Squidly Rabbit
It's an exciting time of year for anyone in Anchorage who loves motorcycles, and amateur hour is in full force. I predict that by Sunday we'll have our first reported motorycle fatality of the season. Let's hope it's not mine!
Squidly Rabbit Learns About Safety Gear
As I was gearing up for my after work jaunt to Beluga Point - First Gear Kilimanjaro riding suit, boots, gloves, ear plugs, neck warmer, sunglasses, hair wrap and full face helmet all takes a while - a co-worker called me over to hear his amusing story. At lunch he was walking across Minnesota at Benson when he saw a guy on a new sportbike attempting to negotiate a corner. The rider cut too close, overcorrected and went too wide, bumped up over a curb and promptly fell over. After we laughed about that, I relayed the tale of an acquaintance who wanted to learn how to ride and promptly went out and bought a Yamaha FZ6. As a racer friend of mine put it, "If you're learning how to drive, don't you think maybe a VW would be a better choice than a Ferrari?" On his first day, with no experience in countersteering or clutch control, and no MSF course, my squidly friend crashed into the back of his own truck. My coworkers and I laughed some more and I headed out to watch the Friday evening festivities on the Seward Highway.
Mind you, this very morning I pulled a couple of chump moves of my own so I was riding pretty humbly, just trying to give the cages their space. It was a nice ride, fresh air and sunshine, with the earplugs I've recently added to my gear offering an incredibly soothing reduction in wind racket. I love them! They've put many more fatigue-free miles on my range. Then, one block from my turn-off, heading north on Lake Otis, I came over the crest of the hill to see a rider trying to catch the light from Waldron to make the right turn south, fail to manage his speed and steering, hit the median and flip over right in front of me. He and the bike bounced and slid - bike parts grinding and flying. He leapt to his feet as I stopped to ask if he was OK, but he - looking very handsome and cool wearing absolutely no protective ANYthing - was already occupied wheeling his Harley back from whence he came. I'm sure when the shock wears off he's going to be in some serious pain.
It's been an interesting day from a rider's point of view. There is something about watching a dude smash up his beautiful Harley that makes me want to laugh, but as every rider knows, "It's not IF you drop your bike, it's WHEN." So I must remember that on some level we are all only a Squid.
Squidly Rabbit Learns About Safety Gear
As I was gearing up for my after work jaunt to Beluga Point - First Gear Kilimanjaro riding suit, boots, gloves, ear plugs, neck warmer, sunglasses, hair wrap and full face helmet all takes a while - a co-worker called me over to hear his amusing story. At lunch he was walking across Minnesota at Benson when he saw a guy on a new sportbike attempting to negotiate a corner. The rider cut too close, overcorrected and went too wide, bumped up over a curb and promptly fell over. After we laughed about that, I relayed the tale of an acquaintance who wanted to learn how to ride and promptly went out and bought a Yamaha FZ6. As a racer friend of mine put it, "If you're learning how to drive, don't you think maybe a VW would be a better choice than a Ferrari?" On his first day, with no experience in countersteering or clutch control, and no MSF course, my squidly friend crashed into the back of his own truck. My coworkers and I laughed some more and I headed out to watch the Friday evening festivities on the Seward Highway.
Mind you, this very morning I pulled a couple of chump moves of my own so I was riding pretty humbly, just trying to give the cages their space. It was a nice ride, fresh air and sunshine, with the earplugs I've recently added to my gear offering an incredibly soothing reduction in wind racket. I love them! They've put many more fatigue-free miles on my range. Then, one block from my turn-off, heading north on Lake Otis, I came over the crest of the hill to see a rider trying to catch the light from Waldron to make the right turn south, fail to manage his speed and steering, hit the median and flip over right in front of me. He and the bike bounced and slid - bike parts grinding and flying. He leapt to his feet as I stopped to ask if he was OK, but he - looking very handsome and cool wearing absolutely no protective ANYthing - was already occupied wheeling his Harley back from whence he came. I'm sure when the shock wears off he's going to be in some serious pain.
It's been an interesting day from a rider's point of view. There is something about watching a dude smash up his beautiful Harley that makes me want to laugh, but as every rider knows, "It's not IF you drop your bike, it's WHEN." So I must remember that on some level we are all only a Squid.
posted by EggOfTheDead at 9:04 PM
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