Harley Riders Like Sparrows

[robmcg]

When oun the Plains today for a 100-mile drive ...

near town a fast proper touring bike was stuck behiond me who was stuck behind another car which in turn was behind a Model A going about 50mph.

he stayed behind me, and when there was room, I could have overtaken two cars, but why? and when the guy on the sport bike saw me NOT looking like I was going to overtake, he quietly flicked his 1100 or 750 into 3rd or 4th and went around us quite slowly.. plenty of room for him; not for a 1750Kg box.. he had about 200 yards before the next major junction,
... done easily didn't need to change gear

when later I was returning to town, there were large swarms of Harleys on groups. There were more parked outside a country pub (Cust, mid-Canerbury)

As ever, I had a 4WD behind me, over-bloody-take me but no...I'm going legal limit on a 2-lane, let them overtake, but no, they must think I'm mufti cop or something.

There are two groups of Harleys going the other way, and I thought, these people have to be in groups to survive; 15 bilkes some with piliions, at a pub thery are all outside with several bikes all shining.

I wonder what some of them would have thought if I was in a road-dirt-covered faired slightly modified Susy 1100... or Ninga... or 1100 Kwaka

THIS I thiought was the same as old people going out power-walking whose major energy goes into talking (I could never talk while lifting weights) , but the dangers of bikes and wehile they ride in large groups they can have safety...
like sparrows in numbers. All with headlights on.
I don't think they get it.

Yours,

An ex-rider jealous of Eric! Even if he has the error of Kawasaki...

[robmcg]

Sorry about the spelling.

I'm just leaning off the side of a wheelchair and have just got a model of a 5MT train going and have yet to cook the spuds.

A clip of lococomtiv real will follow,

Arigato goziamashita. Gomen nasai. Arigato...a, watashi, nihongono no, musukashi...?
whiich is approximately
I apologise. Good night. Thankyou, um, I know , of nothing Japanese I know nothing and bad language.

When I was spending
some time with another busted leg in a 4-bed room there was a tall young Japanese skier in the adjacent bed, and after 24hrs it was clear that this guy was getting nobody, a person came and translated his stuff to tell stuff I could not undserstand; he was scared severe fractures, and very much alone. I wasn't too well myself, but this guy was not doing well,

The tea-ladies he ignored, and nurses took his readings, and then I said at some point, quietly the French,
"Je Suis Rob McGavin"
but as he didn't reply in any way, after morning tea I think he took a little
"Ii Otenki. Watashi wa Rob McGavin..."

and it was like he had been struck by something;
I repeated it with him not responding,
adding "san" to my my name, and he rolled slightly towards me as if I was some alien, and with the complex things in injury and hospital rooms, and
said something like "hai" "aa" and we had a stuttering conversation and he laughed. Almost as if a black cloud had been lifted,

Two days later a crowd of fit young girls visited him. I doubt he metioned me; he was tough, flown back to Japan on a stretcher with out no-fault system. He never had to pay a penny for the hi-tech helicopter rescue, 10 days two in high-dependency then 'rescue' back to Japan,

but he will never forget that when he was as I judged it very scared and lonely, the guy in the next bed, may, or may not have mattered

[robmcg]

This says it all.... sort of... but i doubt you guys get the nature of it, even as Harley riders...

The photography in this clip is superb especially the face and arm of the driver

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H9rjX_Xp50

and this;
where the engine had to do a walking pace under a bridge because of suspect clearances, and about mid-film the train has to stop on a grade, and the driver says nothing while the fireman suggest that they might have to do a back-start, to get the valve gear 'right'... this being rolling the engine backwards a few paces, but nothing is said, except on the face of the driver as the train accelerates., without trouible.
A whistle the to some kids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jlm8Gi61as&NR=1

[Eric]

The "group thing" is an interesting dynamic. For me, riding is a lot like running; we each have our own pace and trying to keep up with people who are faster (or slow down so that people who aren't as fast as you can keep up) takes away from the experience. I don't mind poking around with friends occasionally - or even riding at a fast pace with riders who I know well (and who I trust), But generally I prefer to ride alone, just as I don't like to run with anyone other than myself....

[robmcg]

riding at a fast pace with riders who I know well (and who I trust), But generally I prefer to ride alone, just as I don't like to run with anyone other than myself....

Thankyou for reading my schpiel. I was the same ... two bikes maybe three who know and trust each other is great.

I never got off on the large group thing.

Two bikes can add a dimension to a friendship; my closest friend when I was 20-something was Murray who had a Norton SS 650 and I had an AJS CSR 650 and we did silly things at speed, Nobody could stay with us in the fast winding bits, and he and I had huge respect for each other.
Then I had 750 Trident and he a very strong Norton Commando, on which we did some very fast things.
When I crashed and had multiple injuries head limbs and internal he sold his bike withing a week when I was still in a coma.

We are still close with a bond which will never break.

He was best man at my wedding a couple of years later. Wealthy electrician he now runs a perfect '63 E-type.

[Ken]

The "group thing" is an interesting dynamic. For me, riding is a lot like running; we each have our own pace and trying to keep up with people who are faster (or slow down so that people who aren't as fast as you can keep up) takes away from the experience. I don't mind poking around with friends occasionally - or even riding at a fast pace with riders who I know well (and who I trust), But generally I prefer to ride alone, just as I don't like to run with anyone other than myself....

It is for exactly those reasons that the Wolds Bikers have the three categories of 'Rider Grouping', Progressives, Intermediates (once known as Tourists) and Steady Eddies. The leaders of each of group of riders within each of these categories always has a talk with the ten riders comprising his group to establish their comfort zones. The lead rider sets the group pace. Every rider keeps an eye on the rider behind him/her, if the rider behind drops back then they drop back which slows the group down. If one stops, within a short distance all will have stopped and the leader can establish the problem area and deal with it.

I am quite happy leading a group or riding within one. Riding alone has advantages but, rather than riding alone, I like to have a companion with me, usually my bro' with whom I go off for the odd couple of hundred miles round trip. Graham has to have a purpose to a ride though which means we usually end up somewhere buying lobsters or crabs or some seasonal delicacy to take home - luckily his Beemer has capacious panniers.

Ken.

[robmcg]

It's not quite on thread but since you are on line,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPcsRz1oCzg&NR=1

shows a recent example of the finest British Steam... what can be better than this beautiful example of steam engineering at 90mph...

JDM says it's ugly, but he was shovelling snow to un-freeze points in Vermont c1945 and is biased.

Of course he describes it as antiquity, since he flew USAF fighters and rarely talks of it...