Itchy

It's getting close to riding season again, which means I'm up until 4am watching stuff like this on youtube.

I can not wait. C'mon spring.

peace.

The Hook

My only hope tonight is to get you hooked (if you haven't been already) on watching this.

This is the first bit of Long Way Round, a documentary filmed in 2004 following motorcycling buddies Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor in their journey from London to New York. Their trip took over three months and covered approximately 19,000 miles, all on BMW 1150GS motorcycles.

My good friend Matt and I have a continuous discussion about circling the country on our bikes, and this documentary is a powerful inspiration for us. He's already done something similar when he and one of his motorcycling friends from Louisiana rode the Trans-America Trail. Check out their ride reports here if you're interested. It was quite a ride.

Even if you don't have interests in motorcycling, this is still a wondrous journey to watch.

peace.

Draggin'

Tonight was another night of technical rehearsals at Delaware Shakespeare Festival. The show is coming along well, but I'm beat. So I leave you tonight with a breathtaking clip of the talents of one Casey Stoner.

Casey is a professional motorcycle racer in the world's most prestigious class of two-wheeled racing, MotoGP. He rides for the team fully funded and supplied by Honda, which also employs three other MotoGP racers: Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso, and Marco Simoncelli. In 2007 Casey won the MotoGP championship riding for Ducati, and has made the move to Honda for at least the next two seasons.

This video is a fantastic demonstration of how much skill and moxie these guys have. Because what Casey does here seems simply otherworldly. Have a look.

peace.

Irony: 101

If this didn't cost someone his life, I would have been rolling on the floor when I read this:

from the Associated Press

Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike's handlebars and hit his head on the pavement.

The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the town of Onondaga, in central New York near Syracuse.
State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets.

You can read the rest here.

I live in a no-helmet-law state (Pennsylvania). It's not easy being a motorcyclist here. When I have conversations with folks here about riding motorcycles, I frequently get someone glaring at me with the 'organ donor' face. It's as if they're having one last look at me before I meet some untimely fate on The Schuylkill Expressway; like I have some kind of death wish.

The culture of motorcycling here is under substantial stress due to the frequency and severity of motorcycling incidents, especially those involving head injuries. A University of Pittsburgh study done in 2008 found a 32% increase in head injury deaths and a 42% increase in head injury hospitalizations in the two years after Pennsylvania repealed its universal helmet law in 2003. This increase happened in spite of the growing number of motorcycles on the roads.

You can read the study here.

Now, imagine there's a gang of people in your city who look like Nick Nolte. If you befriend any of these folks, there is a possibility s/he might take a picture of your junk and put it on the internet. Now, some people will simply choose not to make friends with a Nick Nolte; they'll be pretty safe. But others will remember his work in Paris, je t'aime or Affliction and think, "Well, Nick Nolte can't be that bad, can he? I mean, he's a halfway decent actor and an interesting guy. Let me see what he's about." All of a sudden, the government makes clothing optional in your town, and now these Nick Noltes are snapping 32% more junk this year than they did last year. They're able to defame 32% more people on the internet, that means more people getting fired, or ostracized, or even arrested for indecency in cyberspace. If that happens year after year, then you're simply going to start fearing, dismissing, or hating everyone who looks like Nick Nolte.

That what happens when helmet laws are defeated. The general population develops an ever-growing and illogical fear of motorcycling due to feats of ignorance and Darwinism, which leaves the careful ones to bear the criticism. Personally, I'm growing impatient with the view of motorcycling in this place. I shouldn't need to reconcile my choice to ride based on someone else's lack of judgement or preparation.

If I'm still living here when the helmet law debate comes up again, I'm getting on the front line of that fight. A declining mortality rate makes everything easier. It certainly would have for Mr. Contos.

peace.

The Big Ride: Epilogue

Today I rode back to my home in Havelock, North Carolina from my trip to Asheville and Deals Gap. In all, I rode about 1,121 miles in the past four days. I also got to see my first burlesque show and canoe down the French Broad River.

I'm pretty beat after the 400 mile jaunt back home, so I think I'm going to keep it short tonight.

I'd like to thank my hosts, Michelle and Jason. I really have a gang 'o fun.

Here's one more picture of the SV on the Gap for good measure.

peace.

The Big Ride (Day 2)

What a day, what a day.

In all, I rode a little over 300 miles today. There's not much that I can say that won't be better with pictures. So allow me to present the abbreviated pictorial version of my journey to Deals Gap.

And yes, I know the photos are huge and spilling off of the page. I don't know how to make them smaller. Sue me.

The first road I explored NC 28, from its junction with US 74 and US 129. There was very little traffic and the temperature was cooler than I had expected. The road was draped with tree branches for much of the way, and got quite technical towards the end. It was a good warm up for what was to come next. Here's a photo of my SV650 at the start of NC 28; well the good part.

Then I reached the Gap. From what I could tell this was a light day. The famous dragon sign caught me by surprise when I saw it. For some reason I was expected to see it off in the distance a bit before I got up the resort. Obviously I had to stop and take some shots of the staging area for the Gap's entrance.

Outside of the lodging section of the resort there is a tree adorned with the wrecked bits of motorcycles that have met their demise at the Gap. It's called "The Tree of Shame". None of my bike's parts are on it. :)

After I grabbed a bottle of water and checked out some of the other bikes in the parking lot, I decided it was time for me to do what I came here to do. So I mounted my trusty steed and we putted out of the parking lot.

This road isn't for the faint of heart. The first thing I noticed was that most of the corners were incredibly banked, much more than I had imagined from pictures and videos. Some of them must have been 25 or 30 degrees. It took me a while to get used to how I should turn into them; most of the twisty roads I've ridden have been much flatter. But after a mile or two, I got the hang of it and developed a good rhythm. It really wasn't all that bad as long as I wasn't riding like a hooligan.

I eventually caught up to a slower group of riders, so I decided that was a good time to pull over and get a shot of the SV on the road itself. I mean, I need proof!

Here's another picture towards the end of the road. Many of the riders will stop here at this overlook to rest and/or turn around to head back the other way.

I kept going north on 129 until I found myself riding along side this marvelous body of water called Chilhowee Lake. I couldn't pass this place without getting some shots. It was quite beautiful.

Here's another one of just the lake itself.

Now, my homie Matt told me about a road I needed to see called the Cherohala Skyway. I believe "magic" was the exact word he used to describe it. So I guess I had to go check it out. After having a disgusting and delicious chili, jalapeño, and cheese burger, I shot over to TN 165 (the beginning of the Skyway) to see what I found. Here's a picture at the beginning of the road.

If you look carefully, you can see the tail of a Dodge Viper heading away from me. I had to pull over to wait for a whole gang of them to get out of site. They were holding me up.

"Magic" is absolutely right. This has to be the most wondrous 43 miles of road in the Eastern United States. There were all types of features; twisty sections, long sweepers, undulating straights, and breath-taking views. I can't imagine a road being more perfect for riding or driving. Now I know why that horde of Vipers drove up this way today. That's about the only road out this way worth traveling. And in case you're wondering, yes it's better than Deals Gap; by a long way.

I was feeling pretty worn out about halfway down the Skyway. My legs were shaking, my attention wasn't what is was this morning, and my earplugs kept popping out due to changes in altitude. Yea, it was time to head home.

I took the Skyway back to Hwy 28, then made my way back to Michelle and Jason's crib in Asheville. I think I did about all I could do, and I was satisfied with my fatigue. I had visited one of motorcycling's holy grounds, and I didn't fall. That was cool with me.

peace.

The Big Ride (Day 1)

Well, I've made it safely to Asheville, NC and I'm comfortably in bed at the home of my friend Michelle and her husband Jason. I am excited to spend time with them while I'm here. I think we're going canoeing on Saturday!

The ride to here from my home in Havelock was just shy of 400 miles, which is a record for me. Doing all those miles on the interstate was rather tedious and quite boring (my hip sockets were the biggest complainers), but it wasn't a bad day for a ride. The sun was out and the traffic was light.

Tomorrow, I head out to the Gap. I can't wait to see this place. I talked with my homie Matt earlier this evening and he suggested some other routes to explore in addition to the Gap, so I'll give a report of those as well.

But now, it's time to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day.



peace.

The Big Ride

Tomorrow's the day. I'm taking off on my bike and riding to my friend Michelle's crib in Asheville, North Carolina. I'm a bit nervous, really. I've never ridden this far on my bike by myself before. I know plenty who have and I'm confident in my ability to make the trip. Nevertheless, I'm still a bit anxious.

The plan is to stay in Asheville tomorrow night, ride out to Deals Gap for the day on Friday, hang out in Asheville on Saturday, then back home to Havelock, North Carolina on Sunday. In all, the total distance is going to be north of 1000 miles. Oh boy...

I'm also going to treat this trip as a sort of mini-pilgrimage. Since my big pilgrimage for this year was cut a bit short, I think this will serve as an acceptable alternative. I'll have time alone to think and consider things. I'm also taking my Winter's Tale work with me, which I plan to attend as thoroughly as the traffic. So far, I'm cautiously optimistic about my progress.

I don't know if I'll have any blog time, but if I do I'll be here. And I definitely won't miss Saturday's Emcee of the Month post. I plan to take a bunch of pictures, so I'll get those on here if I can.

Check you all later!

peace

The Gap

If all goes well, I'll find myself riding this road on Friday.

This is Deals Gap (for more, look here). It's known on a map as U.S. 129 and snakes through the Great Smokey Mountains from Swain County, North Carolina to Blount County, Tennessee. The story goes that this road is 11 miles long and contains 318 corners; almost all of them as spectacular as these. Motorcyclists from all over the world come here every year to ride this ribbon of paved perfection.

And now my trusty SV650 and I are gonna have a go at it.

No matter what happens, there will be pictures. And yes, I will take it easy. Seriously.

peace.

The Ol' Switcharoo

So I just finished fully converting my 2000 SV650S controls from clip-on handlebars to standard upright ones. It took me pretty much all day yesterday and I decided to do a 200 mile shakedown ride today to give it a try.

I am totally and completely in love.

The bike feels so much more usable and rider friendly. I found myself grinning involuntarily more than I think I ever have on any motorcycle. And yes, there are a couple things I miss from from having clip-ons, but for the riding I want to do the bike is much more suited.

Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:

No More Back Pain: It wasn't extreme with the clip-ons, but it was just enough to worry me and make me uncomfortable for the rest of the day, especially after long trips.

Eagle Eyes: Something about sitting more upright allowed me to see the road better. The change isn't much, either. But moving my position really helped my awareness.

Hooliganism up 40%: The front end is much livelier than I had imagined. I've never had the bike lift the front wheel in 2nd. Scaring grandmas and making little kids smile is more irresistible. And no, I'm not doing wheelies for miles and draining the front cylinder. But little, quick ones are fun!

Slalom King: The increased leverage of the handlebars gives me more confidence around town. I feel more agile and nimble, which coupled with better visibility, is quite nice.

Cons:

Set Sail: It's a bit more difficult to get under the wind on the super slab. My upper body felt more like a sail than it did with the clip-ons. Not bad, tho. I'll figure it out.

Where's the Tire!?: I have lost a bit of feel with the front. The added body weight on the clip-ons did give me a better sense of what the tire is doing. So I'll really need to get used to trusting this lighter front end.

Love Lockdown: My ignition lock doesn't work anymore. Bummer. I really liked using it. It's okay, tho. I do have an alarm, so at least that's something.

Man in the Mirror: I couldn't remount my Napoleon mirrors. But it's all good. I think I've outgrown them anyway. It's time to move on!


Here's a full list of everything I purchased for the change over:

N model throttle cable (used)
N model brake lines (used)
N model choke cable (new)
N model clutch cable (used)
N model upper triple (used)
N model bar risers (used)
security torx set (new)
Superbike(?) bars from my friend Matt (used)
universal brake reservoir mount from Woodcraft (new)

The total for all of this, including some this-and-thats I had to pick up cost around $170.

There were a few surprises.

I couldn't figure out how (or was too scared) to remove the carbs to undo the throttle cable, so I just figured out a way to do it with them in. It was kind of a pain, but worked out fine.

I drilled a hole in the bar for the throttle-side control cluster in order to fit that little pin that keeps the controls still. It worked okay, but I still got some movement.

Hence...

I had to come up with a way to keep the control clusters from swiveling around on the bar. I ended up buying some stair tread tape and sticking it on the bar then sandwiching it with the clusters. It worked like a charm.

Here are a few pictures from today's ride. I really need to find a riding partner so I can start taking actual shots instead of my bike sitting still beside some trees and street signs. But it'll do.

peace.

I'm Getting Lost

I spent the entire day working on my bike. As you may or may not know, I have a 2000 Suzuki SV650S. You can check it out here. The modification I made was removing the lower-slung S model clip-on handlebars and replacing them with a more upright handlebar set-up.

What I noticed before I stored my bike for the winter was that my lower back was taking quite a beating during my longer rides. The slight lean forward to reach the bars would cause significant strain after a while. And since I tend to spend a lot on my bike when I decide to ride it, it was a point of concern.

By adding bars that will allow me to ride in a more upright position, I'm hoping to alleviate the excess tension in my back and shoulders. Therefore, I'll be able to ride for much longer and have a much nicer time.

Also, I do a lot of commuting around town on my bike. The bars I've fitted will give me much more agility and maneuverability in service of negotiating the concrete jungle.

So tomorrow, I'm getting lost. The hope is that I do about 200 miles or so and really get a sense of how my bike works now. Plus, I really want to get lost. I'll take my camera and try to get some nice shots for tomorrow night. Until then...

peace.

Reunited!

Today I rescued this beauty from the icy slumber of winter storage:

This is my 2000 Suzuki SV650S. I bought it in 2008 and I've put at least 15000 miles on it during our time together. We've had wonderful riding experiences in five states and two countries. It has a 649cc 90° v-twin engine and Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart tires. Since we've been together, I've upgraded it with Galfer Wave brake rotors, Napoleon Bar End Mirrors, a Gorilla security alarm, Trail Tech Vapor gauges, and a 2005 Kawasaki ZX-10R rear shock absorber. And the work hasn't ended. This season I plan to convert it over to more upright and back-friendly handlebars and remove the slightly more aggressively positioned clip-on bars.

For the last four months, my SV had been in storage in a facility on the outskirts of Philadelphia. This morning my cousin Nina and I loaded up into my Nissan Xterra and drove out to the storage unit. When I lifted the door and saw my bike sitting there covered and undisturbed, I felt like Marty McFly opening the cave where Doc Brown had hidden the DeLorean. It was like finding a lost treasure.

I rolled it out into the sunlight to install the battery and see if I could get it started. It took a little while, about five or six minutes, but I finally choked and gassed it to life. It sounded better than I remembered. When I first got into motorcycles I was initially drawn to the sound of an inline four. But now the sound of a high performance v-twin engine does it for me every single time.

After we let it warm up for 10 minutes or so, I put on my riding gear and hit the road towards home. And even though the temperature must not have been much over 40° it was a magnificent feeling to be back on my bike again. I can't get away from the pleasure I feel when I am a part of the environment through which I'm traveling rather than passively observing it from the confinement of an automobile. When I got home, my fingers were stinging with pain and my nose was running faster than Usain Bolt. And I had loved every minute of it.

Get ready. You can be sure more motorcycling blogs will be coming soon. C'mon spring!

peace.

I Heart MotoGP

I first encountered MotoGP in 2007 when I began work at Friendly Honda Yamaha in Baton Rouge. Before then, I had never truly been a fan of any particular series or class of motorsport. I had a pedestrian interest in drag racing, an awareness of Formula One due to massive amounts of Top Gear, and zero desire to watch NASCAR. So to begin following a racing series was something new to me.

I think it was in the home of one of my best biker homies Friscia (that's John Friscia for all you wanna-be's) where I actually saw my first MotoGP race. We sat in his living room watching the race as he explained to me some of the specifications of the motorcycles and the histories of many of the racers on the grid. He hipped me to a time before 2002 when the bikes in the premier class were all two-strokes, and how unruly they were to ride. Also, he made particular mention of one cat named Valentino Rossi and his dominance in MotoGP for much of his career.

Four years later, I'm a complete fanatic for MotoGP, which is unusual for me. I can't stand missing a lap, and I hate it when I inadvertently find out who won before watching the race. My favorite riders are Valentino Rossi (who else!?) and Nicky Hayden, and I can't stand watching Jorge Lorenzo or Casey Stoner win a race. If I could afford a Ducati, I'd have one just because Hayden rides one, and my favorite venues are Laguna Seca in California and Mugello in Italy. And yes, I could go on and on with this fanboy babble!

The first race of the 2011 season was yesterday in Qatar and man, it was slammin'! The outcome wasn't what I would have hoped, but I'm optimistic my team is going to get some steam behind them and make some moves toward the front.

I <3 MotoGP!

As always, here's the obligatory youtube clip. This is the CBS Sports wrap up of the 2008 United States Gran Prix at Laguna Seca. Check it!

peace.

A Quick Thought on Motorcycling Responsibility

A friend of mine (let's call him Marley) just bought his very first motorcycle ever, a 2005 Kawasaki ZX-6R. It looks something like this:

For all intents and purposes, this is one of the most powerful and capable models in the middleweight class of supersport motorcycles. It's so capable, in fact, that Keith Code's California Superbike School used a fleet of these (or its predecessors) as their instruction bikes from its inception in the late 1970s until 2009. It's the kind of motorcycle that can get away from a rider really quickly if not operated with respect for its ability.

I can't help but feel concern. Here's why.

Consider some numbers for a moment. This bike produces 105 hp at the rear wheel and weighs 430 lbs with a full tank of gas. In the same year, the base model Toyota Corolla (the best selling passenger car name plate in the world) made 130 hp and weighed 2,670 lbs. It turns out that when you do the math, the Corolla has 97 horses for every 2000 lbs of weight it has to move, or 97hp/1 ton. The ZX-6R has 488 ponies for every 2000 lbs, or 488hp/ 1 ton. To give you an idea of how incredibly insane that is, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport (which is the 3rd fastest production car one can buy) offers up 474 hp/ 1 ton.

It's not my desire to infringe on anyone's freedom to do or buy whatever they like. I'm all about people choosing their own way. However, I can't help but feel an amount of frustration when people like Marley aren't given full disclosure of this type of information before making this kind of decision. I mean, this cat's a smart guy. He's not an idiot. I'm sure if he would have known that he was purchasing a machine with this type of performance capability, he would have probably considered other options. And yes, he took the motorcycle safety course and that's a wonderful first step. NO, HE DOESN'T HAVE A JACKET OR GLOVES YET. And, most likely, no one properly measured him for a correctly fitting helmet.

But someone did sell him what basically amounts to a bicycle that can do 160+ mph. Priorities much?

Odds are, Marley will be fine. The bike is going to scare him at least once in the first week. He's going to be super-pissed when he drops that thing in the driveway after forgetting to put the kickstand down. That fairing is going to cost a grip! But other than that he'll probably not have any major incidents.

Nevertheless, we as motorcyclist have to be better than this. We must create a comfortable and safe learning environment for our beginner riders. We cannot simply throw them to the wolves of speed and horsepower to fend for themselves. There's nothing out there for them but pain (physical and monetary) and eventual disinterest. The experiences they have in the first steps of their two-wheeled journey will have lasting effects on the rest of their motorcycling lives. We have to make sure those experiences are as informed, as aware, and as inspiring as they can be.

peace.

"I Got That Feelin'!"

Springtime is almost here. Tonight, I've spent at least three hours looking at ads, videos, and articles about motorcycling in anticipation of warmer weather. I cannot wait to get back on my bike.

If you've never ridden on motorcycle before, I wholeheartedly suggest trying it at least once in your life if the opportunity presents itself. Given the right conditions and precautions, motorcycling can be one of the most liberating experiences available to us lowly commoners. Most of us will never fly a airplane or sail across the ocean, but for a fraction of the cost just about anyone can pick up a decent motorcycle and riding gear and access the same sense of excitement and adventure.

Here's a bit of what I've been into tonight.

I've been checking out these Motorcycle News.com videos for a couple of years now and I really enjoy them. Many of them are a little shorter than I'd like, probably because they're hoping to attract more traffic to their website. Nevertheless, they give simple and direct information, not wasting time with a bunch of quick shots of irrelevant footage and bad rock music. And although they are primarily a British publication, they keep us Americans in mind by testing many bikes that are available on both sides of the pond. Check 'em out.

peace.

Two-Wheeled Narcotics

I ride a motorcycle. It's the best thing ever.

To be more specific I'm a motorcyclist, which to me is much different than simply owning a motorcycle. Anyone who owns a motorcycle will happily ride during near-perfect riding conditions; middle of the day, 77 degrees, no traffic, and not a cloud in the sky. But in addition to this, a motorcyclist will ride at any other opportunity s/he finds, no matter the conditions. I've ridden during the middle of the night, through pouring rain, to work and back, to run errands around town, and even down to temperatures of 40 degrees. The only reason I'm not riding my bike now is because I don't own motorcycle gear that can protect me from the relative frigidity of a Philadelphia winter. (However, that type of gear does exist, and I will own some in the near future.)

Many motorcyclists have tried to describe the appeal of riding. Some romanticize about the sense of isolation and time for self reflection motorcycling offers. Others will celebrate the camaraderie and community that accompanies motorcycle ownership. And yes, both of these concepts are very appealing. But more than these, motorcycling allows me to be as fully engaged with the world and my surrounding as I can possibly imagine.

Consider this. A motorcycle is practically a chair on which someone has bolted an internal combustion engine (so it's highly flammable), two wheels (so it has half the grip of an automobile), and handlebars (so the rider has to physically hold on). And depending which chair-on-wheels the rider may own, s/he is capable of traveling at speeds upwards of 180 mph. So even at more legal velocities, the performance of a motorcycle can quickly become overwhelming. Oh, and let's add a few 2-ton blocks of steel moving at similar speeds in close proximity to this high-powered chair, just for good measure (many of them driven by people texting their BFFs while looking for their credit card to purchase their vacation tickets to Bermuda). As you can see, the attention that is required to safely operate a motorcycle on the street is paramount and requires active and unconditional commitment.

This is what I absolutely love about motorcycling. It's one of the few things in life one can do that doesn't allow "phoning it in." If only we injected this type of engagement into other events/actions/relationships in our lives...

Let me be clear. There are many challenges in the motorcycling community, and most are reflective of similar challenges in the greater society. In future posts, I will most likely take time to highlight some of these issues in hopes of inspiring discussion.

Nevertheless, motorcycling will be a part of my life until the end. It has become part my identity; as much as where I grew up and or who I consider my friends. I feel if things had been different, I would have wanted to be the first black racer in MotoGP instead of a theatre artist. But for me, it was a matter of economics. I'll save that for another day.

For now, here's a video of one of my favorite styles of motorcycle racing, flat track. I hope to build my own flat tracker in the next couple of years and start learning how to ride this way. I really want to try this!

For more info on flat track racing, look here. See you tomorrow!

peace.