tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post4094019536379787066..comments2024-03-22T18:01:20.065-05:00Comments on Geezer with a Grudge: Highway IQT.W. Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-67388183250275461202010-08-05T11:20:13.849-05:002010-08-05T11:20:13.849-05:00When I moved to MN, I found and joined the MN-Spor...When I moved to MN, I found and joined the MN-Sportbike group and did my first group ride with those guys. I managed to stay with the group for about 20 miles before getting distracted and heading off on my own path. Good people, great riders, terrific routes, but I just don't trust other motorcyclists or road-users enough to want to be near them. You can't do a group ride without getting near other bikes. <br /><br />Two years ago, my wife and I were talked into going on the local Swan Ride. We barely made it out of town before we skipped out on that group. Too many loud exhausts, poorly tuned twins emitting more unburned fuel than CO, and some really squiddly riders. That's it for me: two experiences and I'm out. <br /><br />I don't ride horses, either. I'm only capable of keeping track of one unpredictable mind, my own.T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-54161646605770369772010-08-04T16:51:03.884-05:002010-08-04T16:51:03.884-05:00Glad I found ya'I Loved the article! After nea...Glad I found ya'I Loved the article! After nearly 30 years of on-road riding I, too, have established a "method" to gauge the level of danger posed by others. Most of my method comes from the MSF Basic & Experienced Riders Courses (SIPDE)-- Search (for the idiots), Identify (the idiots doing idiotic things)Predict (what they may do, since they're idiots), Decide (what you will do to stay alive), Execute (DO IT!).<br />"Bike on bike" idiots are the worst! I've seen so many DUMB (idiotic) things on Poker Runs, etc. that I rarely participate anymore and when I do, I try to be dead last... This puts the (other) idiots in front of me should I do something idiotic myself. =) RespectsDMZ Vethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12847434157564257903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-43774518334911849412010-08-03T11:12:48.505-05:002010-08-03T11:12:48.505-05:00Is there really a "Super Sausage" Restau...<i>Is there really a "Super Sausage" Restaurant?</i><br /><br />There most certainly is;<br /><br />http://www.supersausagecafe.co.uk<br /><br />It's a survivor from the pre Motorway days when the 'Transport Caff' or 'Greasy Spoon' kept the country trucking. They also gave birth to the 'Cafe Racer', put a record on the Jukebox and ride to a designated point and back before the record ended.<br /><br />It's not that far from another;<br /><br />http://www.jackshill.co.uk/<br />http://www.transportcafe.co.uk/<br /><br /><i>I don't know if I've seen a Morini outside of motorcycle museums.</i><br /><br />A Morini in a museum, disgraceful!<br /><br />Other marques have owners clubs, we have a <b>riders</b> club. The Annual track day is at the beginning of September. This will be the 27th year. The Morini e-mail list has quite a few US members.Paul Comptonhttp://www.morini-mania.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-55946997625455387932010-08-03T09:52:20.864-05:002010-08-03T09:52:20.864-05:00Good point Paul. I put about 200,000 miles on four...Good point Paul. I put about 200,000 miles on four bikes in SoCal in the 80s. The only serious near misses I experienced were with other bikers. The first was in my first 6 months as a Californian, when a clown on a Suzuki GS750 blasted past me on the inside of a curve on a backroad in Huntington Beach. He actually clipped my CX500's footpeg on the way by. He showed up a couple of days later, in the OC Register, when he rear-ended a cage on PCH at 80+ mph. DOA. <br /><br />I "enjoyed" the company of a few other similar riders lane-splitting on the San Diego Freeway over the years. Cars were never serious hazards, in my experience, but idiots on bikes were something to watch for all the time. We are our own worst enemies. <br /><br />Is there really a "Super Sausage Restaurant?" Sounds like another marketing mistake, like Big Boy or Fatties. <br /><br />I don't know if I've seen a Morini outside of motorcycle museums.T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-6128986058895469382010-08-03T06:29:18.510-05:002010-08-03T06:29:18.510-05:00I have a similar scheme I apply to other riders. L...I have a similar scheme I apply to other riders. Leathers with 'aero-humps' and knee sliders are definite bad signals. If the leathers and helmet colour scheme matches the bike, then apply at least a times 2 miltiplier.<br /><br />I was recently riding up the A5 (Watling Street; the old Roman road North) to the 'Festival of 1000 bikes' approximately keeping to the posted speed limits, but overtaking most vehicles. I came up onto the tail of three or four vehicles doing about 50 in a 60 zone and started looking for a place to pass. The Landrover Discovery at the front seemed to be slowing and I drifted right for a better view. I could then see they were indicating right to turn into the Super-Sausage Cafe. I checked my one bar end mirror and could see a tail of vehicles and one headlamp (bike) out in the middle of the road, but at indeterminant distance. I drifted back left a little. At the last moment the Discovery checked its right turn just as the bike came past at something over 100mph, 30 seconds later, four of his mates did the same.<br /><br />I've been cut-up by this type of rider on a number of occasions and sometimes been held up by them in the twisty bits.<br /><br />P.S. I was riding my 1977 Morini 350 Sport, that despite being full of Italian 'character' has failed to let my down in any way in the last 7 years. None of my other Morinis had ever failed to complete a journey either.Paul Comptonhttp://www.morini-mania.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-69506760774736680252010-08-02T10:47:32.248-05:002010-08-02T10:47:32.248-05:00I'm with you there. You can't escape what ...I'm with you there. You can't escape what you don't see. About the only time I aggressively pass is to get around those kinds of obstacles.T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-42953656109292512182010-08-01T13:22:33.002-05:002010-08-01T13:22:33.002-05:00Yes, your brain is doing the calculations for spee...Yes, your brain is doing the calculations for speed and all of the rest subconsciously, but I am not necessarily aware of the formulas. :) <br /><br />Thinking about your system and comparing it to mine. Yours seems more refined. Likely due to the fact that you have at least 10x the riding exp as me! I also account for the size of the vehicle. If I can't see around it nicely, I will make a pass to get a better view angle (or drop way back).Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06606446271603142230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-68055388602577941432010-08-01T10:53:59.435-05:002010-08-01T10:53:59.435-05:00Chris,
I did the math when I wrote the article. O...Chris,<br /><br />I did the math when I wrote the article. Otherwise, it's a seat of the pants judgement call weighted more-or-less the way I described it. Some folks, exhibiting exactly the characteristics detailed in this article, still get a lot more points deducted from their Highway IQ based on the gut feeling I get from their performance of the moment. <br /><br />Thinking about it, though, you can't ride with constantly making calculations. It takes math to balance the bike, to corner and maneuver, to judge distance at speed, to anticipate stopping and passing distances, and to figure out who might be the most dangerous hazard on the road a the moment. So, if you're riding and surviving, you're doing some sort of math while riding.T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-18391368125956204462010-08-01T10:47:21.443-05:002010-08-01T10:47:21.443-05:00Honest and perhaps even somewhat useful.
ScottHonest and perhaps even somewhat useful.<br /><br />ScottAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-31312465621531592272010-08-01T00:15:01.660-05:002010-08-01T00:15:01.660-05:00I do something similar, but not quite as elaborate...I do something similar, but not quite as elaborate. The last thing I want to do while riding is math. Well, maybe the second to last thing. Falling would be the last thing I want to do. <br /><br />I do miss riding in winter. It was easier to see the "glow of death" from cellphones and other electronic gizmos from a distance since it was always dark during regular commuting hours.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06606446271603142230noreply@blogger.com