09.30.2008 | 9:01 am | Goldwing
Several conclusions actually.
Conclusion #1 - People are going to drive in a manner that makes them comfortable.
This comfort zone does not take into account speed limits, other traffic, or current road conditions. These people drive according to how it “feels” to them. They head down the road, and if it feels like a 60mph road to them, that’s what they will do, regardless of the 35mph speed limit.
Taken one step further, these drivers will become angry with anyone who prevents them from staying in their comfort zone. This may be the person in front of them who is doing the speed limit, or the person who is being extra cautious at the intersection and doesn’t pull away fast enough. This may be the root cause of some incidents of road rage, and may certainly account for any number of “one finger salutes” that are flashed on any given day.
It never dawns on them, even when they passed you several miles back, and you are now beside them at the traffic signal, that their excessive speed did not accomplish anything, or get them to their destination any faster.
They were NOT speeding because they were in a hurry to get somewhere. They were speeding because it felt “right” to them. Plain and simple. This is not to say that ALL drivers are this way, but I think a large number of drivers may fall into this category.
Conclusion #2 - Increasing the penalties for certain infractions of the law will not serve as a deterrent or have any effect on the behaviour it is designed to alter. People do not get into their cars in the morning and say to themselves, “Boy, I better drive more carefully now that the fine have gone up.” The penalty has absolutely NO effect on changing people’s driving habits.
Making the fine for hitting a motorcycle $50,000 would not make any difference, nor would it lower the number of crashes. Nobody thinks of the consequences when they get into their vehicles. All they know is that they are going somewhere and they are exercising their God given right to drive. The possibiliity that they may break the law never even enters into their heads.
Those government bodies that pass laws for increased penalties are merely trying to show their constituents that they are doing SOMETHING to try to make things better. Their heart may be in the right place, but it will be to no avail. Mandatory aggressive driving courses have a much better chance of altering a driver’s behaviour.
Conclusion #3 - Drivers are just as likely to NOT see a motorcyle as they are to NOT see a car. I don’t believe that the size of the vehicle, the sound of the vehicle, or having additional lighting will make any difference. A driver actually has to look in your direction in order for 2 of these factors to come into play. You could be driving the Space Shuttle down the road, and these same people will pull out in front of you. They just aren’t paying attention.
In the days before most vehicles had their headlight on full time, a car with it’s headlights on stuck our like a sore thumb, and the visibility factor for them was increased. Nowadays, darn near every car on the road is equipped with daytime driving lights. Any vehicle with it’s lights on is more likely to blend into the background along with all the other vehicles with their lights on. I have my headlights on high, and I turn on my dual 55w halogen driving lights and people still pull in front of me.
We as riders are ultimately responsible for our own safety. There is no substitute for good situational awareness. All the safety devices in the world are not going to keep us safe.
It is what it is, and you have to ride like everyone else on the road is a moron, because they frequently are.
That’s my story, it is based on my own observations and anecdotal evidence, and I am sticking to it.
Comments (2)
08.26.2008 | 3:13 pm | Goldwing
Thanks to Crazy Dave from the HondaShadow.Net forum for his permission to repost this.
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The Treasure
By CrazyDave
There it lay
covered in hay
dirty rusted and bent
to his friends it looked
like trash
but to him it was heaven sent
he paid the man fifty bucks
and not a penny more
hauled it off in a rented truck
and went about the work to restore
hours turned into days and then weeks
as he scoured for parts hard to find
every other aspect of his life was just a blur
as the bike occupied his mind
matching paint looking at pics
of bikes from a time gone by
he never really thought he would get it right
but he was sure going to give it a try
set backs seemed to be the norm
and redos were a common thing
but he never really seemed to get all
that mad but a familar song he’d sing
it was a tune his dad once taught him
so many years ago
and it got him through the times in his life
when fate had struck him a blow
A month turned into two then three , four
and finally a year
just a few small details and the completion
was finally near
He primed the bike turned on the gas
and kicked it’s ancient mill to life
stood back and admired his work along
with his daughter and wife
He rode it to town and stored it in the barn
looked at it and smiled kinda sad
Wiped it down with a terry cloth and with a tear in his
eye, said this is for you dad
That very bike was his fathers he rode it the day he
died
He sat on the bike , thought of his dad and finally broke
down and cried
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08.23.2008 | 10:29 am | Goldwing
The HondaShadow.Net forum is planning on creating a calendar that they intend to sell to raise funds for the ongoing maintenance of the forum. They asked the members to submit photos of their bikes with the “ladies of HondaShadow”. My friend Lori graciously agreed to be my model, so we shot some pictures at Fort Christmas, and at a local car wash.
Comments (1)
08.23.2008 | 10:20 am | Goldwing
Just a few miscellaneous shots from some of my recent rides.
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06.17.2008 | 6:22 pm | Goldwing
From a good friend…
Christopher’s Ride:
I have been wanting to do something for people who are suffering from a debilitating disease such as cancer, leukemia, diabetes, etc. Our biker community currently has so many organized rides for charities that setting up another charity ride I felt would be just one more ride to raise money for a specific group. While it’s important to fund these organizations, my concern has been that the individual element is sometimes lost. I am always thankful for donations to the Leukemia Society since their work benefits me. But I wanted to hit upon the personal needs of patients such as myself - to lend emotional support to someone who is fighting a courageous battle. I wanted a ride that was personal, that was done for one individual who is close to the biker’s heart. I still remember how much it meant to me when a friend told me he took a ride for me with pegs down.
I know first hand just what it means to fight a disease while having family and friends who are there thinking of you and supporting you emotionally. Since 1999 I have been in a tough battle with a debilitating bone marrow disease called Myeloid Metaplasia. I know what a HUGE difference in maintaining your will to fight on when friends and family support you emotionally.
With this in mind I kicked an idea around for a very long time and felt “it is time” to launch this idea, this year.
The Inaugural 2008 Christopher’s Ride
On Sunday, July 20th 2008 the National “Christopher’s Ride ” will take place. Unlike other rides motorcyclists participate in, the benefactor in the Christopher’s Ride will be the person the BIKER selects. It can be a family member, friend, co-worker or anyone you know and want to select who is battling a debilitating disease. You can ride 10 miles or 500 miles. It is up to you, the Biker. It can be performed solo or in a group. Other members in your ride party can select individuals close to them to ride for as well.
If you do not have anyone close to you that is suffering from a debilitating disease then consider riding for a child who is in a hospital pediatrics unit in your home town. Maybe buy a teddy bear, strap it onto your pillion and take it on the ride with you and then later present it to the child explaining just where that bear rode to with you.
If you want to make a donation to a charity after your ride, select the charity that you want to support and send them a check with a note. If you want this to be a non monetary ride, then ride for them for the sole purpose of providing emotional support only. Consider taking a picture during or after your ride and send it to them with a note letting them know this ride was for them. Explain to them why you took that ride for them and where you went.
There are very few guidelines in regards to Christopher’s Ride. We ask that:
1.) Your ride is in support of an individual and not part of a group charity ride event.
2.) You please do not drink and ride and that you also ride safely.
3.) Please put your rear pegs down for the person you are riding for (if you are riding solo).
The whole purpose and intent of the Christopher’s Ride is to share your freedom and love of biking with someone who is fighting a horrible disease. It is a way to give an individual a moment of freedom that we all experience whenever we ride. It is also a way to provide one person in your life who is battling a debilitating disease with the knowledge that on this day, you were thinking of them and took them along with you for a ride.
Fire up your bikes and Take a Christopher’s Ride on July 20th 2008.
Thank you for your support,
Christopher Throgmartin
Comments (0)
06.7.2008 | 8:47 am | Goldwing
Here is a link to a ride report from a guy who took off and rode over 10,000 miles on his Goldwing, and toured the West and took hundreds of pictures and posted them at Adventure Rider. It is really long, and will take you several hours to work your way through all the pictures and narrative, but it is well worth the time.
Flanga’s Ride Report
Comments (2)
05.25.2008 | 9:43 am | Goldwing
A friend of mine from the HondaShadow.Net forum has put this event together. You can see the original post and any replies here:
***************************************
To My Fellow HSN Members.
I have been wanting to do something for people who are suffering from a debilitating disease such as cancer, leukemia, diabetes, etc. Our biker community currently has so many organized rides for charities that setting up one more I felt would be just one more ride to raise money. I wanted to hit the emotional end of things - to lend emotional support to someone who is fighting a courageous battle. I wanted a ride that was personal, that was done for one individual who is close to the bikers heart.
I know first hand just what it means to fight a disease while having friends who are there thinking of you and supporting you emotionally. It makes a HUGE difference in maintaining your will to fight on. This forum group is a perfect example.
With this in mind I have been kicking an idea around for a very long time and felt ” it is time ” to launch this idea, this year. And why not start the ball rolling with the HSN gang. So here it is.
Christopher’s Ride:
On Sunday, July 20th 2008 the Nationwide Christopher’s Ride will take place. Unlike other rides motorcyclists participate in, the benefactor in the Christopher’s Ride will be the person the BIKER selects. It can be a family member, friend, co-worker or anyone you know and want to select who is battling a debilitating disease. You can ride 10 miles or 500 miles. It is up to you, the Biker. It can be performed solo or in a group with other members of your ride party all riding for someone close to them.
If you do not have anyone close to you that has a debilitating disease then consider riding for a child who is in a hospital pediatrics unit in your home town. Maybe buy a teddy bear, strap it onto your pillion and take it on the ride with you and then later present it to the child explaining just where that bear rode with you to.
If you want to make a donation to a charity after your ride, select the charity that you want to support and send them a check with a note. If you want this to be a non monetary ride, then ride for them to provide emotional support only. Consider taking a picture during or after your ride and send it to them with a note letting them know this ride was for them.
There are no guidelines in regards to Christopher’s Ride except that it is in support of an individual and not a charity. We also ask that if your riding solo, put down the rear pegs and take them with you ( in spirit ).
The whole purpose and intent of the Christopher’s Ride is to share your love of biking with someone who is fighting a horrible disease. It is a way to give an individual a moment of freedom that we all experience while riding.
Fire up your bikes and Take a Christopher’s Ride on July 20th.
Thank you,
Christopher
Comments (0)
04.13.2008 | 9:17 am | Goldwing
For Christmas, my lovely wife had bought me a set of 55w Halogen driving lights for the Goldwing. Due to being a slacker, I just now got around to putting them on the bike. These lights were only $60.00 so I had to make some modifications to them to get them to fit properly. The stock switch that came with them was really cheesy, so I bought a nice OEM switch from Electrical Connection and put that into the side panel. Notice the nice stock look on the button in the upper right of the panel.
Here is what they look like turned off.
There is now a ton of light coming from the front of the bike.
Insane amount of light with the high beams on.
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01.20.2008 | 12:42 pm | Goldwing
Would you like a Honda Goldwing that has almost 200 horsepower? If so, take a look here.
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01.19.2008 | 10:24 am | Goldwing
After riding the bike for a while, I discovered that when riding in a particular direction, the satellite radio would cut in and out. I am assuming that it is due to a line-of-site issue with the antenna location. So, I fabricated a bracket from some spare metal I had lying around the garage, and I screwed it into the top of the trunk lid behind the passenger seat. I painted it with some black spray paint and shaped it a bit to match the shape of the antenna. It now appears to work just fine. If I ever mount a luggage rack, it may interfere. I will have to cross that bridge when I come to it.
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