Here’s a short video. This took place in Spain. Put it down on your list of things not to do.
Biker Quote for Today
Keep the paint up, and the rubber down!
Ouch! What Not to Do on Your Bike
October 22nd, 2008Kids and Bikes Belong Together
October 20th, 2008I saw an item recently about how the legislature in Massachusetts was considering prohibiting anyone under the age of 14 from riding a dirt bike. This ban would apply to snowmobiles and ATVs as well. My research suggests that 10 is the age currently set by law there. Other states range from no legal restrictions to various other ages.
I have real problems with these laws. I was out at Thunder Valley Motocross Park last week and there were racers of all ages. Take a look at this photo of a dad working on his son’s bike in preparation for the race. This is family togetherness, parents and children out doing really fun things together and building strong family bonds. (Also notice the camera attached to the top of the kid’s helmet!)
I can’t tell you how much I wish this would have been my father. My dad was a good father but he was a bit removed and there wasn’t much we actually did together. I was nuts about motorcycles and saved money and planned to buy my first bike when I turned 15, which was the legal age at that time. The day arrived, I had the money, and my mother told me there was no way I would ever have a motorcycle while I was living in her house.
Contrast that to a dad who buys his son a bike and all the gear, takes him out to ride, and spends all that time with him. I loved my father and I miss him but I would have given anything for him to be more like the dad in this picture.
So the idea that the nanny legislators of any state think they have to protect children from their apparently idiot parents just does not set well with me at all. Sure kids on dirt bikes fall down. So do kids on bicycles. And skateboards. We all had our share of bumps and bruises while growing up. That’s what childhood is, a chance to learn what works and what doesn’t work so well. You do something stupid and it hurts and you think twice before doing it again. Protect your child from all injury and what happens to them when you’re no longer there to protect them?
Biker Quote for Today
It’s like this: Whenever there’s a car accident, people go, “Oh, it’s a car accident.” Whenever there’s a motorcycle accident, it’s outrage.–Jay Leno
Rider Training Funds Still Threatened
October 17th, 2008What Mary Peters started, others seek to continue. I’ve given considerable coverage to the proposal by U.S. Sec. of Transportation Mary Peters that funds earmarked for motorcycle rider training be diverted to lobby for mandatory helmet laws.
Pretty much all major motorcycling organizations have opposed that, and I reported in a report from the Meeting of the Minds that Peters has backed off on that proposal. Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) President Kirk “Hardtail” Willard cautioned me that despite her statements in that regard, he was still waiting to see her send the letters to that effect to the states.
Well, now the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports in the latest issue of American Motorcyclist that a group called the Governors Highway Safety Association has now taken up the issue. American Motorcyclist says:
Christopher Murphy, chairman of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety agencies, made the request in testimony to the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit this summer.
The opposition to this misuse of funds stems from the conviction that the key to lowering fatality rates is not in having safer crashes, it is in avoiding more of those crashes in the first place. As Doc Ski noted at the Meeting of the Minds, you will die if you get in a bad enough accident, regardless of whether you’re wearing a helmet.
So Mary Peters may have heeded the outcry and reversed her stance, but now that the genie has been let out of the bottle it may not be that easy to put it back in. This is why we need to support organizations like the AMA and the MRF.
Biker Quote for Today
Thin leather looks good in the bar, but it won’t save your butt from road rash if you go down.
Slinging Mud at Thunder Valley
October 15th, 2008Do you do it in the dirt? To be honest, I’ve only been dirt-biking once but after going to the MX races at Thunder Valley Motocross Park this past weekend I have a serious yen to do it again.
On a cold, gray day following two days of rain, the operative word was “mud.” And watching these folks, from the very young to the decidedly older, slinging mud and plowing furrows through the curves was just a kick.
This event was the state championships but don’t ask me who won in what class. I wasn’t there for that. I was just out for a good time and I really had one. I can give you some of the particulars, though.
First off, Thunder Valley is owned by the City of Lakewood, and is privately operated by Sherri and David Clavaugh. You pay $25 for a year’s membership and then you pay $12 each day you come out to ride. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday all year round, excepting, of course, days when the snow shuts them down.
On occasion, as on this past weekend, there are scheduled events going on. The Sports Riders Association of Colorado sponsors races around the state, of which this championship run was the season finale. In June or July each year Thunder Valley hosts a national motocross event that draws the top pros from around the country, along with about 20,000 spectators.
The course is set into the slope of the hogback, on 130 acres on the west side of Rooney Road. If you’re coming down CO 93 from where it crosses I-70, Thunder Valley is that dirt-bike track you see just to your west immediately south of the interstate.
One thing I really like about it is that it’s really open. You can go anywhere you want around the track to get whatever view of the racing that you want. Tunnels let you into different parts of the infield but you can just walk across the track as long as there aren’t any racers coming. Of course you sign a waiver when you pay your admission fee. It cost me $13 to get in on Sunday but I’m not sure if that is the standard admission fee.
So I tell you, the roar of the machines, the way the riders pop up and drop down on the whoops, the way the mud goes flying on those curves–it was all a blast. I’m definitely going back, and who knows, maybe I’ll figure out a way to get my hands on a dirtbike of my own. I would LOVE to ride that track!
Biker Quote for Today
Riding fast on the road is only limited by your mental health. Riding fast on the track is only limited by your ability.
Time to Repair the Blog Again
October 13th, 2008OK, normally I would have a post today that has to do with motorcycles. However, because my web host did some upgrading of their servers it was necessary for them to update my version of WordPress, which is what I use for this blog. And as always happens when they do that, it broke some of the pieces. So today I’ll spend my time fixing the blog. Sorry.
Mount Evans Road First to Close for Season
October 10th, 2008It’s getting to be that time of year. The road to the top of Mount Evans has closed, so that means other roads can’t be far behind.
Others that close for the winter include:
- Trail Ridge Road
- Kebler Pass
- Independence Pass
- the Pike’s Peak Road
- Cottonwood Pass
You can keep tabs on which of these are still open, as well as get real-time info on road conditions around the state at the Colorado Department of Transportation site.
The other roads are maintained all year round but you never know when they’ll be getting snow. The truth of the matter is, although I ride down here on the flatland all year round, I almost never ride in the mountains after October. There are more hardy riders than me, though. Redleg comes to mind. He seems to ride anywhere he wants any time he wants. You’re a better man than me, buddy.
Biker Quote for Today
Winter is nature’s way of telling you to polish your bike.