I’ve noticed this (One of ‘those’ days…) is a very popular page. Today I re-read it. I saw a couple more typo’s and places where I wasn’t very clear. But more than anything else it was frustrating and disappointing to revisit that moment.
I know the guy had a life before all of this. He made a bad choice, but his choices had consequences far beyond his limited world. I had multiple conversations with the insurance companies. I learned his name, Mason Andrews. I learned that the driver he hit was terrified to get back in a car and was vowing to never ride again. I know that it took me almost a year to stop thinking about what I saw when I got back on a bike. Maybe that is why I still feel that tightness in my chest when I think about it. It was a brutal moment. Exceptionally fast and infinitely slow.
Spilt blood, bent steel, torn carbon, shattered glass, falling tears, and bare feet.
I still ride, obviously. The SuperDuke is in the same class as the S4R. And I have been seduced by carbon, ti, and steering dampers. But I try not to make those kinds of mistakes. I know what I don’t know. I don’t know the KTM well enough yet to really push it. I do know that you don’t push in rush hour traffic, at least not like that. Sure I break the laws and occassionally lane split when it suits my purposes. I use the power of that v-twin to scoot past the cages that would block my progress. But I also know what happens if I make a mistake…
Live. Ride. Breathe. Feel every moment. And understand that one choice will cause those ripples to move away from you and impact other’s in ways that you never imagined.
So, it’s home. The days of lusting after a Hypermotard are over. I got an incredible deal on this new (yes new) 2007 KTM SuperDuke. The dealership took a loss. I tried to price match a two other places and one flat out told me it was $2400 under his cost. It was a demo bike, as in the service rep road it for 6 months, putting 1200 miles on it. Throw in a few weekends by other staff and test rides that came well after the break-in period and there it is. The Akropovic pipes were throw in. Like I said a screamingly good deal. Thanks to Chris and all the staff at KTM Northwest in Gresham. I’ve got some bits on order and I am sure the machine will change more than a little by the end of the summer. I’m thrilled to have it. Actually, I’m overwhelmed at the moment.
It is done. I can stop lusting after it and start riding it. I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to write once I get a couple thousand miles under me. Frame sliders, heated grips, carbon?, tank bag, gel saddle?, more carbon, more sliders…
I guess I’m riding to work in the morning. 
Another week has wrapped up. I’ve still got too much to do but I don’t really care at the moment. I’ve managed to shift gears and throttle back a little. I’m sleeping a lot and going to bed before 11 most nights. I finished up the first phase of the project for the non-profit on Tuesday. Now things get tabled for while. Read more…
I woke up grumpy.
I’m working on my taxes which continues to remind me just how much I loathe my ex-wife. There are days when… To make matters worse I trashed the site configuration for ALL of my hosted sites. Read more…
Damp mornings, a lingering cough, and late nights with my nose buried in a book, does not a rider make.
Loser.
Read more…
So who have I pissed off lately?
Who really cares? I’m me and if that doesn’t please you, close the door on your way out. I’m tired and generally irritated with other people’s bullshit and drama. I am not in a bad mood about anything in particular. Actually I’m unusually optimistic about my life in general. I know things are not going great, but it is my life and I will live it as I see fit. I will make it better soon enough. In short: if you don’t like the way I do things, Read more…
Yamaha Press Release
On Behalf of Yamaha Motor Corporation Co. LTD
Oct. 9, 2007
About the Passing Away of Norifumi (Norick) Abe
It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Norifumi (Norick) Abe (32) on October 7, 2007, following a traffic accident. Norick Abe, as he is fondly known by motorcycle race fans around the world, was competing this season in the JSB1000 class of the All-Japan Championships from the “Y’S GEAR Racing†team. Norick was riding a motorcycle in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Pref. when he met with an accident at about 6:20 pm and he was pronounced dead at 8:50 pm at the hospital where he was taken for treatment.
In 1993, Norifumi Abe became the youngest rider ever to win the pinnacle 500cc class of the All Japan Road Race Championships. The following year he was competing in the All Japan Superbike Championship when he joined the Yamaha camp and started competing in the World GP500cc class. From 1995 he began competing full-time in the World GP500cc class, where he eventually compiled a record of three wins, four 2nd places and 10 3rd places in his GP career. This year he returned to the All Japan Championships and also competed in the Suzuka 8 hours World Endurance Championship race in July. During his career Abe was widely known and loved by the fans as a leading figure in the domestic race scene as well as abroad.
Comment from Takashi Kajikawa, President, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. “I am deeply saddened to hear this tragic news. Loved by fans in Japan, Europe and the Americas and throughout Asia, Norifumi Abe was an irreplaceable ambassador of motor sports worldwide. Here in Japan the fans were especially excited to see Abe return to the All Japan circuit after 14 years of international competition, and certainly their sense of loss at his passing is great. We pray that his soul rests in peace and we send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.â€
| Norifumi Abe Profile: |
| Place of birth: Tokyo, Japan |
| Born on Sept. 7, 1975 |
| 2007 team: Y’S GEAR Racing |
| Career: |
| 1993: Champion of All Japan GP500 class |
| 1994: World Road Race Championships GP500 class debut |
| 1995: 9th in World GP500 class |
| 1996: 5th in World GP500 class (won Japan GP) |
| 1997: 7th in World GP500 class |
| 1998: 6th in World GP500 class |
| 1999: 6th in World GP500 class (won Rio GP) |
| 2000: 8th in World GP500 class (won Japan GP) |
| 2001: 7th in World GP500 class |
| 2002: 6th in MotoGP |
| 2003: 16th in MotoGP (spot participation) |
| 2004: 13th in MotoGP |
| 2005: 13th in World Superbike Championship |
| 2006: 13th in World Superbike Championship |
| 2007: Ranking 3rd in All Japan JSB1000 class (at the end of round 6) |
Link to original Yamaha press release
Video:
It takes enormous talent and commitment to rise to the highest levels in any sport. Motorcycle racing is no different in that regard. There is one difference worth noting, most athletes don’t lay their lives on the line each and every time the step into the arena. Death is never far away when we push to 200 mph and beyond, all without the relative safety of a roll cage and air-bags.
Rider down…
Rest in peace.
Do you have those days when nothing seems to go right? The small and not so small slip and slide away. This has been one of those days for me. I don’t know. I’m tired. I’m sick and I have no way of telling those near me that I’m sorry. This is my only medium for that effort.
I have an unintentional habit of alienating those closest to me. I think it is a defense mechanism from my less than pleasant childhood. That doesn’t diminish the impact on those around me, but at least I am learning to see it for what it really is. The next hurdle is to learn how to not continue this cycle. I guess that is part of the next evolution. Read more…
- Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.
- Thinking life will be better in the future is stupid. I have to live now.
- Being not truthful works against me.
- Organizing a charity group is surprisingly easy.
- Drugs feel great is the beginning and become a drag later on.
- Over time, I get used to everything and start taking it for granted.
- Money does not make me happy.
- Traveling alone is helpful for a new perspective on life.
- Assuming is stifling.
- Keeping a diary supports my personal development.
- Trying to look good limits my life.
- Worrying solves nothing.
- Material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses.
- Having guts always works out for me.
From Stefan Sagmeister @ TED
Barney, my cat, died today. Read more…
Today wasn’t exactly a good day. I spent all of my day fighting with C++ code. I learned that I actually loathe C++. It just sucks. Everything is so hard to do . Especially when I am trying to do anything useful in C++.Net! I couldn’t find any documentation for that fu%#ing language! I needed to do a fairly simple thing, basically rewrite the Perl script that I wrote yesterday. But I couldn’t figure out how to do it. In Perl, I can reference the command-line in three different ways. I could only find one way to do it in C++ and that method didn’t return the results I needed. Read more…
Fuck. I don’t know.
I am another wonderful day at work. The problems with data replication consumed my entire morning. The bulk of that time I had my boss standing over my shoulder, giving me “advice.” Along the way, he realized he didn’t remember enough to do anything different than I had done. It was one of those peat and repeat events. I did as much as I could with my limited knowledge and experience. In the end, I had to pass it over to the technical lead. On one hand, it was damaging to my ego. On another, I really didn’t care about that. My frustration was not solving the problem. I hadn’t actually been trained on how to do the replication and I was dealing with the production system. Our replication takes days to catch up if things get out of sync. So the last thing I wanted to do was fuck the system. After over three more hours of non-progress, I handed it off and left for lunch. I was just too fried to care or contribute by that point in my day. The tech lead figured out the problem in just a few minutes. I had created an invalid index along the way. That screwed everything up, ergo no replication. When I came back from lunch, everything was running. Read more…
It’s been one of ‘those’ days… Nothing has gone seriously wrong, but nothing has really gone right. I couldn’t sleep last night, which is normal when I come home and take a nap. Being awake at 02 is not very helpful. I overslept a bit and I felt terrible all morning. I thought I was going to lose my raisin bagel for hours… That feeling never was far from my thoughts allllllllll day long. Read more…
