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.

Leave Me Alone!

I'm watching motorcycle racing!

Colin Edwards vs. Troy Bayliss: World Superbike at Imola in 2002.

Many believe this is one of the most amazing motorcycle races in recent history. If it's your thing, check it out. (Nine parts!)

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.

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.

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.