Seattle 100 images

These are a few pics from the Seattle 100 I participated in last month (see last blog).


Thats me!

Me again...




This is Danny Eslick he is one crazy dood. He would pull these weelies right before and right after backing it in sideways to the corners as shown above. He totally stole the show.


This is Ben Spies the current  AMA  Superbike Champion. These guys make all of this look so easy. The pictures just don't do it justice.

If you want to see more pics from this day you can look at the photographers site. studio819.smugmug.com/2-Fast/362669


Posted by d0od @ 2:53 pm EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

Seattle 100 post report

The Seattle 100 Charity event I participated in was great, it was one of those days that I will keep with me for a long time. There were several celebrity riders there including Ben Spies, he is the current AMA Champion and so far this year he is pretty well kicking ass, Jake Holden Chaz Davies, & Danny Eslick. Well as as I was sitting in line to go out on the track for my session Ben Spies and the other guys roll up next to us and are let out just before the rest of us in the 100 group. I go out start doing my thing let my tires warm up for 2 laps then start going for it, down the straight I would get up to about 130 and go around a bend at the end of the straight at 110 or so, then turn 2 a long fast sweeper... Woooooo Ben Spies Motors around the outside of me like a stroll in the park, the Jake Holden go around me soooooo close it scared the crap out of me, (not literally) & it was a good scare. I have been riding for little over 10 years this was my 3rd track day and I am riding (if for so ever briefly) next to Ben Spies and Jake Holden, that to me so very cool. I cant even explain how I felt for rest of the day. Later at lunch I was getting my burger and Ben Spies cruises up to get some stuff for his burger and I got to chat with him for a minute, told him they surprised (scared) me a bit, he replies that they were trying to be good, I let him know (not so graciously) that is was good and that I can now claim I have ridden and gotten passed by Ben Spies. He trotted off to enjoy his burger, and my girlfriend got a picture of me talking to him.

After lunch there was a father/mother/son/daughter lap time where a parent and kid got to do 2 laps around the track, some squished their kid in front of them and all you could see was their little helmet and some kids rode their dirt bikes around (some with training wheels) with dad in tow. Next the Pros did 10 laps or so and we rode big fancy busses down into the "S" turns and the pros came hauling ass thru it was great for those who do not live in motorcycle culture being so close seeing how fast these guys go. I had lots of family support there, my sister told me it was alot more fun and exciting than she was expecting. Overall I would rate the day a 15 out of 10. I will post some pics once I have had a chance to go thru them.


Posted by d0od @ 11:33 am EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

Seattle 100 Charity ride

On Saturday I will be participating int he Seattle 100 it is an event that raises money for the Nephcure Foundation. I personally raised over $1,500.00 not to bad for my first attempt at fund raising. If any of you out there would like to attend there will be several top AMA racers attending. It is at Pacific Raceways (SIR) opening at 9:00 ending at 4:00. It is $10 to get in and the money goes to the charity. If anyone would like to donate let me know and I can give you a link to my fundraising page. Or if you would like to go let me know and I can give you some more info on the events of the day. I am soooo excited to be doing this. I will post some pics after.

http://www.active.com/donate/Seattle100

http://www.2-fast.org/seattle-100.html

Posted by d0od @ 11:25 am EDT | Permalink | 3 Comments

Bushisms 2

Been a while (almost a year) since I posted some Bushisms so here ya go.

"Thank you all very much. Please be seated, unless, of course, you don't have a chair." (May 29, 2007)

"There's a lot of blowhards in the political process, you know, a lot of hot-air artists, people who have got something fancy to say." (May 17, 2007)

"Wisdom and strength, and my family, is what I'd like for you to pray for." ( May 2, 2007)

"Information is moving -- you know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets.” ( May 2, 2007)

"The other thing, it turns out, in this job you've got a lot on your plate on a regular basis, you don't have much time to sit around and wander, lonely, in the Oval Office, kind of asking different portraits, how do you think my standing will be?" ( March 16, 2005)

"First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill." (May 26, 2003)

And one of my favorites…

“There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee...that says, fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...you can't get fooled again.” (9/17/2002)

The second edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying and Quotation recently recognized Bush's er... contributions to the English language. Under the heading "Bushisms," the dictionary includes such Bush classics as, "We are ready for any unforseen event which may or may not happen."
-Source: The Associated Press, "Words of wisdom from Bush—and you can quote him on that," Nov. 18, 2002

Posted by d0od @ 4:08 pm EDT | Permalink | 1 Comments

Why They All Hate Us

 

I found this interesting and thought I would share it so get some 2o2p members opinions. It is from a local motorcycle website here in the Puget Sound area.

by Dave Preston

Well, OK, not all the non-motorcycle people hate us – it just seems that way most of the time, and has for the forty years of my experience. And why is that?

I had occasion to research the topic while driving a car home to Bothell from SeaTac after dropping my wife off for a late afternoon flight. Driving a car solo on 405 at 4 p.m. gives you time to research - a lot of it. Moving slowly, or not at all, I tried to imagine the thoughts of a not-motorcycle-person, as dozens and dozens of motorcycles streamed by me in the commuter lane.

I’m indebted to all the motorcyclists who came by for the examples to follow, and I want to stress that NONE of them did anything wrong, illegal or dumb, at least that I witnessed. With that, here are some reasons why non-motorcyclists hate us.

PERCEPTION vs. REALITY

From a stationary car in crowded traffic, a motorcycle in the commuter lane going by at 45 mph looks terribly fast. It APPEARS that an errant vehicle will lumber into the commuter lane at any second and the motorcycle will then “Spiderman” into the barrier. Those who do this regularly know it’s pretty rare for such an event to loom, and the driver’s shoulders and arms usually provide ample warning for corrective action. But – to the uninformed – it LOOKS dangerous.

When people see danger, they get scared. One of the natural responses to fear is… anger. So there you are, toodling along in the commuter lane minding your own business, and at the same time (unbeknownst to you), frightening the cage drivers who are now (illogical, but true) angry because you frightened them!

MEDIA FOCUS

I won’t use the hackneyed “media bias” charge. Print and video reporters are not that organized. Nor are they willing to work as hard as careful and consistent bias would require.

It is their focus, which is a product of laziness, that is the problem.

An old adage for news states, “If it bleeds, it leads,” and it works out that way, IF the media people can access the gore. Ski slopes in January resemble an emergency room, complete with triage procedures and Medivac flights, but are “way up there” in the mountains and hard to get a camera on. The motorcycle that just crashed into the viaduct? “Hey, we can be there in five and shoot great video.” There is also the eager public that suffers from…

OUR PURITAN HERITAGE

One of our relatively minor problems as a culture is the pervasive urge to, if we find someone having fun that we’re not – make them stop! People revel in the misfortunes of those who’ve had accidents – especially if they are doing something different. Since only 2 – 3% of the population own motorcycles – any accident is greeted by mass “I told you so’s” from know-nothings all over the place.

COOL GUY YIN AND YANG

Remember the yearning to be “cool” in high school? If you actually achieved a state of “cool,” remember how hard it was to maintain? If you were not cool, remember how you resented the people? Picture a middle-aged person sitting in a typical car – such as my Honda CR-V. First guy rides by – on a 1200 Sportster with mild pipes, wearing a leather jacket, helmet, and gloves. He’s cruisin’ up the commuter lane at 45mph or so, while I sit immobile and listen to his “potato-potato-potato.” He is cool.

I am not.

Next comes a guy on a Suzuki sport bike. Yellow bodywork and yellow wheels. A black and yellow fabric riding suit, black gloves, and a bright yellow helmet. The bike is spotless. He is cool.

I am not.

A guy on a big BMW adventure-trailie thing, with the Touratech boxes, an Aerostich suit, and a nice helmet. He is cool.

I am not.

This went on all the way home – my little car passed by five or six dozen motorcyclists. They were all cool. I was not. Parked in the garage is my Triumph Speed Triple. Behind it hangs a couple of jackets, the fancy helmet, a selection of gloves. OK, now I can be cool (to me).

What if I didn’t have the bike? Would I resent those guys and gals?

Yes. Bitterly.

WHY DON’T THEY RIDE?

But, you say, anyone can ride a bike. Can they? Not everyone.

A lifetime of media reports abetted by parental harping has convinced many that a motorcycle will cause their demise. They do not necessarily agree with this as a logical consequence, and it may not matter. I once had an 86-year old detail for me the many classic motorcycles he’d wanted over the years and had not enjoyed because “they would kill me.” It was excruciating. I just barely refrained from blurting out “What’s stopping you now – you’ re 86!”

When you tell such people they can buy a bike they feel worse – and resent you for it.

Some folks lack the coordination. Don’t laugh. It can be really hard. Go back to high school when you probably wanted to be a star athlete. Were you? How did you feel about people who had the talent to succeed in sports? If you resented it, then you can identify with the feelings of some who feel “trapped” in a boring car with an automatic while you go whizzing by.

EVERYBODY HATES THE RICH

You probably do not think you’re rich. But you LOOK rich to others, and that has predictable results. Everybody who rode by me that day displayed a reasonably new bike. ALL of them were wearing full gear (a pleasant surprise) and most of them had obviously selected gear that all went together in terms of style and color. Very chic.

In this country motorcycles have always been toys, so if you can afford what appears to be an expensive motorcycle (and most people cannot tell the cost from the appearance) AND have matching gear…you’re rich! People love to hate “the rich!” The definition of “the rich” is usually “everyone who has more money than I do, or appears to.”

SPEED AND SOUND

Obvious factors that have to be included. Even if people understand the logic of encouraging moto-commuting, as they sit in a stuffy car going nowhere and hear and feel bikes zooming by they resent it – more than the other cars with passengers doing the same thing. It sounds great, and looks great and seems to be so fast. Quick – what President signed a transportation bill that allowed motorcycles to use the commuter lanes? Answer at the end!

As to sound, none of the people who rode by me that day had bikes that were exceptionally loud, so how could the sound be resented? Again, it’s the reality of sitting still while you listen to the mechanical symphony of a motorcycle disappearing ahead of you. The potato-potato of the Harley, the melodious buzz of several different sport bikes, that wonderful imminent mechanical disaster of a Ducati clutch, the industrial thrum of the BMW – none were objectionable – but all could be resented by those stuck in line.

SO?

You can be polite, and courteous and always represent the sport well. I hope you make the effort. I do. Just keep in mind that no matter how hard you try, many people are still going to not like us. When you put yourself into their heads, maybe at least you’ll feel a little sorry for them.

Don’t hate them, the poor things!

CAVEATS and OTHER GOOD STUFF

1. It was Ronald Reagan who signed the bill allowing motorcycles into the commuter lanes.

2. It was impressive that every rider who went by was wearing full gear – impressive and surprising. Not until I was almost home and off the freeway did I find one rider not wearing gloves. Since he was astride a 1972 Honda, it could be argued that he was “period correct” for the bike!

3. Some of you will note that my data sample is not too scientific – weekday rush hour, only twice (yes, my wife flew back in at the wrong time as well!), and at a time when only “pros” would likely be seen riding on the freeway.

I did not see any “stunters” doing loopy things on the freeway, did not see any indication of drunken riding and I was not passed by any of the Nobel prize winners who still think open pipes are a performance enhancer – the three groups we typically point fingers at for poor images of street riders.

On the other hand, when do most non-riders typically see motorcycles? Seems to me that, for about three quarters of a million people each rush hour, what they see is what I experienced.

We are probably lucky in that respect.

4. If fuel continues its steady rise in cost, many of these people will be forced onto two wheels – probably starting with scooters with CVT transmissions. They will then learn to hate the weather… instead of us!

---

Dave Preston is the author of Motorcycle 101, a sensible book for the new and returning rider.

Posted by d0od @ 11:16 am EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments