SoCal Halloween - Just 'Cuz We Can - Mini-Rally Ride report

[FJmonkey]

one good thing about California?   i couldnt find one decreasing radius off camber corner anywhere!

KOokaloo!
Frank

Ed forgot to mention the reducing radius,reverse camber roads that were leading to that goat trail. Come on back and try that road. You will love just about any other road by comparison. Don't try it with a Harley, so many parts will fall off you'll end up walking out with only the grips in your hands.

[Pat Conlon]

Holy shit Steve. Do you have a family? Ya gotta ask yourself, is it really worth it? Holy shit.

Well, I could talk about the fun of 4 years (April to Thanksgiving) of lane-splitting 5 days a week for this 40-mi.-roundtrip rush hour freeway commute:

Or the joys of splitting lanes IN THE RAIN, or the thrill of slicing between the cars at 75 when they're bumper-to-bumper at 60... or the feeling you get when you realize those two 18-wheelers you're fast coming up behind are SIDE-BY-SIDE, but I guess that'd just be more keyboard clackety-clack. So I won't.

[threejagsteve]

Holy shit Steve. Do you have a family? Ya gotta ask yourself, is it really worth it? Holy shit.

Well, Pat,

I'm long-time married, but we agreed back in the beginning that neither of us wanted kids.

The 4 years on that route was only the most recent chapter in my motorcycle commuting story.

I'd been doing it for many years, depending on where I was working and the time of year, and I was good at it. No squidly antics; just hard-won skill put to good use.

On this particular route, the bike saved me 20-30 minutes each way. And yes, when I was doing it, I thought it was worth it. In addition to saving time, commuting on the bike made me feel ALIVE - the same trip in my car and I'd feel like a zombie when I got there.

When non-riders would ask me about it, it used to amuse me to start off rather luridly, "Well, there I was, scimitar clenched between my teeth, dueling with Death..." I'd also compare it to Lawrence of Arabia charging over the sand dunes, sword waving in the air "hacking and hewing my way between the cars..." and on with the tale du jour.

After I got clipped the first time my wife wanted me to stop commuting on the bike.

I told her that it was just a fluke, that after so many years of splitting lanes something was bound to happen sooner or later. If I'd managed that conversation a little differently, I might have avoided what was next: If I wanted to continue riding my bike to work, I had to promise her that if I ever was in another accident, I'd quit two-wheeled commuting for good.

I put the bike back together and finished that riding season. Then, the very next spring - less than a year later - I got clipped again and she held me to my promise.

Neither time was I injured; both were relatively low-speed encounters where I was only doing 35 or 40 before grabbing the brakes. And in case any neophytes (that means noobs) stumble across this, learn to always-always-always keep your first two fingers over the brake. Your other two fingers and thumb are plenty for throttle control, and the half-second reaction time you gain can save you butt!

Anyway, the first encounter was clearly the other guy's mistake; the second wasn't really my fault either but in all honesty I should have seen it coming and avoided it. And in California a lane-splitting bike is ALWAYS at fault in any accident. With 20/20 hindsight and 6-years-later perspective, I can see two contributing factors: I'd gotten a tad overconfident, and at 48 my reflexes weren't what they had been.

But that's why my FJ sat for 6 years before unemployment helped me decide it was time to get the bike (and myself) back on the road. I wish I hadn't waited so long, but I'm glad I didn't wait any longer!