Passes & Canyons Blog

The last I had heard, the new motorcycle safety study that had finally been authorized was in jeopardy. Apparently, in this case no news was good news because I see in a recent issue of American Motorcyclist that things are moving along.

I knew that a pilot study had been set up and was functioning, with the intent of determining which factors the overall study should focus on, as well as helping determine methodology. The hang-up had been over costs. The amount originally projected was looking inadequate and there was reluctance to get started without full funding assured.

I still don’t know if full funding has been assured, but according to American Motorcyclist, “The full study is expected to begin soon and will take several years to complete.”

The article also states that “The federal government earmarked up to $2.8 million for the research, provided that the motorcycling community came up with another $2.8 million. The AMA immediately pledged $100,000 for the effort and AMA members kicked in money. Also, the motorcycle industry committed to provide $2.8 million through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, making the new study a reality.”

So actually, I guess that’s it right there. The money may not all be in hand but someone, somewhere committed to getting the money one way or another.

Great. Let the project begin. This can only do good for those of us who ride.

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Biker Quote for Today

I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol!

This is another back story post. I’m working on a feature article on deaf motorcyclists and in the process of doing so I’ve been finding out something a bit surprising. Deaf riders don’t see themselves as any different from those of us who can hear, they just can’t hear.

In the picture above, we see Jasmine Bluecreek-Clark (left) conversing with Cody Weese (second from right) during a motorcycle mechanics training class, while Roger Clark and Tom Crawford (right) observe. Cody is completely deaf and Jasmine is 80 percent deaf in her left ear. Tom is mostly deaf and has been riding for 35 years. Jasmine taught Cody to ride 2 years ago.

Now think about this for a moment. In rider training courses the instructors use hand signals. Why? Because with the noise of the bike, and all students wearing helmets, it can be hard to hear what they’re saying.

And it’s no different on the road. Unless we have bike to bike communication systems, we tend to use hand signals a lot. If anything, deaf riders have an advantage over the rest of us in that regard because hand signing is their native tongue.

But what about when an ambulance, fire truck, or police car comes screaming up behind you with lights flashing and siren wailing? Well, there is that part about the lights flashing. Deaf riders depend far more than the rest of us on their vision. They are far more focused than we are on checking their mirrors and being visually aware of their surroundings. And of course, one aspect of that is that if they see other traffic pulling over then they know they probably ought to do so as well, even if there are no flashing lights to be seen.

Many people wonder how it is that deaf people can even be allowed to drive but again, think about it. Nancy Soccermom drives around in her SUV with the radio blaring, the kids screaming, perhaps talking on her cell phone, with the windows rolled up and the air conditioning on. It’s not as if she’s going to hear much going on outside either, is she? Plus, she’s probably not paying anywhere near as much attention to her driving as deaf people do.

So this is an interesting story. I’m still researching it so it’s not ready for publication yet but I’ll let you know when it is.

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Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycling is an ego-driven venture. Whether it’s our quest for freedom and the open road, the need for speed, group riding or solo, motorcyclists are living life on the edge and know it. Some revel in it. The trick for any rider is to find a healthy balance between that drive to live on the edge, and the sensibility to step back from the edge before it’s too late.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve never been a Harley guy. Rather than spend big bucks on a loud, expensive bike with the pegs way out in front, I have always preferred the cheaper, quieter bikes with the pegs underneath so I can stand up on bumps.

Well, sometimes you have to make sacrifices. For me, as someone who writes about motorcycles, I sometimes have to ride Harleys. Just have to, you know? There’s no escaping it. Dirty job and all that.

This is just a heads-up that I’m going to be making the ultimate sacrifice in the coming weeks and I’ll be spending a lot of time on a variety of Harleys. I was talking the other day with Troy Terranova, the finance manager over at Rocky Mountain Harley-Davidson, and he’s going to try to change my mind.

As Troy puts it, he believes Harleys are hands-down the best motorcycles in the world and if money were not an issue the vast majority of riders would own a Harley–just that simple. For my part, I acknowledged that I’ve rarely ridden Harleys and have never spent any real time on one. For obvious reasons, Troy can’t put me on a new bike for an extended period but with used bikes it’s a different matter. He’s going to set me up to spend some real time on a selection of Harleys, in the hopes that I’ll fall in love.

Troy’s motivation here is simple. Rocky Mountain H-D gets publicity, and it would be especially good publicity if he does in fact convince me. My motivation is to see for myself what is behind the Harley mystique that I have never experienced before. Plus, of course, it gives me good stuff to write about on all my various gigs, such as Examiner.com and RumBum.com.

So stay tuned, I think this is going to be very interesting.

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Biker Quote for Today

It’s a fast Harley…but a slow motorcycle.