40 would have obliterated.
When it came time to sleep, there was no contest. The Roadcrafter has long been known as the Aerostich Motel. Vance awoke well rested. Barry had even zipped in the optional jacket liner, but the Darien was just less comfortable to sleep in.
In the morning they decided to find some gas. When the dirt roads became pavement again near Dalton they stopped at a trailer home that had two ATVs, a Suburban, a riding mower and three cars out front.
It was then that they were set upon by the Road Rashers, a Mean Monsters satellite club. Unfortunately they'd locked their guns in saddlebags, so it was fisticuffs. The Road Rashers attacked with their trademark sandpaper-covered hockey sticks. The Roadcrafter with it's superior padding definitely held up better and Vance was pleased. Barry's two piece Darien also allowed the rashers to get purchase on Barry and drag him around, potentially getting under the coat and hurting him. Still, overall, they were much better protected than the Rashers in their vests and chaps.
Barry and Vance had both had dated the same Aikido instructor, Linda, whose class they'd both taken. They used that knowledge, and some garden implements, to fight their way back to their bikes. Barry was a bit more beaten up, but OK. Vance hardly noticed it.
When they finally got to the Shaw's supermarket Barry and and Vance went in and filled up with Ramen Noodles and other awesome foodstuff. They drove their bikes right into the store, but Vance was able to pack a bit more into his Roadcrafter than Barry's Darien. That's when Shelly and Brenda appeared. Shelly said, "Wow, we have the same bikes as you guys. It looks like whatever happened just people with dual-purpose bikes and 1% gang members survived." "Thank god, that means no more K bikes at the Yankee Beemers breakfasts" Brenda stated simply.
Shelly was wearing Darien Light and had a .223 carbine rifle slung over her shoulder, and Brenda an Aerostich Transit with a crossbow. The blue Darien Light set off Shelly's fair hair that trailed below her HJC Symax II. The Transit accentuated Brenda's graceful form and dark locks. Both looked fetching and imposing.
So, pick your poison. The Roadcrafter is better at high speeds, better for carrying dense weight close to your body, makes a better sleeping bag and offers more protection. The Darien looks and acts more like a normal jacket and pants, is better for dual sport riding and fits looser and offers more freedom of action.
While the .22 lacks stopping power, it's easier and faster to use and potentially more versatile. The big Smith and Wesson may be slower, but one shot is all it ever takes when on target.
Barry thought Brenda's crossbow would be quiet and self contained - no looking for more ammo, just reuse the bolts. Vance thought Shelly and her carbine quite the pretty picture. The gun would still be useful in close quarters, due to it's short length, but deliver incredible stopping power.
Somehow, everyone knew, there amidst the spoiling milk and rotting meat (the power grid gave out that morning) that everything would be OK. Everyone had chosen their gear well; all of these were good choices and it spoke to the intelligence of the group. Though the electrics that ran the store may have been dead there was electricity enough between Barry and Brenda and also between Vance and Shelly. Their loaded bikes awaited, and they rolled out of the supermarket to a life that everyone knew would contain not only adventure riding, but romance as well.
Vance was surprised to see Barry at the supermarket when he arrived. Everywhere along the way it'd been the same - bodies, crashed cars just like he'd always imagined. "Why'd you set the Stop and Shop on fire, Barry?" Vance intoned. "I didn't, it was burning when I got here. Anyhow, there's a Shaw's supermarket over the mountain in Pittsfield," Barry said as he leaned against his bike in his Aerostich Darien.
The morning was starting to heat up now, and the fire wasn't helping things. Barry slipped off his jacket (the Darien is a two piece) while they considered the route to Pittsfield. Vance, still astride his mount, unzipped the Roadcrafter, and even though it slipped on and off easily it was still a bit too much to take off for this short amount of time.
Barry's jacket and pants were both thinner and better ventilated than the Roadcrafter, so he felt cooler. This didn't really bother Vance, since he could wear very light street clothing under his Roadcrafter. Just then Vance noticed a group of bikers, The Mean Monsters, a local 1% gang. Shots rang out.
Vance pulled his Smith and Wesson .40 and returned fire. The Roadcrafter had ample pockets for an even larger piece than his giant S&W. The close fit of the Roadcrafter allowed the heavy gun to be carried comfortably, close to the body. Vance was surprised to see Barry pull out a Walther .22 caliber handgun. He didn't think Barry was the sort to carry, but he was glad he did.
After the Monsters went off looking for easier prey he asked Barry what gave. "Well, I stopped by Valley Sporting Goods this morning and threw a rock through their window. I looked at the guns and didn't know what to take. The lighter .22 just felt better in the Darien." Vance smiled thinking of his big gun but Barry knew that he'd deployed the lighter Walther faster and had gotten off more accurate shots due to less recoil. "In the end, it's not the size of the load, it's all about placement," thought Barry.
Both Barry and Vance wanted to get out of town. They motored fast through the wrecked cars. Vance was able to pull ahead since he felt confident in the more protective Roadcrafter. The Roadcrafter's overall shape is better suited to an aggressive street riding position than the Darien.
As they got onto the mountain the going got slower and the Darien began to shine. Barry enjoyed standing and hunting through the rocky terrain. The main road had been totally cut off by a huge pile up and Vance and Barry had to pick their way along forest roads and sometimes even trails. The Darien was better suited to standing and trail riding.
They decided to camp for the night; it was late and it was cool. Overall Barry was more comfortable in his suit making camp than Vance in his 'crafter. The two piece Darien was just easier to move around in and the padding was easily removed. Barry was pleased with the Darien for this application. He even managed to shoot a rabbit for dinner with his Walther, which Vance's .40 would have obliterated.
When it came time to sleep, there was no contest. The Roadcrafter has long been known as the Aerostich Motel. Vance awoke well rested. Barry had even zipped in the optional jacket liner, but the Darien was just less comfortable to sleep in.
In the morning they decided to find some gas. When the dirt roads became pavement again near Dalton they stopped at a trailer home that had two ATVs, a Suburban, a riding mower and three cars out front.
It was then that they were set upon by the Road Rashers, a Mean Monsters satellite club. Unfortunately they'd locked their guns in saddlebags, so it was fisticuffs. The Road Rashers attacked with their trademark sandpaper-covered hockey sticks. The Roadcrafter with it's superior padding definitely held up better and Vance was pleased. Barry's two piece Darien also allowed the rashers to get purchase on Barry and drag him around, potentially getting under the coat and hurting him. Still, overall, they were much better protected than the Rashers in their vests and chaps.
Barry and Vance had both had dated the same Aikido instructor, Linda, whose class they'd both taken. They used that knowledge, and some garden implements, to fight their way back to their bikes. Barry was a bit more beaten up, but OK. Vance hardly noticed it.
When they finally got to the Shaw's supermarket Barry and and Vance went in and filled up with Ramen Noodles and other awesome foodstuff. They drove their bikes right into the store, but Vance was able to pack a bit more into his Roadcrafter than Barry's Darien. That's when Shelly and Brenda appeared. Shelly said, "Wow, we have the same bikes as you guys. It looks like whatever happened just people with dual-purpose bikes and 1% gang members survived." "Thank god, that means no more K bikes at the Yankee Beemers breakfasts" Brenda stated simply.
Shelly was wearing Darien Light and had a .223 carbine rifle slung over her shoulder, and Brenda an Aerostich Transit with a crossbow. The blue Darien Light set off Shelly's fair hair that trailed below her HJC Symax II. The Transit accentuated Brenda's graceful form and dark locks. Both looked fetching and imposing.
So, pick your poison. The Roadcrafter is better at high speeds, better for carrying dense weight close to your body, makes a better sleeping bag and offers more protection. The Darien looks and acts more like a normal jacket and pants, is better for dual sport riding and fits looser and offers more freedom of action.
While the .22 lacks stopping power, it's easier and faster to use and potentially more versatile. The big Smith and Wesson may be slower, but one shot is all it ever takes when on target.
Barry thought Brenda's crossbow would be quiet and self contained - no looking for more ammo, just reuse the bolts. Vance thought Shelly and her carbine quite the pretty picture. The gun would still be useful in close quarters, due to it's short length, but deliver incredible stopping power.
Somehow, everyone knew, there amidst the spoiling milk and rotting meat (the power grid gave out that morning) that everything would be OK. Everyone had chosen their gear well; all of these were good choices and it spoke to the intelligence of the group. Though the electrics that ran the store may have been dead there was electricity enough between Barry and Brenda and also between Vance and Shelly. Their loaded bikes awaited, and they rolled out of the supermarket to a life that everyone knew would contain not only adventure riding, but romance as well.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Actually Riding
It's been a little while since I have posted, mainly because I have been riding. I've not been thinking so much about riding, this year I am actually doing it. Riding to work has been fun. At about a 25 mile round trip it's not a huge distance but it's a nice break in the day.
Most days I work at two libraries, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. The nicest thing about jumping on the bike is that it's something fun around lunch time. There's another advantage too.
Where the motorcycle really shines isn't on the open road but, rather, around town. I've found that I can slip in and out of parking areas and filtering through traffic.
There has been a down side too. Without air conditioning the few hot days we've had have been well, hot. People don't really think about that but it's true. There's no place more lousy to be then at a light over black pavement surrounded by hot engines while in a lot of protective gear.
I've mostly mitigated this by choosing a different route. I think it's actually about the same in time.
I've also added Aerostich tank panniers. These are pretty great. I like the load up front and I like being able to peek in the bags quickly without getting off the bike.
Priscilla and I also bought a scooter, a two stroke, and kept it about a week. We sold it because we were offered triple what we paid for it but it was really good. I fail to see, from many viewpoints, what a "proper" motorcycle can do that the scooter couldn't. I'm trying to get an old Puch moped running (125 mpg!) to pull a lot of the short haul stuff taken care of.
More on scooter thinking later.
Most days I work at two libraries, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. The nicest thing about jumping on the bike is that it's something fun around lunch time. There's another advantage too.
Where the motorcycle really shines isn't on the open road but, rather, around town. I've found that I can slip in and out of parking areas and filtering through traffic.
There has been a down side too. Without air conditioning the few hot days we've had have been well, hot. People don't really think about that but it's true. There's no place more lousy to be then at a light over black pavement surrounded by hot engines while in a lot of protective gear.
I've mostly mitigated this by choosing a different route. I think it's actually about the same in time.
I've also added Aerostich tank panniers. These are pretty great. I like the load up front and I like being able to peek in the bags quickly without getting off the bike.
Priscilla and I also bought a scooter, a two stroke, and kept it about a week. We sold it because we were offered triple what we paid for it but it was really good. I fail to see, from many viewpoints, what a "proper" motorcycle can do that the scooter couldn't. I'm trying to get an old Puch moped running (125 mpg!) to pull a lot of the short haul stuff taken care of.
More on scooter thinking later.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Your Turn
I'm pretty excited to be taking Lee Parks Total Control ARC class this spring. Priscilla and I will be going out on May 10 & 11 to Troy, NY and I'll be taking two days of classes, with Priscilla, hopefully, joining me. for a little two up instruction.
The class appealed to me as I am a pretty competent street rider but not particularly interested in track days. Track days seem great, but the nearest track is a good distance away and the days are expensive. The basic entry for a track day in these parts is around $200.
I guess the idea is good. I can haul ass around the track and just worry about my line and testing my limits. There's no Aramco or trees and no SUVs drifting over the line. Track days, seem to me, to be the province of guys with two year old Aprillias. don''t get me wrong here. I think they're great and I'll get there eventually but I am not in going fast.
Well, I am interested in going "fast" but not as a measure of outright speed. There's a fast feeling that comes from doing things well.
I rode this past weekend with the Yankee Beemers and had a great time with them. I rode in the slow group, but near the front and on wet roads. There's a lovely feeling on group rides. The Beemers are a nice club and good riders, from what I saw. We never grossly exceeded the speed limit, but, to quote Crosby Stills and Nash we were "nicely making way".
I'd like to have that feeling more often. That's why I signed up for Lee's course. It's seems to be about riding well. Riding well is something I am interested in.
Being a librarian I picked up Lee Park's book, Total Control. I read through it pretty quickly. I have to say it suites me better than the standard, Keith Code's A Twist of the Wrist.
This is a funny thing though. Parks suggests that you choose your corner entry position in advance on turn in. So, like, I am coming down the straight, and decide I am going to turn IN at the mailbox, or just after the mailbox.
All my motorcycling life I have been choosing the corner exit point and just sort of tuning in when I thought I could see far enough through the corner that I felt like "now".
I tried this somewhat on the Yankee Beemers ride. I worked sometimes and sometimes didn't.
After about 10 years of thinking about riding I had gotten to the point of refining known facts. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. It seems like a track day thing, but of it winds up being useful and improves my street riding, great!
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