Why I Don't Care...
...If Someone Thinks I'm Stuck Up.
Last winter I posted a thread something to the effect of "I won't ride with you if..." and a few folks took offense. Sort of the "Well, I won't ride with you either...Nah Nah!"
I've written constantly about thinking and riding and acting with concern for others. A member of another board I frequent was killed a short while ago, doing stupid stuff at high speeds (lane splitting at high differential speeds on the freeway in heavy traffic). Nobody hit him, he just had a momentary lapse of concentration, lost control, and slammed into a guard rail. He's dead. Never gonna ride again. Period. End of story.
He was one of those guy's who always had to poo-poo folks that warned of the dangers of riding on the edge, on the road. Gear or no gear, making solid contact with an immovable object with your body will leave you permanently crippled or dead. That's the reality.
I've ridden by myself for most of my riding career. Not because I'm stuck up, but because I liked the solitude and the time to chill out and think. A few years ago, I discovered a whole new community through the old, now defunct KatanaPlanet. I went on some group rides, some poker runs, and became a regular and a volunteer for the Ride Across Maryland. Over the last 6 years, I've developed a small group of people that I feel comfortable riding with. The single thing we share besides a love for riding; is mutual respect.
Not because we're all "old hands"; we're not. We're a mixed bag of riders of all ages, all skill levels. What we share is mutual respect for each other as people, and through that, a desire to insure that every ride is a good ride, unmarred by tragedy. The first rule is "Everybody gets home in one piece".
I was perusing the "Crash Video" thread a bit ago, and a two stood out; I'll repost the links below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC6M3uBjc9I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjQvb419Lh0
They both share a common thread; the riders involved (with the exception of the girl on the dirtbike) were all showing off,pushing it, and with two exceptions (the two dirt guys); managed to take out other riders and/ or their bikes.
I don't know about you, but when I go on a ride, I don't PLAN on coming home in a wheelchair or a coffin because somebody else couldn't keep their ego in check. I'll take my lumps for my own mistakes, but don't push YOURS on me.
Sorry if I'm a little pushy on the subject (no, not really sorry), but I've sat on the side of the road waiting for the truck to show up when the hot dog of the group wadded up his new GSXR; and watched a buddy quit riding when some butthead forgot the street is not the track and tried to stuff his bike under my friend's in the middle of a turn and didn't have the chops to pull it off. I've been to funerals of guys that didn't know that beer (even one) and bikes don't mix.
So, go ahead and tell me I don't know what I'm talkin' about; that I'm "old school" and out of it.
I'll still ride my ride.
For Jason
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Engineers
1. Two engineering students were walking across a university campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?"
The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want."
The first engineer nodded approvingly and said, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit you anyway."
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2. To the optimist, the glass is half-full. To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
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3. A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.
The engineer fumed, "What's with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!"
The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!"
The priest said, "Here comes the green-keeper. Let's have a word with him."
He said, "Hello George, what's wrong with that group ahead of us?
They're rather slow, aren't they?"
The green-keeper replied, "Oh, yes. That's a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."
The group fell silent for a moment. The priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."
The doctor said, "Good idea. I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there's anything he can do for them."
The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?"
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4. What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers?
Mechanical engineers build weapons and civil engineers build targets.
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5. The graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with an arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"
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6. Three engineering students were gathered together discussing who must have designed the human body.
One said, "It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints."
Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections."
The last one said, "No, actually it had to have been a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?"
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7. Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet.